This year, the 19th Annual International Fashion Show takes place Jan. 29. Because of social distancing guidelines due to Covid-19, the show will go on without an in-person audience, instead being live streamed on and on . The only people in attendance will be organizers and participants.

“The show will occur just with the group of models and performers who signed up. It will be filmed in the Ballroom at the Student Activities Center and we will be using all of the space available to us in the SAC to social distance. Masks will be worn at all times as well,” said Lilah Kahloon, a junior psychology major who is chair of the Student Activities Board Diversity Committee, which organizes the event.

The show will be separated into six regions: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East.

“We have students from various cultural RSOs such as Black Student Union, African Student Union and Vietnamese Student Association to name a few,” Kahloon said.

The theme, “Revolution: It’s Not Over,” will be incorporated into every part of the show, Kahloon said, adding it emerged from a feeling that “we could not put on the show without addressing the state of the world we have been living in.”

“It seems like the demand for global change is stronger now than ever. Watching the ongoing protests for Breonna Taylor and the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole, we wanted to address the ideas of revolutions and how students, like those at UofL, can often be seen at their forefront,” she said.

The show’s poster features an image of hands holding up the Earth, a powerful symbol meant to convey that people have the power to change the world they live in, Kahloon said.

Kahloon said there will be about 65 models in the show and eight dance performances.

Because anyone around the world can watch this year’s show, UofL students have the opportunity to demonstrate to an unlimited audience “the joy they have for celebrating their culture with others,” Dean of Students Michael Mardis told WHAS11 .

The show begins airing at 7 p.m. Jan. 29. 

The 16th annual International Fashion Show, sponsored by the Student Activities Board, will be held in the Student Activities Center east courts. The theme for this year’s event is “Bloom: The Awakening of Cultures.” The show will feature more than 100 models wearing attire that represents cultures from around the world. Attire is loaned from local designers and boutiques including: Francesca’s, Peach Soul, Blush Boutique and more.

For the chair of the Student Activities Board Diversity Committee and planner of this year’s show, Joseph Holland, the event is about much more than just fashion and dance.

“This event promotes the interaction of many cultural organizations and it impacts the inclusivity on campus long after the fashion show,” Holland said. “Organizations are more likely to collaborate with each other, which leads to diverse campus leaders including each other in planning and work. We’re all able to share this common space for the night and it has impact way past that night.”

A variety of student groups will perform in the show including the Indian, African, Vietnamese and Muslim student associations, the Dazzling Cardettes, Shades of Movement and the BourGeoiSie Modeling & Fashion Troupe.

There are several new and unique features this year. University student soloists will perform original pieces. There will also be a live band and a more interactive theme that holds a special surprise for attendees.

“We wanted to capture the idea behind going through seasonal changes and after every winter there is rebirth and growth and we wanted to compare that to cultural growth and understanding and appreciating the growth of cultures,” Holland said. “This is a way to celebrate each other and what it means to be immersed in a culture other than your own.”

The event begins at 7 p.m. with food. The performances begin at 8 p.m.

Presale tickets are $5 for UofL students with university ID and $8 for the community. Tickets purchased at the door will be $7 for students and $10 for the community. Tickets are available for purchase in the student involvement office at the Student Activities Center.

for more photos from the 2017 show.