Abbie Klein
The third annual University of West Georgia’s student fashion show “Walk It How I Talk It” took place on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. The event was hosted by UWG Housing and Residence Life and gave student designers a chance to showcase their work and creativity to other students and members of the Carrollton community.
The event took place in the Campus Center Ballroom with a live DJ, concessions, and photo op opportunities for everyone in attendance. It was obvious there was a lot of thought and preparation put into the event.
“I love seeing everything come together. Seeing that I did that. I worked with it,” said Co-Host Leah Bearden.
The show was organized into five different categories. ‘UWG Swag’ showcased different types of apparel that were available to purchase at the UWG bookstore. ‘Career Ready’ was described as outfits that were interview ready, and ways to dress for success. The ‘Culture’ category gave the chance to spotlight the diversity of UWG’s student body. Countries like Ireland, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and France were all proudly showcased on the runway by the students who represented them. The ‘Glam’ and ‘Night Out’ sections were full of formal dresses and suits as the models showed their best date night outfit.
Before the student designs took the runway a vocal showcase by one of the models, Aricca White, was performed only adding onto the artistry and talent that was being shown.
The four student owned brands De’Fin Yourself by Ja’lyn Reese, Unique Folks Only by JJ Smith, Blessed Brand by Eric Jackson and Amori Angels by D’Angelo Hughes took the runway showing off their innovative and passionate ideas.
The clothing showed off each designer’s personality and values such as Smith’s Christian influenced designs, or Reese’s idea of innovative clothing you can use.
The event went smoothly and according to plan, but as with anything there were a few difficulties in the time leading up to it.
“We had a lot of time, but near the end it got a little crunched a little cranky everywhere. But you know, it’s show-biz and we still pulled it off,” said Bearden.
Bearden wasn’t the only one who was pleased with the end result. Friends and family of the designers and models were cheering all night long, taking photos and videos of their loved ones on the runway. Multiple people even brought flowers to congratulate the models and designers on their hard work.
Bearden, along with many other students in the event, used this opportunity to build experience for her future career goals.
“In the future, I do plan on having my own business, it’s going to be event planning, specifically for weddings. So D’Angelo thought it would be a good idea for me to come in and put this event on with him,” said Bearden.
D’Angelo Hughes, the other host of the event has filled the role of designer, model and host for the last three fashion shows that have taken place. His passion for fashion and student involvement is what has driven this event and kept it going.
With Hughes now being a senior the community can’t help but wonder if this is an event that will continue without him next year.
“This is supposedly the last show. But D’Angelo is hoping to get on a certain board for the school. If he can get on that board, we’ll hopefully have some more in the future,” Bearden said.