The African Student Association will host "African Night: A Cultural Couture" on Friday for a night of cultural fashion, food and entertainment.
In collaboration with OU Afrobeatz Dance Club, African Night is the final event of the spring 2024 African Week, a weeklong series of events held by AFSA to celebrate African culture.
According to the chair of African Week, public health senior Diane Ndisebuye, African Night will center around a runway fashion show, in which 18-20 models will walk in African-inspired clothing. Ndisebuye said the clothing will feature African prints and materials and will range from traditional wear to modernized looks.
“(We are) trying to show the evolution of (African) fashion, like going from traditional to the modern twist,” Ndisebuye said.
The fashion show has been part of past African Week celebrations, though Ndisebuye explained that it has not been as central as it is this year. In previous fashion shows, models wore their own clothes. Ndisebuye said African Night is the first time AFSA will provide clothing from designers.
“Getting clothes was difficult, but we managed to get clothes from two people who we know,” Ndisebuye said. “Our clothes are from people’s personal connections.”
The event will also feature live entertainment such as dancing, singing and spoken word poetry from OU students. Food will be available, and DJs will provide music.
Ndisebuye said that while the African Night audience is typically made up of African students, she encourages everybody to attend the event to experience something new.
“I would say, put yourself out there in a different space that you’re not maybe used to,” Ndisebuye said. “We’re just excited for people to come.”
While Ndisebuye said this is her first year in AFSA, she attended her first African Night during her freshman year. She said the event has been held in different spaces since she first attended, so she is excited to see how this year’s will be different.
“Each year we try to go to make African Night better and better,” Ndisebuye said. “This year we’ll do something different again, so I hope people are also excited and wowed by the difference.”
African Night will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in the National Weather Center. Guests are encouraged to dress in elegant wear, and tickets are available online. Student IDs are required.
This story was edited by Emma Blakley. Lily Grace Battles and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
