WKU students prepare for fourth annual Rip the Runway show

Kayla Boyd

Being a model in a fashion show is an opportunity many dream of but few manage to achieve.

For Louisville sophomore Morgan Vickers, that dream will become a reality.

Tonight at 8:30 in the Preston Center, Vickers will be one of about 30 models who will walk during the annual Rip the Runway. Rip the Runway is sponsored by the Black Student Alliance and is in its fourth year of production. It has never been hosted in the Preston Center before.

Vickers said she auditioned to be a model her freshman year, but didn’t make it. When she auditioned this year, however, she got in.

While Vickers said she’s involved in the fashion show just for fun, she believes her long legs are model-like and might have something to do with why she was chosen to walk.

To prepare for the fashion show, the models have had seven practices. And although they did not receive their outfits for the show until this past week, Vickers said practices were effective.

“We walked,” she said. “We walked and we walked and we walked.”

The fashion show, coordinated by senior Marquise Scott, is meant to emulate the spirit of a New York style fashion week. It will consist of seven scenes, each with a distinct theme and style of outfits.

This is Scott’s fourth year participating in Rip the Runway, but it’s his first year as the coordinator.

“Freshman year, I was looking for something to get into,” he said. “I’ve always been into fashion. It excited me.”

In previous years, he helped past coordinators run the show. At one point, Scott said, he just knew he wanted to coordinate the fashion show before he graduated.

Scott’s job is a hefty one. He is in charge of running the show, which includes getting the models together, preparing clothes and outfits, and securing a location.

While Scott is busy coordinating and directing, Vickers will be busy calming her nerves before her first walk.

“I’m nervous I’m going to fall,” Vickers said. “And I’m afraid I’m going to start laughing.”

Vickers is confident, however, that once she completes her first walk, she won’t have any problems and her nervousness will go away.

“I’m supposed to be serious, so I can’t laugh,” she said. “But this is for fun. It’s really for anyone to participate in and enjoy.”

Vickers said she wants everyone to come to Rip the Runway tonight.

“It’s a dress to impress kind of thing,” she said. “It’ll be really fun.”

While Rip the Runway is sponsored by the BSA, Vickers said it is an event for everyone.

“It is about positivity for African-American students,” she said. “And it’s about showcasing a talent maybe you didn’t know someone had. This is for people on campus. I think everyone should come watch and then try out next year.”

The cost to attend Rip the Runway is $3 with a canned good or $5 without one.