Minerva models own the runway

   Project Inspire’s second Annual Minerva Fashion Show was a success last Thursday night at the SEFCU Arena, justifying a semester’s worth of work for the members to give back to the community while sustaining the group’s mission to generate confidence and diversity amongst its members.

   This year’s show was similar to the first annual Minerva Fashion Show in the announcing of Miss Minerva, the winner of “Albany’s Next Top Royalty,” a show featured on Albany Student Television last semester, but different in respect to the cause. All proceeds from the event were divided amongst the Haitian Student Relief Fund, the University at Albany’s Emergency Relief Fund and the American Cancer Society.

   The seats surrounding the catwalk were filled with students sporting the hottest spring fashions and looking to cheer on their friends who were modeling in the show.

   According to Project Inspire Vice President Katrina Cheung, the event housed nearly 500 patrons last year and although the staging was scaled down this year, they had no problem filling 700 seats.

   The show commenced with a performance of the National Anthem by the all-male a capella group, the Earth Tones.

   The three finalists from last semester’s mock “America’s Next Top Model” walked the runway and the suspense was relieved when the winner, sophomore Alexandra Munoz was announced.

   “I wasn’t expecting to win,”  Munoz said, “but I do consider myself like Minerva because I’m always in the library!”

   The fashion show was kicked off with Some Girls, an edgy, yet sexy line characterized by feminine fits and eye-popping pieces like leopard sunglasses, heeled gladiator sandals and hot pink leggings. The models walked out in a range of casual wear to nightlife attire all donning long, sleek hair.

   The second fashion line of the night, American Apparel, featured male and female models rotating a series of spring pieces such as seersucker shorts, lace blouses, and light-weight button-ups to the line’s signature pieces like jersey skirts, spandex mini dresses, and form-fitting tees. The line also featured fresh, trendy pieces like bright-colored head wraps and a seductive, hooded cloak.

   Phenomenal Voices, a powerful trio, offered the crowd their message in a series of speeches and songs.

   The next line, Fashions by Natalie, featured a swim line of sexy, high-cut bikini bottoms and atypical one-pieces, as well as day and night outfits accented with mini zippers and shiny jackets.

   The female dance group, Under Construction, broke the attention from the catwalk to the main floor where they performed a hot hip-hop routine.

   The second half of the show featured lines from Rocket Science, a combination of retro and geek-inspired apparel and Edwin D’Angelo, which featured dressy menswear like fitted spring jackets and unique cocktail dresses for women.

   There was a noticeable excitement from the crowd during the walks of one model, Darcy Rive, a foreign exchange student who said the meaning of this show for him was “being inspired to do something you wouldn’t ordinarily do and stepping out of your comfort zone, while experiencing a bonding session.”   

   Project Inspire was founded by UAlbany alum Giovanni Ian Cox just last year and this project, as well as his creation of the Minerva Fashion Show will be a part of his graduate dissertation at Sage College.
 

  “Even today, the campus seems to be segregated,” Cox said. “For one night, I found a way to bring so many cultures together.”