At 8 o’clock on March 27, girls in sky-high heels and chunky costume jewelry were filling Reitz Arena. These girls (and quite a few guys, too) were going to see their friends and fellow Greyhounds in the 17^th Annual Black Student Association (BSA) Fashion Show, “Mystique.” The event is planned and prepared for by BSA and the directors for months. This hard work and dedication culminates in a two-hour show of fashion, art, dance and, this year, poetry.

Last year, as a first-year attending the BSA Fashion Show, I didn’t know what to expect, but this year was completely different. This year, I had high expectations, and “Mystique” did not disappoint.

The opening segment featured gorgeous gowns designed by BCBG Max Azaria. The dresses were a mixture of short and long, but all were all equally beautiful. Opening the show with high-end dresses let the audience know that they were in for some gorgeous fashion throughout the night.

To introduce the show, and get the crowd excited, Kelsey and Briana Live, the hosts of the night, came onto the runway. The duo explained to the audience that the show was broken into four segments with short segments of poetry and dance thrown in, too. Each fashion segment had different designers, themes and models.

The first segment was called Dreamcatcher directed by sceneleaders Colliette Teah and Olubukola Olugbemi. The segment featured clothes from Francesca’s, The Strut Truck and Southern Proper. When twins Dwayne and Antonio Atkins hit the runway, the crowd went wild. The clothes were gorgeous and the stand out piece was a white, strapless jumpsuit worn with a teal stone statement necklace that I immediately wanted in my closet.

The second segment was Wallflower, led by Jenna Anne Chan and Rose Frullani-Bacon. The models and clothes told one cohesive story. The models portrayed wallflowers who were contrasted against confident girls who were breaking the wallflowers out of their shells. Clothes from the Gap, Double Dutch Boutique and Christopher Schafer were all featured in this segment, all paired with strong make up. Though the dark lips were sometimes, a bit too dark for certain fashion looks, the makeup did add a cohesive element to the girls’ looks.

The intermission brought a fusion of poetry and fashion to the runway. The Poetry Collective, which is a group of three poets, came on stage to perform a spoken word poem. While reciting the pieces, models walked in designs from House of Afi, a line of fashion accessories that are designed from African fabric and inspired by African culture started by Abigail Lordson-Banini. The pieces featured included bowties, earrings and peplum skirts added to a simple black dress. The fabrics were beautiful and vibrant, and with the spoken word performance, it was like nothing else I had ever seen.

Before the second half began, four members of the Loyola Dance Company took the stage and performed to “El Tango de Roxanne” from the film “Moulin Rouge!” The dance was gorgeous and added another form of art for audiences to admire during the night.

The second half of the show started with the segment Lights, Please with sceneleaders Jan Belaguas, Jerrod Ridgeway and Alexa Santiago. Featured pieces included floral designs from Tin Lizzy and Christian Schafer. The dresses were channeling a tea party or a ladies luncheon. This created a sense of disconnect, but perhaps the contrast was chosen consciously. One of the crowd’s favorite models was Carlos Amador. Seeming to channel Ben Stiller in Zoolander, Carlos served his best “Blue Steel” look. His confidence shined through, and got the crowd excited.

The final segment of the night, and my personal favorite, was Pop Culture, led by Uche Emili and Jeanine Gill. From dresses to puffy vests and bowties, the clothes from Party Dress, Brooks Brothers and Christopher Schafer were fashion forward and classic. The models all wore flash tattoos to compliment their outfits, which added an extra glimmer under the lights of the runway.

For me, the BSA Fashion Show is so special because it is entirely student run, and therefore relatable for students. The clothes support local boutiques and clothing retailers. Whether the store is downtown, in the Towson Town Center, or a traveling clothing truck boutique, the clothes are all things that we would want to wear as Loyola students, and more over, things we can afford.

As Wah-De Dennis and Tiaira Walker, the co-directors, walked onstage to thank everyone who helped them put together the show, the audience saw and heard how much love is put in this annual event. From selecting and inventorying clothes (charged to merchandise manager Camille Buscar) to scene leading to PR (Yamilex Pena and Joy Holland) to media and graphic design (Gabe Carter), it was clear how much hard work everyone dedicated to make the show run smoothly. Each year, the BSA shows how much of a supportive community Loyola is, and how much we as students, love to come together and be entertained by one another.

Photo by Jake Rauscher / the Greyhound