Elon University’s Black Student Union hosted their Art around the World fashion show on Sept. 12 in Alumni Gym in collaboration with Late Night Elon, taking the audience around the world without even hopping on a plane.
Elon senior Kaia Brown serves as the creative director of the fashion show and has worked on previous shows hosted by Elon’s Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education.
One of sophomore Almarie Williams’ outfits was based on Egyptian goddesses and one of senior Melanie Rodger’s outfits was based on Chilean Street art.
“When it comes to making outfits for me, I just kind of take basic things and accessorize it and make it into a natural outfit,” Williams said.
Rodgers' outfit was specifically inspired by Dasic Fernández, a street artist who contrasts natural skin color with vibrant paint. Rodgers said his work represents how beauty can defy societal norms.
Brown said the goal of the event is to bring together people of all different religions and cultures and rise above politics and stereotypes to showcase how different countries and cultures see beauty. Brown said the job is a lot but it's something that she enjoys.
“It's been hectic but its definitely a job that every time I've done it I've been so happy with the outcome so I can’t even be mad about the stress,” Brown said.
The runway was built in a cross formation allowing models to showcase their creative outfits from four different angles. Each model picked two outfits from two different countries, each strutting down the runway with music and choreography to represent their chosen countries.
“It didn’t have to be where they were from, but instead to find an art piece that they most identified with and allowed them to bring their creative self out through their outfit.” Brown said.
Elon freshman Zoey Hayes said she enjoyed the way the models presented their art and fashion.
“I loved how they all connected their art to their fashion statement,” said Hayes. “It really feels like they brought the art out of the paintings and made it real”
Ernesto Arellano-Perez, an Elon freshman, said he enjoyed seeing students of color showcase their work.
“Truly, all of these students did amazing work. I’m so proud of our Elon community coming together especially as a student of color,” Arellano-Perez said. “It's important that we have events like these to really show the diversity here at Elon.”