Photo Submitted by Infinite Appeal
Founded in 1999 by three budding fashionistas, Tiffany Rhoden, Enjolik Oree and Zuri McCants, the Infinite Appeal Modeling Organization was created to offer models and fashion designers the chance to direct and star in their own fashion show and boost their personal portfolios in the process.
The first show Infinite Appeal hosted in 1999, called “Urban Funk,” sold out the Alumni Hall theater, with over 400 people in attendance. The turnout was doubled for the “Elevation” show held the next fall, and since then, Infinite Appeal has been selling out bigger and better venues. Their Spring 2011, 2012 and 2013 fashion shows sold out the Georgia State Sports Arena with 1,500 spectators.
Nyasha Ho-Young, Public Relations Head for Infinite Appeal, attests that the club will be following their upward trend this year.
“We always try to break last years number, this year is no different. We want to knock it out,” Ho-Young said.
Ho-Young wanted to keep the theme of this year’s fashion show a suprise, but she did say that it was “quick-paced [with] a lot going on.”
Ho-Young also said that the show will be putting heavy emphasis on personality and the idea that it is something student’s struggle with, suggesting that the coming fashion show will be psychologically driven.
“[It will cover] serious issues that we don’t get to talk about a lot in our community of students,” Ho-Young said.
According to Ho-Young, the club is completely self-sufficient, drawing from talents both on the Georgia State campus and in the Atlanta community as a whole. Everything from marketing, which is headed by Malique Daniels, to makeup and styling, headed by Ashley Richardson, is planned and handled by the Infinite Appeal creative team. Even photoshoots are done by Infinite Appeal photographers.
The suspense of waiting to hear the theme only adds to the drama of the show, which will be held Sunday May 1 at 7:30 p.m.
The venue is still up in the air. The creative team behind Infinite Appeal is torn between hosting the show at the Sports Arena again or the Student Center. Ho-Young admits she is leaning more towards the Student Center. However, she said the Sports Arena allows for more lighting options for the show itself.
While the show will be free for students, there will also be VIP packages available for purchase, which will include goodie bags and specialized seating.
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Beyond the Runway: Q&A
Photo by Jade Johnson | The Signal
Ho-Young also gave The Signal a behind-the-scenes exclusive of what being part of the Infinite Appeal creative team was like outside the fashion show:
Q: What is a meeting typically like?
Ho-Young: My favorite thing about the meeting is it always starts off on a positive note. We always start with everyone saying something positive that’s happened to them since the last meeting. We all give our recaps and then hash out assignments. It’s a lot of jokes, a lot of snaps and a lot of snacks. We handle business pretty smoothly though. Adrian and Ashley, the president and vice-president, they print out agendas with outlines and everything, [all the] director’s notes. Once we hash all that stuff out, we start talking about the show and everyone gets a little excited. When we’re planning, that’s when things get a little chaotic.
Q: Do you have any specific goals this year for expanding your group?
Ho-Young: We really wanted to reach out to different groups this year and change our look this year. We changed our logo which was a big deal for us, it was really well received. Next year we’re trying to bring in a fitness class, where we can you show you how to be healthy but in a realistic way for students, because we know how it is for college students. We’ve got our classes, work, we’ve got life. It’s hard to still eat healthy and be healthy.
Q: Do you ever tackle tough stuff like EDs/self-esteem among models?
Ho-Young: For our models, when we do our walks or when we do our model workshops. We teach them how to walk, how to pose, but at the same time we teach them how to be healthy. With all of our models, we try to keep them ranged through all body types. We want to be all-inclusive. We want to show real people, real students, so we tackle a lot of issues that are talking about how to stay healthy.
Q: Do you ever host body positivity events? Is it something you’d like to do in the future?
Ho-Young: We held an event last year, “Fresh Face,” which was all about how to put on makeup, but also taking care of your skin when you aren’t wearing makeup. Yeah, you want to put your makeup on and you want to be on fleek, but at the same time you want to take that makeup off and still feel comfortable in your own skin. It’s something we like to see grow and develop into a few different events [that are] catering to different body issues not only skin.
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Infinite Appeal is always looking for new members, with signups every semester. Whether you’re serious about fashion or just in it for fun, Infinite Appeal definitely won’t cramp your style.
Membership Info:
Fees: $25 per semester (covers cost of t-shirt, headshots, and model portfolio)
Meetings: Every other Sunday at 6 p.m.*
Location: Varies
*Note: Meeting times are subject to change and are usually determined by the best time for the group as a whole.
