"Goodwill Toward Others" is theme of Elmsford Fashion Show
Second hand Roses bloomed in late March in the Raiders Top Model Fashion Show at Alexander Hamilton Junior Senior High School. Young ladies and gentlemen ranging in ages from 5 - 18 modeled used clothing and paraded through the auditorium and onto the stage in celebration of Goodwill, both the attire and the feeling toward their fellow man.
It wasn't about haute couture, or designer labels. This fashion show was about giving back to the community. Students brought in cans of food for needy Elmsford families as part of their service during this fun and lighthearted evening.
Dr. Barbara Peters, Superintendent of Schools, opened the program with a quote from the Russian mathematician, Ivan Panin: "For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it." She said that Elmsford students carry true beauty in their hearts, and demonstrate that beauty to the faculty and administration in the way they treat one another and in how they perform, both academically and socially. Closing with another quote, this one by American philosophical essayist Kahil Gibran, "Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart," she said that her hope was for everyone in attendance to be constantly surrounded by beauty. She encouraged parents to celebrate their children's expressions of beauty through their artwork and other school work.
The 70-plus kindergarten-through-high school students walked the catwalk, some strutting their stuff, others showing a little more timidity in their gate. Their fashion statements included hand-me-down pajamas, active wear, career attire, 70's disco clothing, formalwear, urban wear and a hodgepodge of other collectables and finds from the Salvation Army.
There was a choreographed "Tribute to Michael Jackson," skillfully performed by the junior and senior high students. The "PJ Scene" elicited smiles and exclamations of "aw" from the audience as the smaller set from Dixson unabashedly placed hand-on-hip or curtseyed. Tony Manero would have approved of the representation of disco costumes in "70's Scene," replete with glittering mini skirts and poufy hair. Seniors Onaja Harris, William Young, and Tejan Edwards performed the rap portion of the Jay-Z tune "Run This Town," while an overdub of R&B artist Rihanna was piped through the sound system.
"So I keep doing my own thing, walking tall against the rain. Victory's within the mile, almost there don't give up now," boomed the Barbadian rap star through the PA.
For the Raiders Top Model fashionistas, it seemed the DJ was playing their song.