Aspiring men and women learned to walk the walk and look good doing it Monday evening at Kent State University.

Exquisite Inc. Modeling Troupe, a student modeling organization on campus, hosted the modeling workshop, which took place in Oscar Ritchie Hall around 7 p.m. At the beginning of the night, Sade Moose, the president of Exquisite Inc., made it clear that the organization would be open to all participants regardless of physical attributes.

The workshop started with demonstrations from Moose and a few other seasoned members of the troupe. After being shown how to walk a runway, the group of roughly 25 people broke off into pairs to practice what had been preached.

“Modeling is confidence basically,” Moose said. “That’s what we try and do, is give people confidence.”

This sentiment rang true throughout the entire workshop. Moose and her crew of experienced models gave the participants encouragement on their walks, poses, turns and passes throughout the entire session.

Moose said the diverse turnout was better than expected. The workshop had men and women of all shapes, sizes and skin colors take to the makeshift runway to strut their stuff. This diversity was not accidental: Moose said she works hard to make sure Exquisite Inc. breaks the molds of traditional modeling and shake the trends of tall, slender and tan.

Junior fashion merchandising major Jared Walters and junior exercise science major Jakim Harvey are two veteran members of the troupe and played key roles in instructing the males on the differences between men and women on the runway. Harvey said that men have more options and a wide range of styles when it comes to their walk, which he and Walters illustrated.

Eventually the participants walked in pairs down the runway to practice what they learned throughout the workshop. The crowd rated the groups on a scale of 1-10.

“We all get along, no problems, no drama,” said Bilal Isom, a freshman pre-fashion merchandising/design major and a new member of Exquisite Inc. “We all get to walk, make new friends and have new experiences.”

In addition to the workshops, Moose said she plans on hosting a variety of other modeling events through Exquisite Inc.

“We have high expectations for our events this year,” said club secretary T’maya Howard, a junior fashion merchandising major.

This semester’s events include a “Face-off” happening Nov. 3 in the Kiva Auditorium from 7 to 9 p.m. and the “Fall Into Fashion” fashion show Nov. 24 in the Student Center Ballroom. 

Contact Andrew Keiper at [email protected].