The African Student Organization (ASO), hosted their annual Threads of the Motherland fashion show this past Saturday in the Mandela Room. This year’s fashion show, themed “A Night of Opulence,” showcased a wide range of high-fashion clothing that represented different cultural aspects of Africa through a variety of designers.

Hawa Fofana, ASO’s educational coordinator and a junior double-majoring in global public health and biology, described the inspiration behind the theme.

“The inspiration behind this year’s fashion show was to showcase the beauty of Africa, just in a different light,” Fofana said. “Our theme was opulence — we wanted to show the richness of Africa and all the beauty that our clothes come with, our culture [and] our traditions … That’s sort of something we’re trying to tap into, opulence. Our culture itself is something that should be celebrated.”

Pink flowers lined the outer portion of the stage and a red carpet gave the feel of a classic fashion show. Guests were welcome to take photos with an ASO backdrop or a 360 photo booth.

The first line of outfits fell under the category of “umbala,” which depicted a vibrant display of colors as the models wore a variety of greens, blues, yellows and pinks. The dresses — which included frilly sleeves, detailed beading and corset bodices — created beautiful silhouettes. Models wore more casual outfits as well, including floral-patterned halter tops styled with ripped jeans and sparkly heels.

Some models walked out in pairs or trios, and in those instances, they were dressed in complementing outfits. Fofana explained the wide range of stylistic choices seen through the clothing.

“We had a bunch of different designers,” she said. “Some were more urban, some [were] more traditional and all the designers incorporated both traditional and modern things … the clothes are a good [encompassment] of both sides like the new and the old of Africa, which is what we’re trying to emulate.”

The second line of outfits fell under the category of “omenala,” which means “the culture of the people.” This line included jaw-dropping pieces, including a full-length gold gown, a mermaid dress with purple and green frills along the bottom and a trio who came decked out in royal purple.

After a brief intermission and an E-Board introduction, the next clothing line centered around the idea of love versus lust. Laila Hamza, ASO’s president and a junior majoring in human development, described the reasoning behind adding this theme to the fashion show.

“We didn’t just want to do a regular, boring scene,” Hamza said. “We wanted to showcase what most college students go after — which is mostly lust.”

Outfits in this round included a duo who wore matching gold and purple looks and a trio where one model showed off glittery bell bottoms with pink and blue accents.

After this round, Hamza and Hawa took to the stage alongside two members from Malik Fraternity Inc. to present the Passion for Impact Scholarship. — a $500 award recognizing immense creativity, leadership skills and community engagement.

Hamza described the last line of looks — “ASO to the wiase.”

“We wanted to do a streetwear take on African styles,” she said. “So we used African designers, who then used their old prints and their old designs to showcase streetwear, but also [make it] classy.”

The organization’s take on this line included models dressed in black and white tracksuits wearing futuristic sunglasses, sweaters with white polos underneath that were styled with pleated skirts and one model who came out in a red ski mask, matching sweatsuit, big gold hoops and a money gun.

Fofana explained what she hoped this year’s fashion show would illustrate for attendees.

“I just hope that we put on a nice, entertaining show that [reflects the organization] and Africa as a whole,” she said. “Not the black and white picture that people sometimes try to portray, but something more exciting and extravagant.”