On January 26th, Junction hosted the Trent Fashion Society’s Timeless Runway Show. It was a 19+ event, where local stores had an opportunity to display their products as attendees mingled. This was a show put on to encourage the self-confidence of young adults and raise funds for the YES Shelter for Youth and Families of Peterborough. The Lovewinx’s perfume, which smells differently on everyone, was the center of attention among the local products on display. After being ushered to my seat by some men dressed as knights, I waited for the show to start.

Trent Fashion Society’s aim was to promote body positivity and sexual celebration with their show titled “Timeless: Romance Through the Decades”. It is always great to see young people embracing their uniqueness and confidently taking the stage to make a statement. Most of the designs were influenced by a mixture of the 1910s and late 17th century fashion, which was an interesting choice to display “romance through the decades”. There were male models as well as female models on the runway, which underlined the message of feminism and equality of sexes. Junction’s space was cleverly used and very aesthetically pleasing. The show started off with the host’s energetic, if slightly confusing cover of Chicago’s (the 1975 musical, not the band) song All That Jazz.

Two Trent students, Tim Hance and Henry Penyk, also performed some jazz, which added a pleasant elegance to the evening. After the YES Shelter’s speech, Reba Harrison took to the stage and performed a burlesque performance (fun fact: burlesque is a word that comes from the Italian burla, which means “prank”) where she stripped down to her panties and giggled at the audience before confidently leaving the stage. Nudity is controversial. However, it has the potential to be empowering for many. Reba’s performance was a mixture of the two.

The Body Positivity Movement is a feminist movement that encourages people to adopt more forgiving and affirming attitudes towards their bodies, with the goal of improving overall health and well-being. It has been around since the mid 1990’s. And the Timeless Runway Show presented all kinds of beautiful people on stage as a part of this. Perhaps the show made people embrace their differences. Sex positivity has been a discussion from the 1960s and onwards for many people, and with these kind of events it is great to see an effort to keep this topic on the table in our present time.

Ugyen Wangmo, a model and a member of the Trent Fashion Society, tells Arthur, “Timeless: Romance Through the Decades was one of the most successful events to date for TFS. Not only was the group able to raise hundreds of dollars for the YES Shelter, the event itself was executed flawlessly. Although I cannot take any credit for the success of the show myself, as I was not able to commit my time towards planning, I am still pleased that I was able to at least contribute as a model. Being a part of TFS is always rewarding. Not only did I get to enjoy myself, it was nice to be around passionate friends, and walk the runway for a crowd who believed in the same cause as TFS. The show was a huge success, and we couldn’t have asked for more!”

Over $800 raised before and during the show went to Peterborough’s YES Shelter. The YES Shelter helps youth and families in Peterborough lead full and positive lives by providing shelter, education and transitional supports. Harrison reflected on the event with the following words, “Our success with this show has made us even more determined to bring success and raise more funding at our main show in March! I personally saw a huge

improvement in our models and teams confidence from the fall semester! That self confidence is what I personally am most proud of.”