Rowan models walked the runway of Robinson Circle to showcase the clothes created by Rowan organizations and other brands on Friday night. Beauty in Distress (B.I.D.), Rowan’s fashion design organization, hosted the Pop-Up Shop event. Students who attended on Sept. 22, were able to go from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. The event had lots of co-sponsors, each with their own vending tables, information booths, and fun activities.
The event had music for students to dance the night away along with cotton candy, popcorn, and some food made by a few of the other co-sponsors. The show had lots of activities for anybody on campus walking by to witness, including board games and their fashion show.
One of the biggest takeaways from the Pop-Up Shop was how welcoming each table was and more importantly, each table was there for the full time to give any student on campus a chance to learn about their organization. BIPOC students who may feel a bit out of place were able to find sources like Rowan Chapters or African-American Fraternities and Sororities. Each of these had the same mission, to make Rowan a more welcoming institution, especially for first-year students who want to find representation on campus.
Amya Dickens, B.I.D’s vice president spoke on why they held this event.
“Not only do we do fashion shows, we do stuff for entrepreneurship, people in arts, people who just like to dress up…. I hope people are able to get out of their comfort zone and possibly come to model for the shows,” said Dickens.
She also states that this is the first show of the semester, and while it progresses, these will grow bigger in co-sponsors and take up more space, ranging from the Business to Pfleeger Hall. The goal for B.I.D. is to become bigger and reach a larger audience. In preparation for this event, models put in a lot of practice, as well as the directors and leaders who run the show.
There were three designers present at the show. Clouds and Colors is a Black-owned clothing brand focused on mental health. Bandit Officials, a unisex customized based clothing brand was also present to showcase their past custom pieces. Some of Rowan’s chapters were also present, the Love & Luxe Collegiate, an organization originally for Black women on campus, is now reaching out to other people of color (POC) who are interested.
President of Love & Luxe, Aniyah Blount explained why they were reaching out to more POC.
“We are hoping to bring more awareness and more members to our club. We want more people to come out to our events as well. Next month we’ll be focusing on breast cancer awareness by doing something every Tuesday,” Blount said.
The Collegiate has expressed its support for the fight to end breast cancer awareness and will host club meetings based on the topic. A lot of other clubs were present to discuss their purpose as well, like the Black Empowerment Leaders. Striving for innovation and creativity, this new club hopes to inspire Black students on campus. Co-President, Makenzie Telford spoke on when they were found,
“This is not a Rowan Chapter since we founded this club last spring, so it’s still pretty new.”
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