BSU FASHION SHOW EVENT

By Brittany Pile

Intricate patterns and vivid colors rocked the runway Wednesday night at the Black Student Union's (BSU) annual African Fashion Show held in Hodson Auditorium.

 More than 200 people attended the event and the audience was filled with much excitement.  The people in the audience included Hood students, alumni, staff, as well as the local community. The host of the event, Caitlyn Nixon, entertained the audience by doing standup comedy, reciting poems and facts throughout the show.

Much hard work was put in to create the show which consisted of performers such as models, dancers, musicians and great music. “It took over a month, nearly five to six weeks for the fashion show to come together,” Lanee Higgins, a junior, said.”

Open calls were held for models on March 1 in Whitaker Commons where had the opportunity to audition. “There were no requirements; we just held an open call for anyone that wanted to do it. We coached and helped the ones who were not that confident,” Adrienne Gladden, a senior, said.

“I get very nervous when all eyes are on me,” Mi’kea Bowie, one of the models, said.

Bowie said that she was excited to be a part of what BSU put together. “I never really get to be in the programs that I work on. I am always behind the scenes running around making sure the program goes as planned,” she said.

 Practices for the all the performers were held every Wednesday and Sunday night. “The amount of rehearsals increased each week as the week of the fashion show approached,” said Higgins. “Last week we practiced four days. The length of the practices varied, I would say that most were about an hour and a half to two hours.”

One of the most challenging parts of the rehearsals was scheduling. “Not everyone could be at every practice, some had to come late, some had to leave early and with assignments, projects and papers, it made things a bit difficult,” Higgins said.

There were five scenes: Express Yourself, Another Man’s Treasure, Around the World, And You Don’t Stop, and Candy, Cake, Milkshake. Each scene had a different theme and brought a variety and much creativity.

“I was in one scene, Candy, Cake, Milkshake. It was the scene with all the girls,” Bowie said.

One of the most memorable scenes was Another Man’s Treasure. Models had taken recycled and trashed items and created designs out of the items.

Most of the scenes included both males and females.

“There are not enough males in my opinion,” Jamoné Davis, a freshman and also a performer, said.

Models were given the opportunity to create their own clothing for the scenes they were in.

The show also had a variety of music such as rap, hip hop and R&B as well as old school music. The music engaged the audience to dance and six audience members were able to go up on stage and compete in dance contests to win gift cards.

The MC handed out BSU tee-shirts to several audience members.

In between the scenes there were also several other performances. “We really wanted to highlight the ways the black community expresses themselves so we reached out to singers, poets, musicians, etc to come be a part of our show and express themselves,” Bowie said.

There was also a performance put on by a student, Maya Jackson, who jump roped. She had jump roping for several years and had entered several competitions as well.

Davis recited a poem called “Perfection” in which he wrote himself. The poem expressed the beauty of black women.

 “The goal of the fashion show is to express yourself, Bowie said. “BSU's Liberation theme is Black Expression in the 21st century and fashion is one of the many ways the Black community expresses themselves. So I would say the goal is to show people the many ways we can expressive ourselves, the fashion show is not just a fashion show it is also a back arts show case.”

Gladden said that the goal was to also unify the black community as a whole. “We also aimed to educate others as well,” she said.

Davis said that the fashion show was about today's example of black expression through fashion and spoken words.

Mable Tun a junior said she enjoyed the show very much. “This was my first time going to one of BSU’s fashion shows.”

“All of this practice was worth it because all of the models, the BSU exec and members put so much energy into the show and it was evident on the stage,” Higgins said.

BSU Liberation Weekend was a three-day event which started with the "Black Talk: Uncensored" on Friday in Hodson Technology Center. “It was a discussion of various topics that affect the black community such as body image, labeling, religion, sexuality and much more,” Higgins said. “This was an educational event as it served to confront people with their own biases and seeks to eradicate prejudices within our community.”

 The discussion was followed by a glow party from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M. in Brodbeck Music Hall which fit very well with the Liberation theme this year of Black Expression Higgins said.

On Saturday BSU attended the Dance Recital which was performed by the dance ensemble in Hodson and BSU invited a spoken word poet, Chas Jackson, to perform at Hood.

The Liberation Weekend closed with a successful fashion showcase which ended in a round of applause by the audience. Thanks were extended to the models, BSU Advisor Travis Eichelberger, Fashion Show Coordinator Amber Queen- Harris, MC Caitlyn Nixon, and Technical Aides Romitta Hoff and Peter Rodriguez.

“A big thanks go out to Amber Queen- Harris. Without her, this show would not be possible,” Davis said.

BSU promotes awareness of the history and culture of African Americans; provides political, educational and social activities; promotes unity among students; works to meet the special needs of African American students on campus and acquaints the Hood College community with these needs.