Flashing lights. A dark room. A strong aura. These were just three of the elements of the Quinnipiac Black Student Union (BSU) fashion show.

The Black Student Union brought our daily sins to life with its theme: the seven deadly sins.

Burt Kahn gymnasium was turned into a room where everyone’s darker inner being was brought to life through fashion.

The seven deadly sins–pride, greed, sloth, envy, wrath, gluttony and lust–are feelings that we go through in our everyday life. They become sins once we overindulge in them.

“In the past the fashion shows themes have been very light hearted,” BSU President Aliya Clark said. “One year we did fashion around the world, and twisted ‘Toy Story’ where they embodied their favorite characters. “

Clark wanted to not only represent but also tell a story of the seven deadly sins, along with help from Connecticut’s stylist of the year Antonio Harper. She gave Harper the control over the outfits, with a little bit of the guidance, since they wanted to keep the show edgy while still being family-oriented.

Her goal for this show was trying to find a balance between the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and the fashion shows we see during fashion week. Clark wanted the models to have fun and engage with the crowd while still keeping them focused on the clothes.

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The lights instantly dimmed and the hosts of the show, senior Zach Rich and freshman Danielle Radeke, introduced the segment, Pride.

Sophomore Saul Ellison, was one of the first models to grace the runway. He described this as the segment he felt the most connected with because he is confident, but not cocky in his skin.

Songs such as “Feelin’ Myself” by Beyonce and “Do it for the Gram” by Meek Mill symbolized the confidence a person with pride would have. As the models walked down the runway they embodied this theme with their heads held high and strong facial expressions.

The next segment was Gluttony. I was surprised when I saw the models come out on stage. Azealia Banks’ song “Fierce” immediately changed the tone of what I thought gluttony would be. When I thought gluttony I thought of greedy and an unquenchable thirst for a certain aspect of life.

As the models came out on the runway I was immediately given life as I saw the colors they wore. This sin of overindulgence was brought to life by neon colors and feathers. They added a creative aspect by giving the models candy to accentuate the theme of gluttony.

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Sophomore Lezlie McEachern said she had a strong connection with her sin, gluttony, since she likes food and always wants to do more.

“Being a behavioral neuroscience major and wanting to go to PA school, I constantly push myself and I am never satisfied, so in a sense that is also a connection with the sin,” McEachern said.

She described this process as a way for her to come out of her shell and branch off to other minorities at Quinnipiac.

“I channeled my inner diva through our constant pose off competitions,” McEachern said.

Envy is something all humans experience because we always look at what people have and want it. Sometimes when we do not get what we want, we become green with envy and try to embody what the person has in a different way.

The models were green with envy not figuratively, but literally. The females that walked in this segment threw the most shade. As the models walked past, it seemed like the audience could feel the envy consume the models. The models whipped their hair, bumped shoulders and to top it off sophomore Melanie Nyarko graced the runway with a twirl.

Sloth was a segment that could have had so much potential, but maybe it was not meant to be impressive since sloth is the worst form of lazy. The clothes in the segment were very loose fitting and flowing, embodying a sloth. The models walked at a slower pace.

“I have my lazy moments so when I found out I was modeling in the sloth segment I found it really funny and accurate,” freshman Vanessa Amankwaa said.

Although she found this segment slow paced, she was always fine with walking to the music.

“Posing dramatically definitely made me come out of my comfort zone and it was really fun. I’m glad I participated,” she said.

The Lust segment was one for the books. I have never seen this in a fashion show before. I was at first shocked by the irony of this segment. The models were dressed in all white, symbolizing innocence and purity.

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The song “Slow Motion” by Trey Songz played, and the models really embraced the words “slow motion” as they walked as if they were in a time lapse. Then they surprised the audience with a choreographed dance to “Earned It” by The Weeknd.

Senior Kyle Gallatin said he felt that he had the most connection with the Lust segment that he modeled in. For Gallatin, it was a way for him to come out of his comfort zone, especially since he was the only white model.

“Obviously I’m white, and this is the Black Student Union. [Zach Rich] was hosting and asked if I wanted to do it, and I said ‘yeah,’” Gallatin said.

Although the show was hosted by the Black Student Union, Clark said models can come from any background.

I could not help but laugh when the models came out for the Greed segment. They threw money as they walked pass with cocky attitudes. This segment was powerful; the audience could see the demanding attitudes of the models as they had a desire for more.

Their greed showed desire the crowd’s attention. Models played with their boas and tossed money around to interact with the crowd. The pieces the models wore were gold, silver and green to symbolized money.

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The Wrath segment was dark and edgy. The audience felt a strong aura through the models poses, makeup and outfits. Most models wore all black and held very stern faces as they modeled their outfits. The color black and the slow walks gave a scary, dark tone to the segment. You felt the fury and usually the anger that would stem from wrath. Anger is usually linked with the color red, but black gave this segment a new meaning.

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The models told a beautiful story of the seven deadly sins through fashion, and shocked the crowd with each segment.

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“Every year there are people who wish they were in the show, so it’s just more so of we hope to continue to increase the amount of diversity in the show,” Clark said.

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