by Louise Solomita

The clothes were chic, the models were cool and confident, and the crowd loved it. The third annual CASA Cares fashion show, which took place at a packed Club Soda on March 27, was the successful result of months of hard work and dedication from Concordia students.

CASA Cares, an association for students of the John Molson School of Business, organizes several charitable activities throughout the academic year. Proceeds from this fashion show will go to World Vision, an international relief and development fund that focuses on overcoming poverty.

“Our goal was to sponsor two children for two years, and I’m sure we’ll be able to do it,” said CASA Cares president Erika Maddoo. She is proud of what her committee accomplished over the last months, and especially pleased with the success of the fashion show, their final and biggest event of the year. “For a bunch of amateurs, it was a pretty good show!” she said.

The choreography and the models, however, surpassed amateur. Tanned, coiffed and reh-earsed, the models definitely did justice to the clothes they presented to the cheering crowd.

Each scene had its own distinct feel. Students belly-danced during their display of the Kar’ma collection, and line-danced in hipster pants and cowboy hats to Madonna’s Don’t Tell Me single for the Space FB collection. The men visibly enjoyed flaunting various stylish suits and tuxedos. Among the 18 sponsors featured in the show were Jacob, Miss Sixty, Morgan and Style Xchange.

The audience, a mix of family, friends and sponsors, was enthusiastic throughout. The lingerie portion of the show, featuring a collection from Fabri Intima, drew the loudest response from the crowd, although male cheers were distinctly dominant.

“It was well put together and it’s great to see students come together for such a good cause,” said Peter Schiefke, who went to the show to support his fellow Concordia students.

At the end of the final scene, Maddoo addressed the audience and the sponsors. “Thank you for your support,” she said, “We’ll be making a nice donation to the World Vision charity.” She also thanked the other members of the CASA Cares executive committee for their hard work.

After the show, the mood among the models and organizers was relieved and festive. “It was so much fun,” said model Karina Shalaby, while gathering her things in the hot, crowded dressing room. A student of history and political science, she said that participating in the show allowed her to meet students from other departments.

“The bottom line is that we did this to raise money for World Vision,” said Frankie Santelli, another model. “We practiced for months, and I think the choreography went really well.” His favorite part of the show was wearing the tuxedos sponsored by Waxman. “I’m a big fan of formal wear,” he said with a smile.

For executives of CASA Cares, the year was difficult but rewarding. Maddoo said that they worked diligently to raise funds for events; they oversame several obstacles, but learned a lot. “We’ve come a long way from last year.”

Valerie Alfonso, a CASA Cares executive committee member in charge of corporate relations, said what they learned from their mistakes this year will serve as useful tips for next year’s executive committee.