Working the runway
The Hair and Fashion Show sets the scene for models and style on campus.
By Jazmin Bailey
On a regular night, the only thing that happens in Room 132 of MSU’s Hubbard Hall is an occasional Residence Life program or a small study session. Take 90 of the most confident, beautiful girls at Michigan State, throw some heels on their feet, and the room transforms into an event worth waiting the entire year.
It’s the Alpha Phi Alpha Hair and Fashion Show Tryouts, an event that spans two days and brings out more than 100 girls who aspire to become popular faces in the MSU community after the early April show.
The Hair and Fashion Show is an annual social event put on by the Zeta Delta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. at MSU. Since its revamping in 2003, the female-only show has been going strong.
In recent years, the line of prospective models ran throughout the entire room and wrapped itself around the first floor of Hubbard Hall. However, 2010 tryouts were just a little bit different.
For 2010 Show Coordinator and MSU advertising senior, Zaneta Inpower – yes, that’s legally her name; she changed it just last month – the 90-something hopefuls that participated don’t compare to the usual hundreds of prospects, but it’s something she is happy to see.
“People we’ve never seen before came out to tryouts, and it’ll add something new to the show,” Inpower said. “Every year, the show comes out different. It just really depends on the models.”
The models are in fact the key aspect of the show. They are role models for young women, a major source of publicity for the event and most of all, the center of attention on the stage. So just what exactly does it take to become an Alpha Phi Alpha Hair and Fashion Show Model?
According to Je’Todd Smith, member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and tryout judge, you have to be engaging.
“I myself am really looking for energy when I’m judging,” Smith said. “The girls trying out need to show me who they are and what they have to offer.”
Although individual creativity is a must, there was still a method to the tryout madness. The potential models went through a series of judgments. The first was a straight walk down the makeshift runway with a twist. Each model would have to make a 360-degree spin off their oncoming human traffic. The second was a three-part walk to judge their ability to follow directions and stay in line with their walking partner. Lastly, the ladies were able to show their signature walk and let their personalities loose.
According to 2010 Show Coordinator and MSU retailing senior Artiera Cook the judging at tryouts is an objective assessment.
“We look at your talent; so your walk, your personal style, and your stage presence,” Cook said. “We’re looking for someone who can interact with the crowd because it’s a lot easier to teach the actual walking than to teach someone to have personality.”
Among other factors, working the crowd is by far the biggest piece of the yearly fashion show’s make-up. Run completely by students, models are assigned to various scenes throughout the show, most often based upon their personalities and comfort with stepping into character.
Take for instance the Catwoman scene from the 2009 show. If you didn’t see the show, picture 10-15 black women. All different complexions, shapes, and heights but all unified by one stellar trademark: their eye shape. Crawling, kneeling, lunging and clawing their way down a runway in signature creations using black lame from American Apparel, the scene really resonated with the crowd and potential models.
It is young women like MSU sophomore Shamone Johnson who says she came out to the tryouts specifically because of that scene.
“I really liked the creativity of last year’s show,” Johnson said. “I think the Catwoman scene was probably the best scene and after I saw that, I was just like I have to be a part of this.”
While the finished product may look like an easy task to complete, the people behind the scenes know it takes a lot to have a successful show. When asked what the hardest issue of the show was, Bryan Cotton, media arts and technology senior and member of Alpha Phi Alpha, had plenty to say.
All the basics were covered: from dealing with female drama, the egos of returning models, and schedule conflicts to changing up the content of the show. Hardest of all, he believes, is the struggle to blend what the coordinators want with what the fraternity can actually make happen.
“I’ve chaired the committee for the show before and, a lot of times the coordinators will say, ‘We want pillars, a red carpet and a marching band’ for a particular scene, and we have to go back to the drawing board and see how we can make it happen,” Cotton said.
With scenes from the 2009 show like the previously mentioned “Catwoman” and “Sex and the City,” which showcased Couture dresses by Michigan-based designer Henry Golden Hanger, the show’s coordinators have a lot to live up to in 2010, but they aren’t worried.
Their reason is simply because Alpha Phi Alpha is going to take care of it.
Every year the fraternity covers all the expenses of the show from the venue to the stage props to clothing worn by models and even their hair and hairstyles. Although the show brings in thousands of dollars each year, with all the expenses the ending figures are significantly lower.
When asked if it was safe to say the fraternity puts on the show more for tradition than for funds, Cotton nodded yes, but he said it’s also about a little bit more than that.
“People get really tired of going to party after party,” Cotton said. “Sometimes you want to sit down, dress up and go to a social event. Plus, it’s a fashion show, something that around here, nobody really does, so we do it.”