Seventeen student models walked down a runway one by one Dec. 13 when the Fashion Club’s sponsored its first-ever “Tzniut Can Be Cute” fashion show for women only in the Shalhevet gym, raising about $500 for the National Council of Jewish Women.

Tzniut means modesty, and all outfits were dress-code appropriate.
“Especially going to a school with a tzniut dress code, we wanted to show that tzniut can in fact be cute no matter where you are going.” said co-founder Gaby Benelyahu. “Whether it’s school or a party, you can still look tzniut and cute at the same time.”
The club, which is new this year, was founded by Gaby and fellow junior Sarit Ashkenazi so students could become more educated in the fashion industry and learn to express creativity in new ways.
“It is a creative outlet and a place for everyone,” said Sarit.
They started with the help of a program sponsored by the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), which offers support and a box of supplies full of activity ideas to high school students running fashion clubs across the country. Most meetings have been at lunch with guest speakers from the fashion industry. The fashion show was the club’s first event outside of school hours. It attracted a mix of students, prospective students, moms and teachers, who spent the first hour buying skirts, scarves, jewelry and other merchandise from various vendors at the show. They also took pictures in a photo booth and sipped on iced tea and lemonade.
Guests were encouraged to bring clothes to donate to the National Council of Jewish Women, and several bags of clothes were donated. Tickets were $5 for students and $18 for adults,
After an hour, the fashion show began, led by model Michelle Greenberg, a junior who wore a pink long-sleeved shirt, a black jacket with sparkles on the back, a black pencil skirt, and black booties.
A black curtain behind the runway perpendicular to the stage hid the other models until it was their turn to go.
The audience, was seated on both sides of the runway, which led out from the stage at the front end of the gym. Guests clapped as Michelle walked down, posed, and turned back.
Michelle was followed by the other models and a finale in which all of the models walked down together.
Sarit and Gaby told the Boiling Point that they tried to help the models feel comfortable on the runway, selecting outfits that would showcase their personalities and make them feel more confident.
“When Sarit and Gaby saw the fringe jacket I ended up wearing, they immediately thought of me, and how I’m into funky clothes like that, so they assigned it to me,” freshman model Eva Suissa said.
Other models were juniors Maya Golan, Gabby Ohana, Dana Alkoby, Maya Rosen, Jessica Dawoody, Emily Schoen, Sarina Finn, Danielle Mandel, and Michaela Somekh, Ayala Chocron, Jackie Faerstein, Ariella Sassover and Elinore Kerendian.
All of the clothing worn by the models was available for purchase after the show, and the Karen Michelle items were sold at a 40 percent discount.
People bought infinity scarves by Zanahoria Designs, motivational fitness jewelry by FashionFit, and authentic Persian jewelry from Nonatalie Jewelry, created by Natalie Weiss, Director of Admissions.
The show’s profits of over $1000 were split between the National Council of Jewish Women and the fashion club.
The new club met two to three times a month during the fall semester, and has had a number of guest appearances. Both girls and boys attend meetings.
“It is not weird for a guy to go to a fashion club, especially now that guys’ fashion is so big,” said junior Nathan Benyowitz, who has attended two meetings.
Eliana Jalali, a YouTube makeup artist, spoke to the club about her experiences in the makeup industry Sept. 17 and gave recommendations for different makeup brands and products.
“What I took away from this meeting was that it’s really nice to just enjoy make up as opposed to using it impress other people,” said freshman Ariella Sassover. “She inspired me to be more creative with make up.”
The club also hosted Isabel Iny, the owner of a jewelry making business, and Arielle Worona, a TV producer and blogger who taught students how to draw watercolor lipsticks and start a blog.

Gaby and Sarit are already thinking of projects and ideas for second semester. They plan to invite the owner of BCBG Max Azria to speak to the club, and possibly arrange for the club to get a factory tour of BCBG.