Spectators of the tri-state area appreciate the art of fashion at St. Mary’s Conference Center, Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6:30p.m.

LEVELS: A River Cities pre-event fashion show hosted by United Way, featured First Impressions School of Modeling, Pageantry & Etiquette. The fashion show showcased cocktail dresses that ladies should wear at the main event.

United Way is a nonprofit organization that supports programs and strategies that better the community. The mission is to solve major issues by bringing the community together.

Thursday, United Way partnered with the First Impressions School of Modeling, Pageantry, & Etiquette.

The purpose was to showcase art from the diverse community through fashion. Fashion is not a popular industry in the tri-state, so dresses from five local stores were featured.

The theme of the night was “fashion meets art”. The dresses were designed to represent artwork in a fashionable manner.

“We have a lot of great shops in the tri-state area. People need to see that we need fashion,” said Toni Jones, founder and director of the First Impressions School of Modeling and Pageantry.

Jones pointed out that the area is rich in vintage fashion, which was incorporated in the show as well. Some of the models wore selections from Goodwill, which showcased the look.

Jones started out modeling locally and even made appearances on TV. She has also been in many pageants and became the first Miss Oktoberfest (Fall Fest), Barboursville, WV.

Jones then went on to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and received degrees in fashion buying/merchandising, textile development, and marketing.

“My main mission is to build a strong community by building important skills, confidence, self-esteem, and manners. My students will be able to use these skills in real life” Jones said. Jones’s mission also includes pushing students to graduate and become better citizens.

“If we can collaborate and have a goal, we can all move forward”, Jones added.

Casey Adkins can be contacted at [email protected]