By Michaela Bishop
Northeast News
June 24, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The Northeast enjoys its many diversities and cultures.

So to celebrate World Refugee Day, the Independence Avenue Community Improvement District [CID] invited its many diverse residents to model clothing from their native country. The International Marketplace Fashion Show was held last Saturday, June 20, at the Kansas City Museum.

The purpose of the fashion show was to show the different cultures living in the Northeast. Carl Markus Jr., an ambassador for the Independence Avenue CID, said they want to express that the Northeast is also their community.

“We want everyone to come together,” Markus said.

Countries showcased in the fashion show included: Bhutan, Burundi, South Sudan, Niberia, Kenya, and Mexico. All models designed their own outfits in a way that would represent their origins.

“We didn’t give them any guidance, we didn’t tell them any restrictions or anything like that,” Markus said. “These are their representation of how they wanted to represent their country.”

Corrine Wilson, an intern for the CID, and the planning committee have taken the past month to plan the event. Wilson said the Kansas City Museum was selected because although it’s under construction, it’ll continue to bring people to the Northeast, where they’ll be able to see the beauty of the community’s diversity firsthand.

“We didn’t want to exclude anyone,” Markus said. “So we sent out a blurb and invited anyone in the community who wanted to participate. We even contacted the churches and things like that because this is their community.”

Margret Mjuguna, one of the models representing her homeland of Kenya, mentioned the fashion show was a lovely experience.

“I love it,” Mjuguna said. “America has a lot of people in it so it’s nice to be able to appreciate other people.”

Mia Zambrano, another model from Mexico, was accompanied by her little brother Isaac and little sister Sophie during the show. Zambrano said the best part of the show for her was being able to wear her dress and walk down the steps.

“Hands down I was so proud of them stepping forward to represent their countries and represent their spirit in our community,” Markus said. “They took ownership and became part of our community.”

Not only were the organizers excited for the fashion show, but also the models themselves.

“They were so excited to be a part of it as well,” Wilson said. “I think they did a beautiful job in representing where they are from and their origins and just being able to show the beauty of it.”

Originally the fashion show was to take place on the lawn of the museum. However, do to the extreme heat, it was moved to inside the museum. Markus said the community’s involvement was another key factor to the show’s success.

“I think as a team, as the community coming all together, I think we pulled off our first [fashion show] and I think it went extremely well,” Markus said.