UGA’s Student Merchandising Association successfully put on their Annual Fashion Show this week. The theme was “Behind the Mask,” as the focus of the show was Rape Culture on College Campuses. Half of the proceeds of the show went to The Cottage, Sexual Assault Center and Children’s Advocacy Center. Despite being a student-run organization, the show looked like a professional fashion show. Most of the students in SMA are either majoring or minoring in Fashion Merchandising at UGA. The show had different committees such as Business Relations, Styling, Events and Social Media, which handled the student and business sponsorships to promoting and setting up the event to actually styling the outfits the models would wear.
Outfits
Different businesses around Athens donated clothes for the styling committee to use to create outfits for the models. Boutiques such as Fabrik, Atomic, and American Threads allowed the stylists to go and pick pieces that they felt fit the theme of the show. Here are some of the outfits!
Intermission
During Intermission the show still continued as there was a spoken word which included the reading of a moving poem about how what a girl wears does not justify being raped and boys should not rape in the first place. Sally Sheppard, the Executive Director of The Cottage in Athens, informed the guests of the show what The Cottage was and how a large portion of the victims they help are University of Georgia students, which further emphasizes the effect of rape culture on college campuses. Lastly, Mark Kirby, the Vice President of Operations at Oxford Industries and the President of Georgia Softgoods Education Foundation awarded several scholarships to many fashion merchandising students and explained the many opportunities that were available for students who major or minor in fashion merchandising at UGA.
The Statistics
For the finale, the models held up signs of various statistics regarding rape and rape on college campuses. These statistics emphasized the importance of talking about rape culture. One of the most surprising statistics was that 99% of rapists will walk free, which is an indication that rape culture is still present in America and needs to be addressed. Many people may know that there is a possibility for rape to occur on college campuses, but the statistics really put everything into perspective.
Hopefully the message of the show resonates with each guest who attended and moves them to do something to end rape culture on college campuses. Overall, the show was nicely put together and really took a stand against rape culture on college campuses! We can’t wait to see what next year’s show is like!
Photos Courtesy of Macy Williams Photography