Spencer Thomas | editor-in-chief

The Duquesne Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) hosted its annual fashion show on Wednesday evening, offering students the chance to dress up and bust it down.

The Student Union Ballroom was all dressed up, with lights, a DJ and chairs arranged into a makeshift runway, with a mini red carpet and photo booth at the end. Three models rotated through sets of outfits before audience members were invited to take a walk at the end of the performance.

One of the best moments of the event came when model Johann Cantellops and audience member Ryan Graves walked out in matching construction jackets that were called “exactly what you’d want to wear walking on Fifth Avenue.” Then they dramatically ditched the jackets to reveal dresses, walked the runway and posed back-to-back, “Lethal Weapon” style.

Cantellops was the most flamboyant performer of the group. In his solo runs, he jumped down the stairs and wowed the audience with a death drop on stage.

GSA President Nialah Miller says that the event, which has a tumultuous history with the Duquesne administration, is important to the organization and the campus community.

“Historically it’s been a gender-neutral fashion show, just highlighting the fact that clothes don’t have a specific gender,” Miller said. “We don’t specifically say ‘gender-neutral fashion show,’ but it’s kind of implied.”

In 2019, the gender-neutral fashion show garnered pushback from the university administration over the term “gender-neutral,” as reported by The Duke at the time. Following local media attention, the university walked back its stance and the subsequent show was attended by nearly 400 people. The fashion show returned again last academic year.

To gather an inventory before the event, members traveled to thrift stores and stocked up on a wide variety of outfits. They had a stylist backstage, and models had the creative freedom to choose their own runway looks. They could take home any clothes they liked, and Miller says they will donate the rest back to secondhand stores like The Closet in Bellevue.

Thomas Bradley, who is on the organization’s executive board, was the event’s emcee, vividly and exuberantly describing each model’s catwalk. It was his first time in that sort of role, but he drew upon his experience watching the TV shows “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Pose.”

“Being able to just come out here, act a fool and not worry about if derogatory things will be said to you, or if you know you’ll get stares,” Bradley said, “it’s just something nice that everybody should be able to enjoy.”

The fashion show was an intimate event, as only a handful of attendees were non-members, but they were brought to their feet by a particularly involved Bradley, unafraid to call the audience out. Some models paused their walk to break into a dance or get viewers on their feet and clapping to the music.

Among the audience was Senior Vice President for Student Life Leanna Fenneberg. She was called out by name, introduced by Bradley as the “best administrator we have.” Her runway walk featured a bright pink jacket and a matching cowboy hat. The jovial event operated under the theme: “En Vogue: Decades, Icons, Legends.”

“It’s mostly just bringing entertainment to campus,” Miller said. “It’s always a joy, a blast.”

Outfits ranged from elegant to casual. Some models went with “Scooby-Doo” inspired fits, while others hid their threads under long coats, setting up a dramatic on-stage reveal. Some outfits were casual enough to wear to class. Others included boas, comically large sunglasses, and leather pants.

“Everybody just go find whatever you’re comfortable wearing and then wear it,” Miller said. “Self-expression is the main point of why we do this.”

Alyssa Broome-Webster isn’t a member of the GSA but decided to try her hand as a model anyway.

“I just thought it would be fun,” she said. “It’s my senior year, so I’m just trying to do as much as I can before I graduate.”

She offered her best advice for aspiring runway models: “Just have fun.”

Spencer Thomas can be reached at thomass15@duq.edu.