While Fashion Week stormed through the streets of the city, Oswego State had its own taste of glamour as the Black Student Union (BSU) held its annual Variety Fashion Show on Friday.
The BSU turned Hewitt ballroom into a runway with bright lights, curtains, and upbeat student models as they used different scenes and music to express the growth in different styles of dress.
Using the last week of February to get the fashion ball rolling was no coincidence. BSU president Sunshine Cooper said it was done on purpose to capture the essence of what fashion week had to offer as well as the black culture of dress. Although Cooper was behind the scenes because she herself isn’t really into fashion, BSU was “trying to portray fashion week with similar scenes but wanted it to look tasteful,” she said. According to Cooper, she wanted to make the show everything it’s never been by sticking to one main goal – making everyone happy.
The show originally consisted of 10 scenes that gradually cut down to about seven due to lack of models and participation, but that didn’t stop the acts. The BSU Executive Board members were all in charge of the different scenes that did make the cut. The scenes were “Glam,” “Sife,” “Jack Your Style,” “Lingerie,” “Italy,” “The Housewife and the “Confessions Monologue.” Each scene was thought and planned out perfectly to express specific genres of fashion and were made to implicate the current as well as past trends that are still in vogue today. Whether it was showing off enticing lingerie or the chic look of Italy, BSU, with the help of senior advisers and coordinators, created an event that appealed to a mass audience of about 150 students and faculty members who came out in support of the show.
With all the preparation and setting up for the heavily anticipated showcase, the executive board members were on top of their game and made sure their models were too. Freshman Marie Demby was one of the 30 models BSU had.
“I love fashion,” Demby said. “I used to do some modeling and dancing back home, it’s just my way of fun.” Demby looked forward to being a part of the fashion show, not only because of her genuine love for clothes, but because of what BSU promoted about the show. “They don’t exclude anyone, it’s for everyone,” Demby said. “They held auditions not to cut anybody out but just to see who was interested and if there was something you lacked, they helped you.” Similarly, many of the models and performers felt the same way. After long daily practices, the show was a clear success because of the patience and cooperation provided from both the models and the BSU members. From the models to the people in the audience, many were taken aback by the setting and the variety of not only the fashion but the people in the show as well as in the crowd.
The BSU has made the fashion show an annual event that has come a long way and is making movements to continually grow. Cooper, who is now a senior and will be graduating in May, said that a lot of people when hearing about BSU automatically assume it is only about or only accepts people of color, but, in actuality, it is the opposite.
“Everyone goes through hardships because we are all the same, what I’ve done, and are still trying to do is embrace every section of individuals and issues,” Cooper said.
She, along with her team, titled their show “Unlimited Hype” not only to attract attention but to make it known that it will be unlimited variety of not only fashion but culture at the show.
BSU painted Oswego State with color as they lit up the campus with different trends of fashion and people with their variety show.
“Don’t let your advantages go to waste, if there is something you want to do, do it, just continue to grow,” Cooper said.
