The African Students Association hosted an African fashion show at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The show’s theme was “A Journey to Africa.”

The hosts for the show were Suleiman Ali and Enjoli Wilson.

During the show, the hosts gave audience members beaded African bracelets as prizes for trivia question.

The fashion show’s coordinator was Cindy Owusu and the runway coordinator was Tayla Mardis.

Cindy Owusu, a junior health studies major, said what makes the show different from other shows is the culture and the attire.

“I think it was more of us being from another culture,” Owusu said. “People don’t know what African attire looks like and we displayed the high-fashion.”

Owusu said time management, losing sleep, organizing and having all the dancers and models everyday during practice was the most difficult part for the show.

“Since it’s an African fashion show and there were Caucasian and African American models,” Owusu said, “they actually learned from one another and it will help everyone else learn about ASA and become more involved; our work doesn’t stop here.”

Many of the fashion show’s models seemed very pleased with the show.

Elizabeth Smith, a senior communication studies major and president of Latin American Students Organization, said the show’s coordinator helped make the show a success.

“It was awesome because people put in the hard work, practiced and had a really good coordinator, Cindy.”

Smith said she enjoyed everything, especially being able to spend time with the models; she said they have grown really close.

Smith explained what makes this fashion show different than any other show on campus.

“The show displayed a flavor of ethnic roots and since ASA is a family-like organization it made it enjoyable and fun to work with everybody,” Smith said.

Jorjoh Joof, a junior early childhood education major and treasurer of ASA said trying to get the money together, staying focused and working together were the hardest parts of organizing the show.

Although she wasn’t able to see the show, from a model’s point of view and based on the practices, she thinks the show was a success.

Joof also said the bond between all of the models and the executive board members is what made their show different.

Morgan Cureton, a junior psychology major and a member of ASA, said the show educated spectators about culture.

“These events are a gateway to learning about various cultures; it was a truly mind-opening experience,” Cureton said.

Cureton said what makes this fashion show so different is the unity it created.

“It was all about African and African Americans coming together to learn more about one another.”

Cureton said she thinks the show was a huge success and that people will be talking about this show for a while.

Shaun Johnson can be reached at 581-2812 or sajohnson6@eiu.edu.

Model/dancer Felicia Green, left, and fashion show coordinator Cindy Owusu perform a Tumba dance Thursday during “A Journey to Africa,” a fashion show produced by the African Students Organization. (Lauren LaPlante

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