Guests and students at the African Fashion Show – Bowdoin Orient

So Patel

On Saturday, the African Alliance organized an African fashion show with music and music from all countries on the continent. Although the fashion show is an annual tradition of the African Union, the introduction of foreign guests and actors made this year’s show a special event for both audience members and participants.

In previous years, the African Union has been alternating between its two major events, the African Wedding and the African Fashion Show. However, the team’s senior leadership has brought both events to campus following the Covid-19 cancellations for the past two years.

Normally student performers, MCs and DJs host the event, but this year Africa Alliance brought in social media influencers Eni Kash and Amarachi to engage the audience in a new way. In addition, DJ Mike Musonda from Bates Africana Club played Afrobeat songs from various countries during the fashion show.

African Union President Aminat Ibnu Youssef ’23 was the main organizer of the event and wanted to bring in guest influencers to revitalize and expand the program’s cultural programming after the pandemic.

“I’ve been following Ini Kash for years, and bringing him to campus was really special for me because I saw how much he cares about African culture and shares it on his stage,” Yusif said.

In addition to guest performances, the fashion show featured several student performances, including a poetry performance by Weatherspoon ’25, a performance by Afro-Latin dance group Intersection with guest dancer Amaranda, and a closing song by Elizabeth Matsiko ’23 Treasurer. African Union.

“I wanted to open the show with black talent on campus, and Weatherspoon is a great example of that. They are students who are involved with black innovation on campus even before they are Bowdoin students.” Yousif said.

As the leader of Intersection, Yusif was excited to be able to dance with Amarachi, whom she has followed on social media and learned from over the past few years. The energy and excitement in their performances elevated the fashion show from previous iterations, according to Yusif.

To conclude the show, all participants walked behind Matiko on stage as she sang “African Queen”, a staple song in many African cultures. Youssef said the “Queen of Africa” ​​means a lot to African families, including her own.

Participant Fatima Kunjo ’25 acknowledged the beauty and importance of ending with Matsiko’s performance.

“The whole point of the event was to know that you are beautiful and always will be, and to be proud of who you are, your culture and where you come from. I’d love to have her on stage singing that.” Kunjo said.

The show fell on Gambia’s Independence Day, which prompted Kunjo’s performance. By dancing to a Gambian song and waving the flag, she showed not only her clothes, but her identity.

“When people think of Africa, it’s often very similar. You only think of a certain image, you only think of a certain outfit,” Kunjo said. “It was good to see so many differences in African countries. Seeing how excited and proud people were to represent their country and walk on stage in their costumes made it all the more special.

Yusif and Kunjo were also excited to see the new students get involved with the African Union and share their culture with other Bowdoin students and other team members.

“I think it took some people out of their comfort zone to step out in front of an audience and show their culture, which is a lot of confidence and pride. So I’m really proud to see everyone participating, especially students who have never seen a fashion show before,” Yousif said.

For Yusif, the African Fashion Show is a place where students at Bowdoin can show their true identity and celebrate their culture with the community. She hopes that this tradition and the group will be a place where African culture is celebrated by both African and non-African students.

“Many people leave what they are used to and come into this area wearing different clothes or listening to different music, which forces you to break your culture,” Yusif said. “To be able to be truly African for those two hours in that moment was an amazing feeling, especially to be able to share it.”