Written by: Aghna Agifta Taslim
Edited by: Saamin Azam Suha
Image: Models showcasing traditional clothes at the APU United Ambassadors (AUA) sustainable fashion show.
APU United Ambassadors (AUA) is an organization in APU with the goal of breaking barriers between domestic and international students. The team held their first in-person event this year, pursuing their motto of connect the world by showcasing various nations’ cultures from each representative’s traditional clothes.
The sustainable fashion show was held on the 27th of April, showcasing different traditional clothes from countries around the world. APU students who took on the model role strutted around millennium hall in their sustainable-transformed outfits, while two hosts explained the uniqueness of the respective traditional clothing in both Japanese and English.
Image: Two hosts explaining the procedure of answering trivia quizzes during the sustainable fashion show.
The show was quite engaging amidst the tight COVID-19 prevention rules. While the audience marveled at the creations, the hosts asked trivia questions regarding the traditional clothes to the audiences. They used color-coded multiple choice questions where the audience could only answer by showing the colors through their phone screens. Through this activity, students of APU who attended the shows were able to gain new information about other cultures’ uniqueness and how it is represented through traditional clothing.
Ayano and Kano, two members of AUA, shared that the sustainable fashion show idea emerged after discovering the amount of discarded clothes they see during their daily lives.
“Our (AUA) members responded delightfully upon the idea, even contributing in donating their used clothes for the traditional clothes material.”
For the show, they collaborated with a clothes shop named Jiggy, which later designed the traditional clothes of six different countries. These representative countries were chosen because of their simple designs which could be reconstructed using old fabrics, such as kimono from Japan and poncho from Mexico.
Ayano also mentioned that the models were selected thoroughly to bring more diversity on the stage, “We specially chose students with different nationalities from the outfit they are showcasing. For example, a Japanese student should not wear a kimono, but other nation’s traditional clothes. We want to show more diversity for the audiences.”
Before the sustainable fashion show, AUA had also organized a movie screening event, called Starlight Movie Festival. Learning from past experiences, Ayano wanted to make their event more engaging in the future.
“By holding the event, we wished the audience would learn something about other nations’ culture. During our discussion before the show, we concluded that making trivia quizzes is an excellent choice to make the show more interactive and informative.”
AUA is an organization focusing on planning events to bridge connections between domestic and international students, check out their instagram @AUA.APU for more information.
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