Howard University’s highly anticipated annual Student Fashion Show made its return during the university’s 2025 Homecoming celebration, bringing an electrifying and mystic energy with its “Nervana” theme.  

Custom pieces created by student designers and a special Jordan Brand collection embossed with references to Howard’s football team were paraded down the illuminated runway in the university’s Crampton Auditorium Oct. 23. The show’s theme was a creative take on the Buddhist ideology of nirvana — a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self — and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. The show opened with a disembodied voice narrating a minute long monologue over the sounds of ethereal music playing in the background. The narrator’s words, “who has the nerve to escape Nervana?”  kicked off the models’ entrance onto the runway.  

This year’s Fashion Show chair Jaimon Washington, a senior interdisciplinary studies major with a concentration in environmental studies, said ahead of the show that audience members will be left thinking “wow, what did I just watch?” The “Nervana” show featured 32 student models who flitted down the runway performing intricate choreographed walks, poses, and zombie-like movements as they showed off the expansive collection of looks.  

The show featured three acts, or scenes, titled “Control,” “Hysteria,” and “Samsara.” The “Control” scene opened with Nina Simone’s “I Put a Spell on You” and featured athleisure wear inspired fashions from the Jordan Brand-Howard collection. Models sported Jumpman-branded outfits that included unique dresses, sweatshirts, jerseys, jackets, shorts, and accessories embossed with “Howard University Football” insignia and other designs related to the university. Models also wore a variety of Jordan sneakers to accompany each look.  

Before the second act of the show, one of the participating students played the part of a news anchor, acting out a “Nervana News” broadcast in front of a camera, sharing fictitious news headlines.  

“We’re seeing an increase in the number of delivery robots everywhere, and there are no more unhoused people anywhere, on the streets,” the anchor said. “We now have no more surveillance cameras in District 33…H.O.P.E. keeps us smiling; H.O.P.E. keeps us safe; H.O.P.E. keeps us seeing what we don’t need to be seeing.” She repeated the phrase, “I love it” before getting dragged off the stage and away from the camera in a dramatic, hysterical way. 

The performance ushered in the second act of the show, which featured grunge-inspired looks. Designs included intricately layered flannel and plaid outfits, cherub and angel-adorned pieces, faux furs, skulls, chunky boots, and quirky accessories such as a belt made entirely of toy racecars.  

The show concluded with its final act, “Samsara,” which means the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth found in many Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism and is often translated as “wandering through.” The designs were military inspired with models sporting camouflage-printed garbs and an assortment of utility belts, fingerless gloves, and ready-for-combat attire. There was an energy of anarchy, toughness, and warfare that emanated from the models as they ‘faced-off' down the runway.  

“Being able to express yourself and express your creativity is something that's very important to the Howard community,” said Washington. “[There are] a lot of different creatives, people, and different cultures here at the Mecca. It’s important to display that on the stage, especially for Homecoming. Being able to tell our story through outfits, our walks, how we do our hair, makeup, and nails is important for Howard’s culture.” 

Photos by Simone Boyd, Howard University Office of University Communications