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Working the catwalk

Bronze Elegance returns to the Union

If you can't get to Paris to see the spring lines, the shows in Milan don't fit into your travel plans, and you can't afford that jet to New York for fashion week, you're in luck this weekend.

The Alice Lloyd Hall minority council, Minority Youth Striving to Incorporate Cohesiveness (MYSTIC), is about to show you the fashionable time of your life -- and then some. Taking to the runway for another year, MYSTIC is presenting its annual Bronze Elegance Fashion Show this Saturday night at the Michigan Union.

Returning to coordinate the show again this year is Mark Broomfield, the man who made last year's presentation any fashion diva's dream and a half. Joining him will be 35 new models to spice up the stage and the ordinary togs that for one night are transformed into the extraordinary costumes of a very elaborate celebration.

"This year's show is going to display the great organizational skills of students of color in Alice Lloyd, and how they can all work together to create a professional fashion show," said DeJuan Woods, the Minority Peer Adviser for Alice Lloyd and for the fashion show.

This year's show has an extremely diverse backing, getting funding from organizations all over campus and throughout University Housing. It has the support -- through walking the runway and running the show -- from both undergraduate and graduate students.

"I'm pleased that we could get both grad and undergrad students to work together for this effort. It was a great learning experience on both ends," Woods said.

The show is set for its first run in front of eager Alice Lloyd residents who have been witnessing many of the dress rehearsals all semester long, not to mention the fashion show fans across campus who patronize the show year after year. The energy is high and everyone involved seems ready to burst out onto the stage Saturday night.

"I look forward to this being the culmination of a lot of hard work this year to put together a professional show that still has a youthful spirit," Woods said.

So gather all your fashion-impaired friends, put on your Saturday best, and get thee to this show -- not to mention the ultra-cool after-party.

But as MYSTIC has proven year after year, Bronze Elegance is bigger than any old party. It is much more than a parade of fancy frocks and lively livery: It's a celebration of unity. And this is one extraordinary alliance of fashion and diversity you'll never see on any Paris catwalk.