UA Hosts Fashion Show Promoting Positive Body Image

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama is looking for a few good models to help promote positive body image during the Fashion Rocks and So Does My Body Fashion Show in February.

Coordinated by the Body Appreciation Week planning committee and the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness, the fashion show started in 2006 as a way to engage more students in the events of Body Appreciation Week/National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. It hasn’t been held the past three years because of construction in the Ferguson Center and implementation of some other key programs, but it is back for 2017, said Sheena Gregg, registered dietitian and assistant director of the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness.

“This show has been done during UA’s Body Appreciation Week as an upbeat program to raise awareness of eating disorders and celebrate the beauty of every body,” she said.

The show is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, in the Ferguson Center Ballroom; it is free to attend.

UA students and faculty/staff can participate in the show. All sizes, genders and ages are welcome. Participants will model their own clothing the night of the show. They will arrive 1 1/2 hours early for a prep and walk-through. The show’s first half is called “Being Comfortable in Your Jeans (Genes)” and models are asked to wear their favorite jeans and any kind of white top. The show’s second half features an outfit of choice, which can range from business suits to casual to formal wear.

As each model walks down the “runway,” the show’s emcee will read information about the models, including name, major, hometown and what they love most about themselves, whether it be a physical feature or a personality trait. The emcee will also read the model’s philosophy on what positive body image means to them and how they support positive body image among their friends.

Deadline to sign up is Wednesday, Feb. 15. Those interested can email nutrition@ua.edu or call Sheena Gregg at 205/348-0205.

“I hope that participants see this as an opportunity to promote positive body image to the UA community,” Gregg said. “I hope that this provides an atmosphere for models to share how important body positivity is. We often have people in the community that bring their children or teenagers to the event, and we believe that the models’ participation makes an incredibly impact on the audience members.”