On the afternoon of Saturday, Apr. 21, a diverse variety of student models will take to the sidewalks of downtown Ann Arbor as part of a Guerrilla Fashion Show hosted by fashion publication ROGUE and Ann Arbor-based organization Radfun.
“(The goal of the show is) to celebrate and center bodies of color, big bodies, queer bodies, trans bodies — bodies that are not often given a place within fashion — and advocate for the issues that come with those communities,” wrote Kai Mason, LSA junior and founder of ROGUE. “My favorite description of the fashion show as yet has been ‘at once a protest, a party and a celebration.’”
According to LSA senior and Radfun co-organizer Darian Razdar, onlookers should expect to see plenty of flashy costumes, along with models in self-styled outfits. Some garments will be designed specifically for the show. They should also expect the chants and noise levels characteristic of social demonstrations.
“I’m really excited because this Guerrilla Fashion Show is going to be a way of blending art and activism, and allowing people who aren’t centered in our pop culture. We’re centering them in this fashion show,” Razdar said. “We’re focused on giving marginalized people space, and the idea of a guerrilla fashion show is to command space in a way that isn’t sanctioned by institutions or by politics.”
In Mason’s eyes, the Guerrilla Fashion Show will bring a new dimension to both fashion and activism in Ann Arbor.
“It’s something I’ve never seen done before at Michigan,” she wrote, “and I’m so excited to have a chance to question the status quo, the unspoken pressures of conformity and complacency that are imposed on us in both this institution and beyond, through fashion.”
To get involved, contact Mason and Razdar at kaimason@umich.edu and drazdar@umich.edu, respectively. Students are also encouraged to visit ROGUE and Radfun’s upcoming mass meeting, which will be hosted on Wednesday, Apr. 18 in room 1405 of East Quad.