The Headstrong club at Cal State Long Beach will host a different fashion show today — one that focuses on more than just appearances.
Headstrong, a club that offers support against eating disorders, will host a fashion show today at 6:30 p.m. at the University Student Union to show students that modeling is not exclusive to people of a certain size.
“[The idea] is not to show fashion trends,” said Kristin Davi, a senior human resource management major, as well as president and co-founder of Headstrong. “It’s about self-esteem and self-confidence of any shape and any size. Anyone can be a model,”.
The show will consist of about 35 CSULB students, who will flaunt their own personal beauty on the runway.
“Any individual can be a model. You feel good. You feel confident. And above all,” Joebel Francisco Go, a senior marketing major and model for the event, said via e-mail, “show the world that you are just as beautiful as those individuals in magazines, billboards and movies.”
Other models said they are spreading a positive image by participating in the show.
“This is a great way to say, ‘Hey, average-sized and plus-sized is beautiful too,'” said Marylou Barayuga, a senior psychology major and model for the event. “I hope that those attending feel that same message, too.”
“Confidence through the ages” is the theme of the show, which will have scenarios showing people how to dress for different occasions in a sexy and sophisticated way, such as celebrity icons who do not look like typical actresses and actors, high school spirit days, business attire and club attire.
“Marylin Monroe was beautiful in a healthy way,” Davi said.
The idea came from Christina Fennell, a junior accounting major and club director, and Katie Gaston, a senior communications major and the vice president and co-founder of Headstrong.
Fennell said she wanted to do the show because “most fashion shows are driven by what people look like, and we’re trying to break that mode.”
She said, “We hope for people to feel better about who they are.”
The clothes for the event were from the theatre department and stores such as Out of the Closet.
The CSULB Salsa Club will perform as the opening act to the event.
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