On Feb. 23, the Black Artist Coalition transformed Witherspoon Cinema into a runway for an evening, giving seven students the opportunity to creatively showcase BIPOC fashion for a chance to win a prize.

Black Artist Coalition president Kiersten Hicks, a second-year studying electrical engineering, and vice president Laila Monadi, a third-year studying biochemistry, organized and hosted the show. They wanted to honor all fashionable Black and POC students on campus by providing them a safe space to be creative and express themselves. 

“The premise of this whole event is building community and fostering a safe space for people to be open and express themselves,” Monadi said. “Really show themselves off in their most authentic way that they possibly can and just celebrating those people and celebrating their braveness and their creativity.” 

Nchou Fuh, Anya Tadisina, Laila Monadi, Matthew Jones, Shaniya Woolridge, Sharonda Daniels and Mona Abraham were the seven performers that left it all on stage. Each of them had a unique and distinctive style and personality that electrified the audience as they applauded and yelled words of encouragement to the performers on stage.

Jones, a second-year studying industrial engineering, said their motivation behind performing was the desire to showcase that Black voices and outfits are unique.

“There’s a lot of creativity that definitely needs to be explored especially within minority communities,” Jones said. “That’s part of the reason why I joined the Black Artist Coalition and part of the reason why I wanted to kind of flex my fit.”

Although “Outfit of the Night” was the main category taken into consideration for the prizes, there were other categories such as “Eccentric Realness,” “Energy Queen,” “One of a Kind” and “Essence of Aphrodite.”

Jones took the award for “Eccentric Realness,” “One of a Kind,” as well as third place for “Outfit of the Night.” Fuh was awarded “One of a Kind” and Tadisina was crowned “Energy Queen.” Daniels received the award for “Essence of Aphrodite,” as well as Woolridge, who also received the second place for “Outfit of the Night.” Abraham won first place for “Outfit of the Night.”

Besides the prizes the performers took home, having this space allowed everyone, from  performers to attendees, to celebrate fashion and collaborate with each other. 

“Whether you have an eccentric sense of style or personality or whatnot, just really coming here [is] to celebrate you and to let you know that you matter and there is a community here for you,”  Monadi said.

Isaac Davis, a third-year studying mathematics and a fashion show attendee, said that this event is unique — there aren’t many fashion shows on campus, especially ones that highlight the styles of people of color.

“I think it was one of the most unique things that any sort of organization has done in a while,” Davis said. “There are just so few spaces where POC fashion is celebrated on campus, and I think that having a place like this is really important for both student engagement and also just uplifting POC voices.”

Overall, the fashion show was a great opportunity for students to feel heard through fashion, as well as building a community. 

“I think [this event] promotes individuality. I think it promotes community. I think essentially, it just promotes students of color,” said Jordan Brown, a second-year studying graphic design and social media chair of the Black Artist Coalition. “Just being able to express yourself and your individuality, your overall style and fashion and just showing that you can be yourself here.”