More than 150 white chairs surrounded a catwalk lined with flowers. Live piano music lured in curious spectators alongside anticipated guests, eager to see the latest fashion modeled by SIU students and mall shoppers of all ages.

University Mall sponsored its first-ever Easter Parade Spring Fashion Show Saturday, an event that took five weeks of planning. Debbie Tindall, general manager of University Mall, said she played a major role in the production of the show.

“I’ve worked with the store managers in the different department stores and they then worked with their employees who recruited,” she said. “I’ve also been recently introduced to Dr. (Seung-Hee) Lee who brought on board some students.”

Tindall said Master of Ceremonies Cory Henkelmen, a senior from Danville studying political science and an employee at the mall, introduced her to Lee, the program director of the Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising.

Lee recruited several students from the department to help in various capacities, Tindall said. Xzavia Gasque, a senior from Augusta, Ga., studying fashion design merchandising, was one of the recruited students who helped behind the scenes as a model coordinator.

“We’re doing check in, helping with the food backstage and I’ll be helping along the stage because there will also be children, ” Gasque said. “I’ve been super excited and it’s been fun so far working with Debbie for this fashion show.”

As the models took to the runway, Gasque was offstage to ensure they were in the correct order.

Fashion design merchandising students include Lauren Cook, a senior from Carmi, and Marcella Smith, a senior from Oswego, worked as model coordinators. Kyla Williams, a junior from Chicago, and Brennan McMillen, a junior from Robinson, coordinated as well as modeled clothes from Old Navy.

“Dr. Lee stopped me after class and asked if I wanted to volunteer, and I’m glad I did, ” she said. “As far as fashion shows go, I’m very interested in planning them and running them.”

Clothing from The Buckle was the crowd favorite. Many chattered about the accessories, and smiled at the various styles the models wore. Ashley Wells, a junior from Oak Lawn studying psychology, modeled for the store.

“I came into the store one day and was asked to participate in the show,” Wells said. “Basically, we came into the store and everybody had a general theme. They would give us clothes and then we would dress them up or dress them down however we like.”

Tindall said there were 15 department stores included in the production of the show. Many of the models were employees of the stores, shoppers who were recruited by employees and students from Lee’s department.

After the show, Henkelman said he was incredibly grateful for the help from the students.

“I don’t know what we would have done without them,” Henkelmen said. “They were so instrumental in this fashion show. They helped out with the modeling and the coordinating, doing things we would not have known to do. We literally could not have been able to function without them.”

Tindall said she believes the production of the Easter show is a stepping-stone for more shows between the mall and university students.

“I’ve already started talking to Dr. Lee about doing another show,” she said. “We’re going to collaborate with the department of fashion design and merchandising for a back-to-school fashion show.”