(Photo: Allison Upchurch)
By: Allison Upchurch, Staff Reporter
On Thursday March 29, the Violence Prevention Program put on its fourth annual Project Denim Fashion Show for Regis students in the Mountain View Room. Teams of two had been working for weeks to prepare new pieces of fashion made completely out of old denim pants and jackets to model on the tropical themed runway.
Project Denim is put on every year as part of the Denim Day campaign. This education campaign came as a result of a rape case ruling in the Italian Supreme Court in 1999 stating that the victim was wearing tight jeans so she must of helped the perpetrator take the jeans off, which implies consent.
Today, Project Denim in put on in conjunction with Denim Day “to be creative in combating the negative stereotypes on the things in our world,” the Violence Prevention Program stated at the event.
First up on the runway was the team of “Brown Sugar”, students Jaiden Johnson and Sally Andarge, as Johnson modeled a denim crop top made by crisscrossing threads of denim jeans and integrated hints of purple thread throughout the design.
Next up was the team of “Hot Sauce”, students Jackson Rodriguez and Maggie Lacy. Taking direct inspiration from Beyoncé’s “Hold Up” music video outfit, Rodriguez modeled an off the shoulder dress adorned with thick threads of denim hanging off that spread out as Jackson
turned around to model for the three judges.
The third team to go was “The D” which consisted of students Deandre Johnson and Awah Tilong. Johnson modeled a lightweight denim cardigan with a black tiled design painted on the back and adorned with stickers from the Violence Prevention Program office.
The last team to model that night was “Hot Potato”. For the first time in Project Denim history, a cat model named Potato stepped out onto the runway. Potato modeled a custom-made pair of four-legged denim jeans, and human companion Brittany Peters modeled a plain button up denim shirt and skinny denim jeans.
After the modeling concluded, the judges deliberated and chose the winners based on creativity and overall statement of their outfit. The winning team of the night was “Brown Sugar”, who embraced “full confidence and the intricacy of the outfit” judge Jalisa Williams stated. Second place went to “Hot Sauce” and third place went to “The D”. Unfortunately, “Hot Potato” did not place because Potato got stage fright and ran off the stage (also a first in Project Denim history – a “runaway model”).
This event also included dance music, a beach themed photo booth, and an ice cream bar provided by Bon Appétit.
The continuation of Denim Day events will be on April 25 at 2 p.m. with the Consent Carnival out on the Quad. To learn more information about the Violence Prevention Program, email Jalisa Williams at jwilliams011@regis.edu.