Serving Looks & Meaning: Howard’s Homecoming Fashion Show Demands Exposure

With over a century of homecoming celebrations under their belt, Howard University held its annual Student Fashion Show Thursday night, Oct. 23. Cramton Auditorium welcomed students, staff, and alumni as the fall chill whistled through the gates and conversation steamed with curiosity about what the showcase would offer.

Rows filled quickly and the crowd scanned the brickwall decorated stage that emphasized three words— “Control,” “Hysteria,” and “Samsara.” Webster Dictionary defines these words as:

Control 

“To have power over.”

Hysteria 

“Behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excess.”

Samsara

“The indefinitely repeated cycles of birth, misery, and death caused by karma.”

These themes highlighted the structure of the showcase which seemed to convey a statement with patterns of camo and “Make Hoes Mad Again” hats. It truly made the crowd playfully wonder, “Are they serving or serving?”

The front rows of the auditorium sat characters from Howard’s Royal Court to actor and alumnus Lance Gross. There were other reputable alumni present near the stage who walked in the show in 1998 as students and finally returned to the Mecca for the showcase.

Alumna Natasha Williams of ‘98 serves off the runway as the budget director of Howard’s College of Medicine, and believes being back in that capacity is a testament to the university’s community pride.

“One of one shows unity,” Natasha said. “Even though there are many of us, we’re one of one. Tonight invokes imagination and creativity—and there is also unity and focus in everyone being here.”

Natasha’s husband, Roddy Williams, who graduated in ‘98 and got a chance to experience the “Howard Love Story”, was also present that night. With sights on the Greek Stepshow the next night because he wanted to support his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, Incorporated,  Roddy came out to the fashion showcase to see the looks and support the students.

“I think in the culture that we’re in right now, it’s very encouraging just to be around our people,” Roddy said. “It’s important to encourage each other as we’re going through a tough time here in our country.”

The style choices for the night were unique, eco-friendly, and repping Howard pride by utilizing many items that students can purchase from the bookstore if they wanted to recreate any of the looks. From stacked skirts to leggings worn with heels making a comeback, you can tell the directors put a lot of thought into the message and designs they wanted to hit the runway. 

Despite a bit of confusion about a hammer and walkie talkie being passed around by the models—and the DJ having some technical difficulties—the show was received with nothing but hype from the audience. 

“Yass girl!”

I heard plenty of positive commentary behind me and had to turn around to hear who this loud and cheerful voice belonged to. I didn’t expect it to be a freshman. With roughly three months on campus, Karen Arvelo was indulging in her first ever Howard Homecoming and came to the show to support her friend who was a senior and a model in the showcase. Just like her voice battling the volume of the music (and winning) in the crowd, she believes the theme of this year’s homecoming makes Howard’s like no other in terms of individuality.

“One-of-one means there’s nobody else in the world like you,” Karen said. “It doesn’t matter how hard anyone tries to be like you, there will never be another you.”

The night ended with the tossing of a white flag from the last model and James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” played as she exited leaving a slight aura of both confusion and understanding from the audience—and me as well. Women continue to fight and rise to positions of power, and for Howard students, those women are alumnae Kamala Harris, Taraji P. Henson, Phylicia Rashad, and Zora Neale Hurston, to name a few. 

An ongoing and rigorous fight is almost routine for Black women, and for the show to intertwine songs like James Brown’s and “Human” by Sevdaliza made the show seem like it was pushing on those barriers to tell its story through “Control,” “Hysteria,” and “Samsara.” If this was the case, that’s powerful.

• college
• fashion
• homecoming
• howard