A fictitious University student named Ivy lies sleeping on a fashion show runway until she awakes to members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. sorority and a waiting audience, who have stumbled into Ivy’s “Midwinter Night’s Dream.”
Ivy’s winter wonderland fantasy is the setting for the 14th annual Black Heritage Fashion Show, to be held Saturday in the Erb Memorial Union Ballroom. The free event, produced by the Sigma Delta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc., which has members at both the University and Oregon State University, will begin at 4:08 p.m., marking the year, 1908, that the sorority was founded.
The fashion show has been performed at Oregon State the past two years, and the three University members of the well-known black Greek sorority – of which influential members include Rosa Parks and Maya Angelou – are excited to bring the production back to Eugene.
“We want to show the diversity at U of O. The black Greek population is pretty small, and I don’t think a lot of people are even aware of us,” said sorority member Nana Dickson, a University senior.
McCall Hall, a sorority member, said the majority of the 40 male and female models for the “Midwinter Night’s Dream” show are students of color and are actively involved in the Black Student Union or the African Students Association.
“I think it’s important (for students to attend). For one, it’s Black History Month and I haven’t seen a lot done on this campus,” Hall said.
Because of Eugene’s demographics, Hall said the black sororities are very small, all with fewer than six University members. Consequently, there is a lack of cultural awareness on campus and the significance of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. is overlooked, although it wouldn’t be in other regions of the country, she said.
“A lot of important members of the black community are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council,” which heads the nine historically black fraternities and sororities, Hall said.
In celebration of Black History Month, the opening scene of the fashion show is “Koming to AmerAKA,” which will showcase traditional African clothing from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Eritrea, Tanzania and Kenya. African drumming and Western African dancing will be performed, adding to the ambiance of this culturally infused scene.
An array of swimsuits, beachwear and nightclub clothing will follow in “Summer in Miami,” where models will walk down the runway to reggae, Cuban and Caribbean music, Hall said.
“That one is really getting you out of the rain and cold of Eugene and into the warm and tropical (weather) of Miami,” Dickson said.
After shaking off the sand, it’s back to work for the models who will dress for the office in the “Strictly Business” scene, in which Ivy is looking toward her life after graduation, Dickson said.
“Our goal was not to just be bland,” Hall said about the challenge in finding professional outfits that were still fun. Clothes were donated by Maurices and Shag Boutique.
The “Olympic Dream” scene follows, with sportswear donated from Nike and the University Bookstore. Hall said the models will display some of the upcoming “hottest fashions” in sportswear.
The final scene, a constant in the fashion show, is the “Wedding,” in which four bridesmaids, four groomsmen and a couple wedding guests will accompany the groom, Blair Phillips, and the bride, who is revealed at the show. Neither the models nor the groom know which senior girl will be selected as the bride.
Mr. Formal and David’s Bridal dressed the wedding ensemble, which Dickson said is the highlight scene of the show.
During intermission, between the third and fourth scenes, donations will be accepted for the 2005-2015 United Nations initiative, “Water for Life,” which is working to eradicate the “exploitation of water resources and to develop integrated water resource management and water efficiency,” according to the UN Web site.
“It’s important to get people to know there is a water shortage in some parts of the world, and to remind us we have (water) running from our faucets whenever we need it. Some people don’t have that luxury. It’s just so basic to us,” Dickson said.
The University and Oregon State members have been planning the event for a year, a large task for any organization, but especially for a group of eight. The three University members, all of whom are new to the sorority this year, commute to Corvallis to hold meetings and plan the event.
“This is a big event, not only for us but for the campus community,” Dickson said. “I think it’s an all-ages, all-genders and all-nationalities show. Everybody can come and enjoy it and learn something they may not have known.”
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