Photo by Kyle Vertin
LERON WELLINGTON
Special to The Leader
As much as people like to think of most college students as fashionable, the outfit of sweatpants and hoodies seems to be a very popular one on campus. But once a year, students get to see new fashion trends at the Black Student Union’s (BSU) annual Fashion Show. Held this past Saturday in the Multipurpose Room at 8 p.m., it was a two-hour party.
Hosted by Lorenzo Cromwell, more popularly know on Instagram for comedy videos as “CallHimRenny,” the audience got comedic relief in between students changing for the next line. He used audience participation a lot to get the crowd pumped. Inviting people on stage to show off their dance moves kept the audience laughing and engaged throughout the entire show.
Music was incorporated throughout the show from the minute students walked in. Even in between the presentation of each separate line, music was used. A wide variety of genres were played like rap, R&B and dancehall which was clearly well-received by students, who often sang along.
The fashion show featured 12 different lines that were either designed by students themselves or designers from around the state. One guest artist, Toya Mendez, came from Buffalo State to present her line, “The Grunge Project.”
Photo by Kyle Vertin
Some lines like “Girls Night Out” or “Date Night” incorporated students’ personal style into the clothes. Since there were so many different lines, students showed really creative clothing, like making a dress out of candy for the “Candy Land” line. Students channeled their inner model when wearing higher-end lines like GQ, which were outfits that incorporated wearing bowties.
Other lines incorporated African American culture. For example, one line was entirely made up of traditional African clothing and style through colorful prints. Another line called “T-Shirt” was made up of students who were dressed in shirts with positive adjectives explaining why “Black is Beautiful.”
Sophomore Shayla Machado, double major in communication studies and business administration, served as the Chair for Fashion and oversaw everything from finding designers to running the actual show. The fashion show was during Multicultural Weekend and it pushed her to have an even better show than past years.
“This year is completely different from past year because we have so many new designers,” Machado said. “We brought in six, compared to last year when we only had three.”
What made the fashion show great was that it was put on by students and solely for students. One of the designers for the “Lief Kultuur” line got his start in fashion during college.
“It’s nice to come back to a college because that is where it all started for me,” he said. “Also, it is a great opportunity to meet and collaborate with other designers.”
All students were welcomed to participate in the show as models, regardless of race. Senior Brandon Edwards-Munter, an exercise science major, has participated in the show for the past three years.
“I always do the fashion show because I love fashion and I love getting dressed up; it makes me feel like a celebrity or a superstar when I walk down the runway,” said Edwards-Munter. “But most of all, I do it because modeling is fun.”
The fashion show, even though it resembled a party, celebrated black culture. The show served as a positive representation of black students, showing off both their hard work and attire. It is events like these that represent the campus and its students from different walks of life.