From weeks of rehearsals to finally hitting the runway, the Cultural Inclusion Council’s (CIC) seventh annual fashion show swept audiences away.
With VIP tickets galore, this year’s fashion show theme, “Global Glamour: A Celebration of Cultures,” embraced the diverse backgrounds of underrepresented groups on campus with international delights. At 30 dollars per ticket, CIC brought in significant funding to aid in hosting future events on campus.
For this occasion, all seven of CIC’s student organizations banded together to celebrate their individual histories through culturally significant attire, model walks, dances and student performances. Educating attendees about the significant traditions of each group was the fashion show’s key mission. CIC reinforced this by providing VIP tickets to various student groups on campus working towards the same goal.
Beyond historically significant attire, other relevant topics included nine historically Black sororities and fraternities in the United States (The Divine Nine), the disappearance of Native American women across the country and the importance of quinceañeras for young Latinas.
Notably, the Black Student Association (BSA) walked out to Too $hort’s “Blow the Whistle” and played along to the chorus with whistles on stage. Their attire took cues from street fashion and paid respects to Black street culture during their two walks.
Native American Student Association (NASA) members focused on finding a compelling way to emphasize the importance of their concerns about missing and murdered Native American women and children.
NASA members’ first runway walk featured different outfits including traditional pow wow attire, a mock residential school uniform, and more modern traditional wear. For the second walk, members splattered their existing costumes with fake blood and wrote slogans including “No More Stolen Sisters,” “Save Our Children,” and “We are Still Here.” These alterations served as an important visual indicator for the group’s overall message.
“The fashion show is a way for us to show that we are still here,” said NASA coordinator McKenna Labelle.
In between performances and model walks, video clips from each of the coordinators of all seven student alliances explained concepts, like Labelle’s, for the audience.
The night’s most memorable student performances included a martial arts demonstration from the Asian Student Association (ASA) inspired by Jackie Chan’s filmography. In addition, a drag performance by student drag performer Darth Sappho from the Gender and Sexualities Alliance’s (GSA) featured audience participation in dancing to lesbian artist Chappell Roan’s“HOT TO GO!”
Both demonstrations received much excitement and acclaim from audience members, alongside fellow participants.
“It’s nice that GSA [was represented] like that because it is something that a lot of other cultures have in common. Different genders and sexual orientations are widespread,” explained GSA member Marissa Harper.
Cultural dances performed by the Latino Student Alliance (LSA) and the Ho’olokahi Polynesian Alliance (HSA) received widespread applause. In particular, HSA’s traditional hula came with an uproar of enthusiastic vocalizations from the audience– including “cheehoo’s,” a Samoan cheer which is traditionally used in expressions of celebration, pride, and joy.
LSA’s various performances featured Spanish songs and an extensive variety of traditional dance performances. As the show wound down, a local musical group associated with students in LSA performed traditional music to finish off the evening.
“I am a part of LSA, and [the fashion show] was a way for me to explore culture. For the last two fashion shows, I volunteered with ASA and it allowed me to explore different cultures. I am happy I could embrace my own too,” said psychology major Monica Vega.
