Two modeling troupes will have their chance to walk the catwalk and compete against each other in Lee Hall for a $100 prize.
Epicurean and FACES are set to compete not just for money, but also for a good cause.
“You’ve seen dance off, but now, the FAMU royal court, senior class, and junior class present Runway ‘2K6: A Fashion and Style Battle for Charity,'” said Amanda Byrd, 20, a third-year pharmacy student from Atlanta.
Byrd, the junior class vice president, agreed to allow the junior class to sponsor the fashion show along with the royal court and senior class.
There are no practices where the troupes are rehearsing together. The troupes were informed about the show, and they should be rehearsing on their own, said Byrd.
FACES director Brandon Stewart, 22, hopes the troupe can bring a good show to the crowd.
“Our practices have been productive and we are trying to come with a lot of creativity,” said Stewart, a junior architecture and psychology student from Columbus, Ga. “Hopefully, we can put together something nice, elegant and appealing to the judges and audience.”
Epicurean President Chris Jackson, 21, a senior public relations student from Atlanta thinks the show is a great opportunity for young black students to help each other and improve the community.
“I feel that it’s great that the benefits from the show are trying to help solidify a problem that has been lingering for years and years,” Jackson said.
Miss FAMU Kimberly Brown, 21, a senior public relations student from Montgomery, Ala., is also anxiously waiting for a successful turn-out.
Last month, while enjoying the Dance-Off, Brown got the idea to have the royal court sponsor a similar event involving the campus modeling troupes.
“I was sitting at Dance-Off, and I thought that nobody does this competition for the modeling troupes,” Brown said.
Brown and the Queen of Orange and Green Kenedria Thurman, 21, are the event’s co-chairwomen. The two said they combined their ideas together and came up with a fashion show that would be unique and appealing to the student body.
Both troupes have six minutes to perform. Brown decided each troupe should have a two-minute reference to black history to honor the spirit of this month.
“We’ve seen the modeling troupes do high fashion and hip-hop, but never in my four years have I seen the modeling troupes perform anything relevant to black history”, Brown said.
To help people running for Student Government Association positions, Brown has invited the candidates to model in the show.
“I thought it would be fun, exciting and it would draw a crowd to have the candidates model, considering that our show is in the middle of campaign week.”
Thurman, a junior early childhood education student from Tallahassee, plans to bring in the modeling troupe Havana Elementary School into the fashion show.
“I’m very passionate about children,” Thurman said. “The Havana Elementary School Modeling Troupe are good models. I decided to bring them into the fashion show because they are young children doing something positive.”
Since Thurman is captain of “Hustlers for Relay,” her Relay for Life team, she thought it would be great to give part of the proceeds to Relay For Life. On the other hand, it was Brown’s idea to give the other part of the proceeds to the Haitian Scholarship Program.
“I just feel like a lot of times we allow ourselves to give to everything else. We give to other countries, but still today there are people in our youth who can use as much charitable giving as possible,” Brown said.
The show will be in Lee Hall at 7 p.m. Tickets are now on sell at the ticket booth for $3 and they will go up to $5 tomorrow.
Contact Alexis S. Blackwell at famuanlifestyles@hotmail.com