Fashion “For the Culture

By Ava C. Green, Features Editor

On Friday, March 24, the Afro-American Society held a fashion show called “For the Culture Vol. 1” which hosted local designers of color with Canisius students as their models. It was a night full of energy, music and killer looks.

Students and designers have been preparing for this event all semester, assigning models to designers, making an upbeat playlist and transforming Montante to be equipped with its own runway, lights and balloons that cascaded down at the end of the show.

The event showcased a slew of streetwear: Fallz Gear presented a wide variety within this subcategory of fashion. They showed an array of brightly colored zip-up rompers and catsuits and unique puffer jackets and rompers adorned with patches specific to the designer and the area. In general, many of the designers incorporated aspects of Black and Buffalo culture.

I was blown away by the designs of rEllie mY. She displayed two-piece sets and dresses which were completely hand-knit by the designer. The colorful, knitted garments ranged from bikini tops to sweaters to skirts, all of differing lengths, patterns and silhouettes.

They held a short intermission which featured a performance by Marja’e Johnson where she sang two original songs, “Runnin’'' and “Woah,” both available for streaming. After the performance, Shawn Johnson and Jayseana Jackson pulled volunteer contestants from the audience to compete in a runway-walk competition. After two rounds, the audience declared freshman Tha Tun as the winner, with Officer Rodriguez coming in as a close runner up.

Kreations by Kizzo reimagined denim by upcycling and distressing it in unconventional ways. I was stunned by a tie-dyed denim vest with fringe on the end that went down past the knee. Kizzo also presented a denim crop top, which I discovered was a pair of blue jeans, upside down with the pant legs as sleeves. Reimagined denim was all over the runway. Scavenger Apparel’s hand-painted jeans and Undisclosed thee Aesthetic’s unique patchwork were other highlights of the evening.

“Everything ain't for everybody,” as the designs of Twelve TwentyOn33 displayed proudly. However, Afro’s fashion shows are, in fact, for everybody. Whether you were in the audience or part of the show, there was no denying the joy and electricity that filled the space that night.