I attended the 2018 “Show Me Fashion Extravaganza” presented by Show-Me Fashion on Oct. 13. The event took place in the Windsor Auditorium at Stephens College. The event focused on the theme “Boss moves meet in the middle,” representing the strong local businesses showcased at the event. The extravaganza consisted of shopping, vendor booths and networking, followed by a fashion show showcasing local talent in fashion, make-up, hair and modeling.

Local vendors were able to set up booths to sell clothes and accessories they had made so people could shop before the show. There were not many booths, but all of the vendors still had great individual set-ups.

The models spent time getting ready before the show in a room to the side of the stage, all talking and laughing with one another. There were people of all ages preparing for the show and I was surprised at the amount of children present. One hair stylist I saw had her young children as her models and they seemed really excited to take the stage.

There were models who were helping out friends or family, as well as models who responded to the open call on Facebook who were trying to get experience. Some of the models had previous experience while others were modeling for the first time.

When the show started at 6 p.m., Chicago-based comedian Otis Mack took the stage and introduced the concept of the show. Mack engaged the crowd with his jokes before introducing Melecia Stapleton, a local singer. Mack came back on stage at 7 p.m. to present the models.

The collections showcased came from many local designers, and each one had a theme for their collection. The collections were geared toward different audiences – some collections were geared toward women and some toward children.

The show was upbeat and lively, with humorous commentary by the host and bright and fun outfits and hairstyles on the models. One could hear laughter, cheers and applause throughout a majority of the show.

The 2018 “Show Me Fashion Extravaganza” was a great way to bring publicity to the hard-working hair stylists, makeup artists, fashion designers and models of Columbia. Along with the publicity and networking aspects of the event, the fashion extravaganza seemed to be an overall fun time for those who were involved.

_Edited by Siena DeBolt | sdebolt@themaneater.com_