Black Student Union's third annual fashion show Saturday showed off the sweeter side of fashion employing the bold, eye-catching colors and styles of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
"The clothing in each scene of the show was based on a scene from the movie," said sophomore Lacee Hamilton. She added that the Willy Wonka theme was chosen in order to bring to the stage fashions that were "colorful, vibrant, and full of energy."
The show began when Willy Wonka, in a feat inspired by the film, limped onto stage, dropping his cane and falling face forward only to roll into a somersault and jump right back on his feet again. The audience was given brightly wrapped bags of candy filled with traditional Wonka treats and those lucky five who found golden tickets in their bags were welcomed onto the stage and into Wonka's whimsical fashion factory.
Each scene of the movie was re-enacted in a skit followed by the display of Wonka's clothing designs on the models. In each scene, one golden ticket winner who stole a Wonka fashion or broke the rules was carted off by a stylish green wigged oompa loompa until red-suspendered Charlie Bucket was the only one standing. The styles featured included everything from urban and formal wear to swim suits and lingerie.
"We originally started doing the fashion shows to celebrate Caribbean History Month, which is in April," said Shedia Christopher, junior and co-president of BSU. Christopher said she was pleased with the show and that "all of the models worked so hard and our Willy Wonka was exceptional; he was good enough to have been in the movie."
Sophomore Nick LaGrassa, one of the models in the fashion show, commented on the wide array of unique clothing styles displayed at the show: "Only one of the outfits I wore was mine, so I got to wear a lot of clothes I normally wouldn't pick out for myself and I don't really see a lot of outfits like that on campus."
By the end of the night, it was clear that BSU's fashion show was successful in capturing the animated, fantastical spirit of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory while flaunting unique modern fashions on the runway.