Henna Club, an organization that spreads the beauty of the culturally rich and intricate art of henna, held its second-annual fashion show on Saturday in the Chenango Champlain Collegiate Center’s Multipurpose Room. This year, the show’s theme centered around the Met Gala, blending glamour and high fashion with elegant and detailed henna designs to create a night of vast artistic looks and creative visions.
Henna, or mehndi in Hindi and Urdu, is a reddish dye originating from the powdered leaves of the henna tree. It was used in Ancient Egypt and valued for its cooling properties for those in hot desert climates. Along with its cultural significance in Egypt, henna is popular in other parts of the Middle East, South Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa.
Anika Reja, the president and co-founder of Henna Club and a senior majoring in geological sciences, described the club’s connection to the art of henna.
“I like to think of ourselves as both an art club but also a cultural club,” Reja said. “Henna is a very culturally tied art form. I think that the nature of henna kind of gives space for you to do a lot of different types of things with it. You don’t just have to use henna to do what people have been doing for centuries. You can use it to innovate.”
“We’re trying to use it for a fashion show,” she continued. “We’re doing designs on models that aren’t always, traditionally, the typical henna designs, the typical flower designs. So we’re trying to elevate this art that’s been used for centuries in so many parts of the world and adapt it to the modern-day world, to our communities here.”
The show was split into four different parts, each of which reflected and drew inspiration from previous Met Galas: “Heavenly Bodies,” “Garden of Time,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Dark Fantasy.”
It was curated to shift from divine and celestial elements to a descent into darkness, seen through the emphasis on mystic and gothic-inspired looks. This progression from light to dark contributed to the overall flow of the show and allowed attendees to feel part of an overarching story told through the artistic fusion of fashion and henna.
The Multipurpose Room was completely transformed, embodying an authentic runway experience where attendees could get a close-up view of the model’s outfit and henna, which was displayed on their arms, legs and upper portions of their chest and back.
Glittering gold star decorations hanging from black curtains adorned the stage, adding to the opulent nature of the show. A red carpet was laid out and tapered off to where the stage met the floor. Before models took to the floor, attendees used the stage to take photos.
Candles lined the aisles, and more star decorations hung in between the room, establishing an ethereal ambiance. Fairy lights crisscrossed the wall, interspersed between vines with white roses in a nod to “Garden of Time.”
As the lights dimmed, the night began with Mansi Sinha, the club’s vice president and a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, and Meera Naraindutt, one of the art directors and a sophomore majoring in biochemistry, introducing themselves as co-hosts for the night.
Following their introductions, they announced the E-Board and alumni, all of whom strutted down the aisle in elevated business casual looks, some of which included tall black boots, pleated skirts, jumpsuits and oversized blazers.
The first set of looks focused on the show’s first theme, “Heavenly Bodies.” Both the fashion and henna were inspired by the Renaissance blended with elements of Greek mythology. Models could be seen with henna designs like the sun, moon and other planetary objects, as well as sparkles, stars and swirls.
A few notable outfits included a model who wore a long, light blue and colorfully beaded dress, complete with a sparkling white train and a golden halo crown. Continuing this airy and light aesthetic, another came out in a long white robe with flower detailing and ribbon drapery.
Leaning more toward Greek mythology, one model donned a sword, shield and fake chains that draped across their gray button-down, where their sleeves were rolled up, revealing knight-inspired henna.
Two models embodied the essence of the sun and moon, with the former in an all-white outfit with lace, fishnet gloves, gold body jewelry and an intricate headpiece designed to reflect the beauty and brightness of the sun. In contrast, the latter wore a dark blue sequin dress with big silver stars along the sleeves and a headpiece displaying the different phases of the moon. At one point, they stopped in the middle of the aisle and stood back to back, reflecting the distinct looks and coexistence of the sun and moon as celestial entities.
Dione Mertl, an art director and a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, described the process behind combining traditional henna with a more modernized version.
“It’s a bit difficult to visualize at first, but when you start drawing it out, it really helps,” Mertl said. “Especially, the hard part is when you draw it with pencil, or you design it first, you make it a little bit too detailed, and then it’s really hard to make it come across with henna. So while doing henna, you would simplify your design a little bit more or use the cone to make thicker lines as opposed to really detailed lines.”
The next segment, “Garden of Time,” brought a whimsical and enchanting aesthetic to the show. Inspired by “Alice in Wonderland,” the theme incorporated floral patterns in the outfits and the henna and elements of the distortion of time, contributing to the theme’s playful aspect.
Models wore long white skirts, pink and green silks, cream-colored skirts, and cargo pants, accessorizing with flower crowns, red and gold floral arm bands, butterfly waist belts and even actual roses.
Models showcased choreographed soft and delicate moves — curating poses that highlighted the henna. Slow R&B music like “Pyramids” by Frank Ocean and “I Wish you Roses” by Kali Uchis, built an immersive experience for attendees.
Halfway through the show, the hosts announced a contest of who had the best strut and invited five participants onto stage. One by one, each of the attendees strutted and was with applause and cheers from the audience. In the end, all contestants received a prize for taking part in the game.
“Sleeping Beauty” was next, and while some art directors interpreted the theme through a classical fairytale lens — illustrating castles, roses and other princess-related henna — others took a more literal yet imaginative approach, opting for nighttime symbols such as candles, moons and sleeping bunnies. This theme largely centered around femininity while still having a bit of mystique.
Most models wore flowy, pink silk dresses with lace detailing. Layered gold necklaces, bows and glittery hot pink and silver heels were seen across many of the looks. One model wore a light pink two-piece nighttime set and carried a stuffed bunny as a part of the look.
“I think it’s a really cool way of expressing identity,” Mertl said of henna. “Because it’s not permanent, you can do so many different varieties of styles, depending on occasion, your mood. I love wedding henna — I love the full designs, like up the arms and how it covers everything, and I do often try to go for that when I do the designs for fashion show, although it is really complicated, since wedding henna takes literally full days to do, so we always end up simplifying it.”
The fashion show ended with “Dark Fantasy,” which served as a stark counterpart to “Sleeping Beauty.” The theme explored the more ominous side of the fantastical, drawing inspiration from the movie “Maleficent.”
The henna itself was unlike previous segments, as it was more similar to tattoo art due to the art directors using darker lines in their creations. Models had henna that resembled knives, thorns, skulls, snakes and barbed wire hearts.
“I think my designs align perfectly with this year’s themes,” Haridra Jariwala, an art director and a senior majoring in biology, wrote in an email. “Each theme allowed me to explore new ideas and styles, and I loved how my henna designs complemented the concepts. The challenge of designing for a show with such diverse themes really inspired me, and I’m proud of how my work reflects the vision of the fashion show.”
The first model came out in a black corset, black boots and Maleficent horns, bringing the crux of “Dark Fantasy” to life. Another stunned the runway with a sparkly black sari with a jewel-encrusted blouse and gold accents in their heels and bangles. Dark reds, black satin shirts and silver celestial headbands were other prominent features of this theme.
As the night drew to a close, seniors and alumni were invited onto the stage and received roses commemorating the hard work and dedication they put into the fashion show and the organization. An E-Board dance followed, which was choreographed by Naraindutt and combined dance styles of classical Bollywood, South Indian and Bhangra — representing the multiple regions that the E-Board is from.
The night ended with a final walk-through of all the models, allowing the audience to see the four themes come together. The fashion show demonstrated the importance of artistic expression and the ability to view henna as an extension of fashion, storytelling and identity.