(Jalynn Kirabo / Fourth Estate)

Humanitarian fashion organization collaborates with Breakfamous and the Black Mambas for a showcase of fashion, music and dance

BY BASIL MUSTAFA, STAFF WRITER

Unified Fits, a Mason-affiliated humanitarian fashion organization, rolled out the runway on the night of Feb. 20 in the Hub Ballroom.

The event, titled “Runway on Shuffle,” presented a series of themed outfits to match different genres of music, ranging from country to rock.

Unified Fits, an organization in its first year on campus, intends to use fashion to foster community and give resources to people and communities in need. 

As their first event on campus, the event began with a monologue expressing the role that music and fashion play in self-expression before transitioning into music from Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” album. The first model walked out in knee high, bright red heels with flares to match her cowgirl getup and start off the country portion of the show.

Six more models walked out one by one in country themed attire. Flashy belts, cowboy hats and full denim outfits graced the runway. Immediately after the last model of the country portion returned backstage, the crowd was prompted to break out into a line dance.

(Jalynn Kirabo / Fourth Estate)

The energy shifted as the musical stylings of Paramore, Pierce the Veil and Rob Zombie controlled the rock section. The models ruled the aesthetic, donning black clothing and metal jewelry. 

The hip-hop/R&B section followed the rock theme. A model wearing light blue corduroy pants to match his denim jacket dribbled a basketball down the runway to Travis Scott’s “Hyaena.”

Breakfamous, a Mason-affiliated break dance crew, performed during the hip-hop section. LL Cool J and Missy Elliot were in rotation during a performance that involved acrobatics and a lively crowd.

Sports played a key role in the hip-hop section. One model wore a bedazzled Ray Lewis jersey to match a tie that was wrapped around her waist like a belt. Another sported a backward Micheal Jordan jersey along with a gold chain and jean shorts.

During the pop section, a crowd member was ushered onto the runway and performed a string of Michael Jackson dance moves while the King of Pop played in the back.

The Black Mambas, a Mason dance team, was brought in and performed fast-paced afrobeat choreography. Splits, flips, Azonto and Shaku Shaku were all incorporated to energize the crowd.

(Jalynn Kirabo / Fourth Estate)

To punctuate the show, United Fits delivered a multicultural display. Haitian, Indigenous American, South Asian and Puerto Rican cultures were represented through a mix of traditional and modern clothing and music.

Jonathan Fino Vargas, the president of Unified Fits, and Lia Torres, the vice president, spoke on the motivation behind the event.

“[The event] represents us as a whole, as a culture, how we feel and what fashion means to us,” Fino Vargas said. 

“Our community is our drive,” Torres added.

Fino Vargas said that one of the challenges involved in setting up the event was “finding a team, and people who are as passionate as we are.” 

When asked about the relationship between music and fashion, Torres pointed at how each helps in the discovery of the other.

“Fashion is an outer experience of who we are as people and our music … is an inner experience for people, like ourselves, to know who we are.”