Members of the Asian-American Student Association traded in their tennis shoes for high heels to walk down the runway last night.
The organization held its annual fashion show in L.A. Pittenger Student Center Monday night as a part of Asian-American Week.
Models strutted down the catwalk in casual wear, urban clothes, business attire, "clubbing" outfits and harajuku, or Japanese style, clothes. They wore everything from a business suit to a T-shirt that said "Be Sure to Wear Yo Underwear."
Tiffany Washington, AASA adviser, said this year was the best fashion show they had put on since she had been at Ball State University.
"They were very strategic in their planning, and they put in a lot of time and effort," she said. "They've been planning this all semester, and for them to do this the last week of classes is fantastic."
Washington said AASA has the fashion show every year because fashion is a huge part of Asian culture.
"Most people think New York or somewhere like that is the fashion capital of the world," she said. "But fashion is a huge part of Asian culture and it's a part of who they are as Asian-Americans."
Most of the models were members of AASA and their friends, and most of their clothes came from their own closets, Washington said.
Junior telecommunications major Sarah Mendenhall said she was surprised by the normalcy of the outfits.
"I was expecting out-there outfits," she said. "I was expecting something like what Lady Gaga would wear."
Dancers, singers, a yo-yo champion and Ball State's Judo Club entertained the audience during transitions from each clothing category.
Junior telecommunications major Caitlin Walbert said she learned about judo after the club demonstrated some moves and how to fall down correctly.
"I didn't know anything about judo before tonight," she said. "I now know that I don't know how to fall down."
Mendenhall said the demonstration had entertainment value as well as personal value.
"It was good entertainment, especially with the cultural aspects of judo," she said. "I've been wanting to take self-defense classes, and this made me decide that I really want to do it."
Washington said the AASA chose the entertainment as part of its strategic planning.
"They wanted to incorporate different facets from pop culture," she said.
Washington said she was happy to see a diverse audience of about 150 people.
"We had international students, Asians, Latinos, a very diverse audience," she said. "It was beautiful to see."
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