Inside the Nordic Lounge at the LAC campus, 50 attendees excitedly waited for the first-ever LBCC APID cultural fashion show on Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
APID is the acronym that represents Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi or Indian groups and the month of May has been dedicated as APID Month.
In particular, LBCC represents and celebrates the month with the theme of amplification through unification, which intends to unify students of color through events, clubs and meetings.
Event coordinator Alex Luong gave further insight regarding APID culture and history.
“I think that for a lot of APID cultures fashion is an essential part of our heritage. For a lot of folks we come from history of either getting our culture taken away from us, through genocide, through colonization, through oppression; celebrating our fashion is really an opportunity for us to dig into our past, which is so essential to what makes us who we are today. It’s very important to celebrate,” said Luong.
The Nordic Lounge was Southeast Asian themed with a long red carpet that ran down the middle and rows of chairs on the right and left side, designed to look like a fashion show set up. It had details of Chinese lunar paper lanterns on the sides of the aisle and pacific islander Hanalei flower necklaces that were handed out to fashion show attendees.
Amidst the chaotic atmosphere was a busy dressing room filled with LBCC students and staff who were scheduled to strut down a runway to show off their colorful, traditional clothes.
“I feel that the fashion show industry really makes a bold statement due to our cultural dresses. You know what we wear really says alot about our tradition, our culture, and our upbringing. So I feel that has a big part of who we are in this API community,” said Chelsea Reyes, an LBCC alumni and makeup artist.
The event kicked off in the late evening with event coordinator Alex Luong as well as API club members giving announcements and speeches on what it means to be a part of APID as LBCC students.
The opening performance was a Vietnamese-inspired piano piece reminiscent of bittersweet nostalgia which left audience members entranced by its haunting melody.
A second performance followed as a Pacific Islander club member sang ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra.
The fashion show itself started off with traditional Cambodian outfits worn by LBCC students and staff.
From there the rest of the fashion pieces ranged from Japanese yukatas, Korean hanboks, Cambodian sarong skirts, to Indian and Filipino men’s dress shirts and pants.
There were all sorts of patterns and delicate designs on the dresses which caused a stir with audience members cheering and applauding the traditional clothing of the South East Asian culture and aesthetic.
Overall, the cultural fashion show was a testament to showing off LBCC students and staff wearing traditional Southeast Asian clothing with pride.
Mia Fama (center) and LBCC counselor Judy Oh (right) took to the the runway for a final bow in traditional Korean Hanboks at LBCC’s APID fashion show. (Lauren Benson) 
Moments before the LBCC APID fashion show the models added final touches to their looks like this Apsara crown, a traditional piece of the Cambodian costume. (Lauren Benson) 
Pallavy Noeun walked the runway, representing Cambodia, in a traditional Apsara costume. (Lauren Benson) 
Sokpagna Lim, represents Cambodia, walked the runway at LBCC’s APID fashion show. (Lauren Benson) 
Rekhsa Rex Somm performs Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” to open LBCC’s APID fashion show. (Lauren Benson) 
Jazlynnrose Buckner performs a traditional Samoan dance during LBCC’s APID fashion show. (Lauren Benson) 
Carmela Tanoy and Erik Dylan Perez, representing the Phillipines, walk the runway at LBCC’s APID fashion show on May, 10 2023. (Lauren Benson) 
Jazlynnrose Buckner, represents Samoa, walked the runway at LBCC’s APID fashion show on May, 10 2023. (Lauren Benson) 
Liliana Martinez is all smiles backstage after LBCC’s APID fashion show on May, 10 2023. (Lauren Benson)