On Sunday, November 13, I, along with two other Sahuaro students, participated in the Arizona Fashion Convention and Beauty Expo. This was basically a fashion show where designers could come and display their clothing to an audience of around 50 people.

I got involved with this event when my friend asked me if I could model, as there weren’t enough for all of the clothes. Brooke Stewart, sophomore, has been modeling for around two years. It began when her mother found a Facebook group for local modeling gigs, called “Tucson Models and Actors,” and signed her up for a Valentine’s Day shoot. They went to a park to take pictures for the photographer’s portfolio, though the images were centered around the look rather than the clothes. After that, she started to do a bunch of gigs for a guy named Arturo Valenzuela, who hooked her up with the event. “Modeling is scary at first, but once you get out on the runway, it’s exciting and makes you want to continue.”

Two weeks before this specific event, Brooke did a photoshoot for the flyer with sophomore Alexandria Thwaits. Over the past year, she has participated in three gigs, getting involved after Brooke asked if she would be willing. Alex says that “modeling really makes you step out of your comfort zone.”

The idea behind the Arizona Fashion Convention & Beauty Expo was to promote the featured designers. When we arrived at the Hotel Tucson City Center, we were met with no instructions on what to do or where to go, so we decided to practice walking the runway. The model is supposed to keep their head up and shoulders back, looking straight ahead without smiling, and moving their hips, walking one foot in front of the other. This was already a decent amount for me to keep straight, and I had to face the challenge in a pair of four-inch stiletto boots.

One of the biggest problems that we faced is that many of the designers and makeup artists only spoke Spanish. The first designer, Mirey Mosz, was a prime example of this. She called us over and began draping clothing items over us and asking us questions that we didn’t understand. Sometimes we had a translator with us, but most of our time was spent miming out answers until we could find a common ground.

Another issue for me personally was that Leyda Herring, a Puerto Rican fashion designer, was initially going to have me in a blue dress that was adjusted for a model that had very different proportions from me. Instead, I was put in a sequined black top and flowy blue pants.

The first event of the night was announcing the winners of a beauty pageant, which was followed by all of the boys modeling their clothes. Then came Mirey Mosz.

I was told last minute that I would have to wear two outfits; the problem was that the second one had a shirt with a button loop in the back that was incredibly tiny and difficult to find. We began the show, and I went down the runway the first time without any issues. However, I then had to real quick get out of my clothing and into the next outfit with only two models in between, giving me about a minute to change. I got the skirt on without any problems, but the waiting room was dark and it was impossible to find the loop. Brooke and I began shouting frantically at each other as the model before me began walking back into the room, but you know what I did? I walked out with that shirt unbuttoned.

And I made it work.

The next shows went by just fine. Leyda’s clothes were supposed to represent the sun rising and setting based on colors, and I was part of the sunset. After that came the main event, Lidia Dominguez. I did not personally model any of her clothing, but they were all magnificent. She seemed to specialize in Quinceañera dresses, but she had a few slim-fitting dresses as well.

Overall, I had a very fun experience modeling, though it was incredibly hectic at times.

The highlight of my night was taking off my shoes.