Olivia Richman, General Assignment Reporter:
Animal print, stilettos, attitude and even a blonde mullet – these are just some of the things that could have been found at the F.A.C.E. Models fashion show in the Lyman Center. It was the seventh year of the F.A.C.E. Models annual fashion show and this year’s theme was “Pandora.”
“It’s been going on since 2003,” said F.A.C.E. model Jackie Ajello. “It’s a good, long-running program.”
The success of the F.A.C.E. fashion show could amount to many different aspects of the show, from the fierce models on the runway and numerous outfits from new and upcoming designers, to the dancing and singing acts throughout the night. Either way, there was a full house and the audience was cheering and screaming out support throughout the whole show.
“Oh yeah, oh my god,” said Ajello. “It was great that everyone was losing their minds and loved us.”
With Marcus Banks, New York comedian, as the host, the show went through different choreographed modeling scenes that highlighted different young designers.
“(Banks) was funny,” said Daniel Rosa, a member of the audience. “The entertainment was great.”
One scene had a lot of animal print, while another had the girls dressed in black, with the male models shirtless. The crowd cheered for each scene throughout the performance, showing their support for each model.
“The clothes were very creative,” said Jason Thigpen, a member of the Symphonic Pulse Dance Company, which performed during intermission at the fashion show. “Some of the things I would actually wear myself. So I was asking the models where they got it from.”
Ajello also said she enjoyed the clothes.
“I liked the zebra striped one-shoulder dress I got to wear for the introduction,” she said. “I really liked it. I’m going to keep it and I don’t wear dresses that much.”
Ajello, a biology major at SCSU, became a F.A.C.E. model when her friend, a fellow F.A.C.E. model finally convinced her to try out.
“They had tryouts last semester and they taught us a lot of different walks and turns,” she said. “We did a final walk and then they called us to tell us if we made it or not. My friend convinced me to (try out) actually. It’s not something I would normally do. He did it last year and said he had a lot of fun. And it really was.”
During the practices for “Pandora,” Ajello said she got really close to her fellow models.
“We had a lot of rehearsals,” she said. “We spent a good amount of hours together and became really close. It’s weird that I won’t get to see them as much now. They’re my friends.”
Thigpen said their practicing paid off.
“Each model put in a lot of time and effort,” he said. “They had a lot of energy and they worked the runway.”
The models weren’t the only ones putting in hours practicing. SPDC did as well, according to Thigpen.
“We prepared for the show with many hours of practice and lots of extra practicing,” he said. “There was some drama but in the end it was all worth it.”
Thigpen, a media studies major at SCSU, said they danced to many different songs for their performance, including “Bump N’ Grind,” by R. Kelly, “Sex,” by Chris Brown, “Bounce,” by Timbaland, “Trading Places,” by Usher and “Down On Me,” by Jeremih.
“They were really good,” said Rosa, of SPDC’s performance. “They were humping the floor a lot.”
There were other performers as well, from the Steppin’ Up Girls’ step team and another dance team to Jarrod, who sang an original song, “Give You Love.”
Ajello said, “It was really fun and exciting (to be on stage) with all those lights and the people were going crazy. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it.”
