Where fashion and culture come together in celebration

Cultural Fashion Show at New West

By Tania Arora, Staff Reporter

Douglas College’s hallways turned into runways on November 8.

As part of its Global Engagement Days, Douglas College organized the Cultural Fashion Show at the New Westminster Campus. The event witnessed a huge crowd who came to discover fashion found around the world while taking a seat on the Concourse stairs. The participants were from various different countries and dressed their best in their traditional clothes.

Harnoor Kaur Abrol, an enthusiastic audience member at the fashion show, said in an interview with the Other Press that she really enjoyed the events last week.

“Global Engagement Days are a great effort put up by Douglas College enthusiasts,” she said. “As a part of the ‘Cultural Celebrations’, I was looking forward to attend[ing] the fashion show and musical night. The event was organized in a diligent manner and the volunteers made sure that the audience had a comfortable time. They were really interactive. Douglas College has an array of international students, which was displayed beautifully throughout the event.”

Komalpreet Kaur, an international student pursuing a Post-Degree Diploma in Accounting at Douglas College, wore a traditional Indian dress called Salwar Kameez. In an interview with the Other Press, she said that the fashion show allowed her to show off some of her culture at the college.

“This is my first semester at college,” said Kaur. “I got really excited […] getting to know about the show.”

She said she has barely had the chance to wear her traditional clothes since starting school here and is glad for the opportunity.

“I finally got a chance to wear, walk, and show people how Indians dress,” she said.

As a part of the event, Rwandan artist Ezra Kwizera gave a musical performance. The melodious musical notes swayed the audience. Kwizera played music from international artists, music producers, and community leaders, playing a mix of different styles of African music.

Abrol said that she didn’t realize how many people from different backgrounds went to school at Douglas.

“I’d never imagined to see such diversity and was amazed to figure out that such varied cultures existed in our college,” she said. “Students from various nationalities, particularly dressed up in their native attires, were a delight to watch! The show was followed by a musical performance by Ezra Kwizera. The global artist introduced his home country Rwanda and sung melodious East African genre songs. It was something new and different for me—and to experience that, I didn’t have to fly to Africa.”

The day concluded with a film series, The Intouchables. The French comedy drama was directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano and stars François Cluzet and Omar Sy.

Fashion isn’t just a popular style in either clothing, footwear, or accessories—it is a means of expressing yourself or sending a message. As the Cultural Fashion Show demonstrated, it can also be a way to bring people, cultures, and countries together.