BSU celebrates Black culture and fashion trends by referencing various social movements.
The Black Student Union (BSU) kicked off Homecoming Weekend with a celebration of their 55th anniversary this past Friday. BSU’s annual Homecoming Fashion Show, which took place in The Mandela Room, featured work from various designers, along with performances from the Black Dance Repertoire (BDR), MajorNoir and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
Paris Defreitas, publications coordinator and social-cultural coordinator of BSU and a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, explains the purpose and mission of BSU’s annual event.
“While we hold events for the community to have fun, there is a message behind everything we do since the start of our organization in 1968,” Defreitas wrote. “Our theme this year, ‘The Legacy Continues,’ is to honor those before us who have made Binghamton a safe place for Black students on campus and to demonstrate we are still here today doing exactly that.”
The event called for recognition and appreciation of Black culture through decades of fashion trends sparked by Black creators and historical movements, which were organized by five separate scenes and two performances, hosted by Elizabeth Plantin and Kiya Floyd.
Peta-Gaye Williams ’98, reflected on her time as a BU student participating and attending the fashion show.
“I’m just happy to be here,” Williams said. “It’s, again, the nostalgia … I’m excited to actually see students here do what I did.”
Harkening back to BSU’s establishment in 1968, designer SSBD New York opened the show with a modern take on ’70s fashion. Models were dressed in a cross between streetwear attire and ’70s flair with the designer’s signature bomber jackets paired with styling choices, like bell-bottom jeans, flannel skirts and trousers. Scene 1: 1968 was a complex reflection of the Civil Rights movement as models posed holding up the Black Power Fist alongside their demonstrative posters in hand.
Scene two, named New York, Stand Up, covered a mixture of New York-style hip-hop and streetwear trends of the late ’90s and even 2020s. Hip-hop, rap and drill music from these years played as models with baggy jeans, balaclavas and jean skirts — staple streetwear fashion — walked and danced down the runway. Blue and purple lights complemented the cool tones of the clothes designed by Official by Sade, adding to the ambiance of the set. The models of this scene posed multiple times throughout the runway — walking either individually or in groups — and engaged with each other as they passed one another along the walkway.
These scenes were followed by a performance from BU’s very own BDR, which showcased dancers wearing ’90s inspired Black fashion trends such as white tees, light wash baggy jeans, baseball caps and head scarfs.
Rachelle Bird, president of BDR and a junior majoring in social work, expressed her goals for the show.
“BDR is still here and here to stay,” Bird wrote. “It’s sort of an unspoken tradition for us to perform at BSU’s annual Fashion Show and to be able to continue the tradition, to show out on their 55th anniversary, is a true blessing.”
Dancers started with a reference to classic ’90s dance battles and eventually jumped off stage, pulling on the energy from the crowd.
Bird remarked on the feeling before performing at the fashion show.
“A highlight of my experience preparing for the show has to be the moment right before getting on that stage,” Bird wrote. “There’s a different kind of nervous, yet exciting energy in the air coming from both the dancers and the crowd.”
The impact of the fashion show extends beyond a demonstration of artistry in the Black Binghamton community. It also serves as a means to facilitate a multilayered conversation among Black individuals, highlighting the beauty and richness of Black history through visual arts, allusion to social movements, dance and creative style.
In addition to scene four, Avant-Garde, and performances by MajorNoir and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, hosts Plantin and Floyd called an unexpected best dressed competition. Members of the audience had the opportunity to walk the runway and show off their outfits for the night.
Through this segment of the show, both current and former Binghamton students were given the opportunity to engage with the event, emphasizing the organization’s mission of continuously empowering Black students within the BU community.
Denise Matthews-Bush ’92, former member of the BSU E-Board, discussed her hopes for the event.
“I think it’s about seeing the next generation doing their thing,” Matthews-Bush said. “And this is something that’s going to shape them — we’ve [all] probably gone on to get additional degrees after leaving Binghamton, but Binghamton feels like where it started.”
The Homecoming Fashion Show came to a close with the final scene, Still Fine 55. Pride in BSU’s deep-rooted Black history was celebrated with their motto, “unity through heritage,” and upheld by the organization’s alumni.
Defreitas expressed gratitude toward the show’s success and larger impact.
“Both BSU alumni and current students have expressed how amazing our show was, and it is beautiful to see the community come together to support BSU,” DeFreitas said. “All of the proceeds go toward our Youth Program, so I’m very appreciative that people showed up to support our initiative for mentoring Black and Brown youth from the local Binghamton community.”
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