Vintage Runway Show: 1977 Studio 54 Kenzo Fashion Show

Get into this vintage fashion and spinning turn style, looking like Faces Modeling Troupe down in Florida.

Ball-Room Runway and the "Banji-Pump"

In the past 5 years, the Ball Room scene’s more…dramatic and flamboyant styles (minus vogue) have been seen on the performance runway shows.  Troupes have implemented certain Ball-Room techniques into their routines and walking styles. These new walks, exaggerated in form and posture, have created controversy and left many in the audience scratching their heads or amazed and entertained, or sometimes both. Guilty pleasure much? I like to call it the “banji-pump,” you know it when you see it, the flying arms, the bent knees, lurching posture. There’s little emphasis on control as opposed to attitude. It’s like a tornado wreaking havoc, unpredictable, messy, and oddly beautiful to some. It’s as menacing and grotesque as it is innovative and energetic. In North Carolina, troupes have won many a competition with the banji-pump aesthetic. So much so that almost everyone is doing it…*side-eye to the swagger jackers*

Is the Ball-Room scene to blame for this new style? Yeah, in a way. However, let’s be clear, the Ball-Room scene is different in every state and region of the U.S. Walk the POCC or Latex Balls with that nasty banji-pump and you’ll probably get banji-chopped! In the south, it’s a different point of view. I’ve seen runway divas get prizes when banji-pumpin’ and I’ve also seen them sent home empty handed. Beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder, and correct runway aesthetic isn't immune to that eye either. 





NC A&T's Verge Modeling Troupe (circa Spring 2008-2009) is a textbook example for the banji-pump! Love it or hate it, the kids racked up some trophies and new fans. 

More on the Ball-Room Runway after the jump

Ebony Fashion Fair

Once known across the United States as one of the fashion events for and by African-Americans, the Ebony Fashion Fair has influenced the perceptions of fashion, beauty, and business within the black community for decades.  From the clever and precise runway techniques of its models to the cutting edge styles of its future designers, the Ebony Fashion Fair was and is an influence on runway performance art and the global branding of beauty. 

Continues after the jump...

Performance Runway, what's that?

Performance runway is a term I coined to describe the kind of art form that modeling troupes, participants in the ball room scene, and the Ebony Fashion Fair use as a medium. To me, the term is accurate in conveying this subcultural phenomenon.


Below is an article I wanted to post on Wikipedia about this subject. However, since there are stipulations on posting articles that don't have journalistic sources and other ish, I decided to abort the notion and post it on this blog. View  the full article after the jump!