Even amidst a host of delays and technical problems, Alpha Phi Alpha’s Zeta Delta chapter found a way to hold its 11th-annual fashion show March 29 at the Hannah Community Center. A packed house took in nine scenes — halfway between a catwalk show and a choreographed dance routine — featuring more than 50 models, as well as a pair of guest musical performances.
The show got off to a rough beginning when the start was delayed almost an hour from its 7:06 p.m. scheduled time. Kenneth Jackson, a Zeta Delta member and host of the night’s festivities, said the delay was because of clothing and lighting issues, and nothing was seriously wrong. All in all, Jackson was pleased with the way the event went, even with the delay.
“It was pretty good,” he said. “It’s a great space, and we had an amazing show.”
Apparel and textile design senior Empress Henderson, who coordinated some of the scenes for the show, said she wasn’t pleased with the delay, but thought it didn’t detract from the overall show too much.
“There were a couple of mistakes on our side,” Henderson said. “But I thought it went pretty well.”
Jackson helped smooth over some of the delays as master of ceremonies. When a miscommunication caused Jackson to announce a performance by Acie Da Ghost in the wrong place in the program, Jackson came back after a minute of silence and cracked a few jokes to transition back to the show.
“Well, he’s a ghost, so he just performed for you,” Jackson said to the crowd. “Y’all didn’t even know.”
After the next scene had been shown and Acie was ready to go, Jackson came back and reannounced him with another joke.
“This time, Ghost is gonna perform music,” he said. “He’s not going to be a ghost this time.”
Preparation for the show starts toward the beginning of the fall semester of each year, Jackson said, but Henderson said things get serious two or three months before the show — when tryouts for models and coordinators begin. From there, the biggest problem is making sure the models are all prepared for their scenes, she said. The coordinator for each scene is responsible for everything about that scene: choreography, lighting, costumes and more.
Henderson coordinated a scene, called “Welcome to the Jungle,” which she said was her favorite of her three scenes. Her only regret with the jungle scene was the live snakes she wanted fell through at the last minute.
Kinesiology freshman Carrie Freeman came to see the show because she had a friend who was modeling in it, but said she definitely would come back in the future without any friends in it.
“It was really well put together,” she said. “I’ve been in (fashion) shows before, so it was nice to sit back and watch one.”
Freeman said her favorite scene was “Mini Me,” which featured male and female college-age models along with younger models in similar clothing.
“It was just really cute,” she said, smiling.
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