At Conn, People of Color Alliance builds confidence through fashion show
New London ― As Connecticut College models walked two at a time to the vibes of Beyonce, Azealia Banks and Cookiee Kawaii in one of their rehearsals, runway manager Xenia Bernal flitted between the column of chairs serving as a runway divider and the back of the room, intermittently calling out “Oh my gosh!” in excitement.
Sophomore Thao Nguyen, an international student from Vietnam, stepped off the runway in her floor-length áo dài, a traditional dress. Students there wear a white dress, and this one was her mother’s in high school. Nguyen’s father altered it for her to wear.
She was inspired to model after going to see a friend participate in POCA’s inaugural fashion show last year. POCA stands for People of Color Alliance, a student organization formed in the 2020-21 school year.
From the more than 35 models to stylists to stage crew, students have spent many hours rehearsing for this year’s show, to be held Saturday at the College Center at Crozier-Williams in the 1962 Room. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the show begins at 7:30 and there is a post-show reception at 9:30.
“The show this year comes at a critical juncture after everything that’s happened in the past four weeks,” said Lyndon Inglis, POCA founder and vice president and fashion show co-director. College President Katherine Bergeron said two weeks ago she plans to resign at the end of the spring semester, following weeks of protests in which Black students played a critical role.
The theme this year is The Blueprint, with the description: “Through all cultural elements of music, art, politics, literature, food, and so forth, our communities have set a standard for what is and what isn’t. Through this year’s show, our goal is to bring this understanding to the forefront of our college community’s minds.”
The fashion models wear is either their own clothing, sourced for the event, or designed by another student. Backstage at the penultimate rehearsal Wednesday evening, Leron Dugan and other stylists helped the models get runway ready.
“I get to experiment in a way I haven’t gotten to before as a creative student,” said Dugan, a junior media and cultural studies major. He is drawn to the intersection of formalwear and streetwear, influences that respectively come from his mother and father.
He suggested one student swap out a jacket, to provide a somewhat unexpected contrast to a more bohemian look, and pondered the addition of a sweater to another model’s dress.
Claudia Marmelo walked into the backstage area wearing a white-and-red Cuban outfit made from pieces she found individually on Amazon, recreated from a photo from her maternal uncle, who used to lead tours to Cuba.
Marmelo’s father is Portuguese, and she studied abroad in Portugal the fall of her junior year, but she thought the fashion show would be a good way to get to know her mother’s side. Her grandparents left Cuba a year after the end of the Cuban Revolution to start a new life, with Marmelo’s then-5-month-old aunt in tow.
Now a senior, Marmelo works as a Housefellow ― like a resident assistant ― and Inglis is a Floor Governor. Knowing him as someone who is “very organized and on top of things,” she knew that if he was planning a fashion show, it would be a success.
“Modeling is a good way to build self-esteem and it was something I was afraid to do at first,” she said.
This was a common theme among students, many of whom never modeled before. Junior Stephane Hernandez ― who would be wearing bedazzled pants and cowboy boots to represent her native Texas ― said POCA has been a comfortable group for her, especially with a lot of fellow first-generation college students.
Freshman Iman Shaikh called the fashion show “such a confidence booster” and remarked on how nice everyone has been. Growing up in Connecticut, Shaikh felt she never had the chance to wear the clothes and embrace the culture of her Indian heritage.
Shaikh was wearing a shalwar kameez, a combination dress worn in parts of south and central Asia. She got the dress for the Muslim holiday of Eid.
Bringing people together
Connecticut College has multiple other affinity groups centered on culture and identity, including the Black Student Union, Men of Color Alliance, Asian and Asian American Students in Action, and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán.
But Bernal and Inglis said they saw a need for a multicultural organization, a club that would encompass different groups and bridge the gap. According to The College Board, Conn College is 67{a0ae49ae04129c4068d784f4a35ae39a7b56de88307d03cceed9a41caec42547} white, making it what’s called a PWI ― predominantly white institution.
“We created POCA out of necessity,” Bernal said, noting that while they understood the strict COVID-19 precautions, “it was really isolating” and difficult to connect with students of color.
Inglis said college centers such as the Center for the Critical Study of Race and Ethnicity do talks and panels very well, and so in forming POCA in late 2020, he wanted to do something different. Some of the smaller events POCA has hosted include game nights and speakeasies.
In 2021, POCA held a celebration called Taking Up Space, which morphed into a bigger event: a fashion show.
Last year’s theme was The Beauty in Culture, and Inglis said more than 250 people attended. He said POCA raised $2,500 for the show last year but $9,200 this year, getting money through the offices of the Dean of the Faculty, Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, and Africana Studies Department. He also noted that last year’s show made it easier to find students this year.
Another push for growth is to get the show to be not just a Connecticut College thing but a New London thing, and Inglis said he wants to see next year if POCA can bring in New London High School students. Students can RSVP to this year’s show through ConnQuest, and Inglis said outside community members wanting to reserve a ticket can email him at [email protected].
Freshman Jacob Marrero said he learned about the fashion show while applying to Conn, while fellow freshman and Chicago native Aaron McKissack became aware of POCA through the Men of Color Alliance. Both are models in the fashion show, with McKissack wearing streetwear ― “because that’s what I wear anyway” ― and Marrero pushing gender norms with his outfits.
Asked about what the fashion show brings to participants and attendees, Marrero said he thinks of it “as a little bit of a celebration, and with everything that has been going on on campus, it’s kind of like our triumph.”