The South Asian Student Alliance and Unity Charity Fashion Show have said “I do” to collaborating for the first time as part of a segment in Saturday’s SASA show “My Big Fat Desi Wedding.”

Adding to the traditionally dance-centric SASA show, this performance will include a fashion show featuring traditional South Asian clothing such as saris. The theme is a spoof on the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” The event was the brainchild of Unity public relations chairs Communication sophomore Nikita Kulkarni and Bienen junior Kate Camarata.

“We were trying to find different publicity events than what we have done in the past,” Kulkarni said. “We wanted to do something that was mutually beneficial to both groups and bring exposure to our causes, as well as the Indian community, to people who wouldn’t have exposure to the community otherwise. ”

Parag Dharmavarapu, SASA co-president, jumped at the chance to collaborate with another group. This first-time collaboration adds a new element to the SASA show and creates an opportunity for multicultural learning on campus, as Unity models strut down the runway in traditional South Asian attire.

“Collaboration and co-sponsorship is important to bring communities and organizations together,” Dharmavarapu said. “I think that SASA’s mission is to highlight and bring to focus salvation of culture in a variety of aspects, and one integral part of South Asian culture is the type of clothing people wear.”

Unity model Wren Hagge got involved with the fashion show to try out modeling, but being involved in the SASA show became an unexpected perk.

“I’ve never worked with SASA before, so I’m really excited,” the Communication freshman said. “I hope to get a deeper understanding of what SASA does and get more comfortable with modeling before the big show in April.”

The emcees of the show want to attract more people to the event, while making it something people of any generation can enjoy.

“It was a good way to make it more appealing to family audiences because it would be appealing to both parents and younger people attending the show,” Dharmavarapu said.

The show, which usually features mostly dance, added this new element to spice up its usual repertoire for those less interested in dance. Unity got a multicultural revamp with this matchup as well.

“I see a lot of emphasis on dance, so this is just adding another dimension to SASA that it’s lacking,” Dharmavarapu said. “This is something that hasn’t been done before to add onto the show. What it does for Unity is adds a diversity and expands their reach.”

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