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On Friday, Oct. 6, the Student Government’s Department of Diversity and Inclusion: Race and Ethnicity hosted a Multicultural Fashion Show in Washington Hall in partnership with various cultural clubs on campus.

Student clubs including RitmoND, Dance Africa, ASCEND K-pop Dance Club, Africana Studies Club, Chinese Cultural Society and other student organizations such as the South Asian Student Association, the Caribbean Student Association and the African Student Association participated and displayed their clothing in the show.

Although the event was labeled a fashion show, multiple groups chose to perform in their cultural clothing. The Chinese Cultural Society, for example, wore “qipao,” also known as “cheongsam,” which is a women’s gown, while one of the society members played a “pipa.” The pipa is a traditional Chinese instrument sometimes referred to as the “Chinese lute” because of its shape and how it is played.

Other groups opted to walk with music playing in the background to showcase their culture.

Director of the Department of Diversity and Inclusion: Race and Ethnicity Luzolo Matundu explained the reasoning behind the fashion show: “A big theme for the year is visibility. We originally created the event as a fashion show to highlight cultural clothing, which is often visible and eye-catching, and [the department] goal was to emphasize visibility.”

The Multicultural Fashion Show was the final event of Student Government’s Cultural Relations Week, during which the department also held an interfaith prayer service, implicit bias training, panel discussions and “Embrace Your Roots Day,” which encouraged students to celebrate their heritage.