Spotlights, models with attitude, pulsating beats, skin, beautiful Asian fashion, and all for a good cause? What more could you ask for on a Saturday night? SKIN, Brandeis Asian American Student Association's capstone event for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, featured a handful of unique, Asian designers March 24 on the Levin Ballroom runway.

"Not to be confused with Liquid Latex," emcee David Klasko '07 explained, "this show is about looking at the clothes on the skin, not where the skin and 'clothes' literally blend together."

Offstage, his co-emcee Ashley Pham '08 announced the featured up-and-coming professional Asian-American designers, some of whom had just graduated design school, starting with the beach-inspired styles of Courtney Chu. The male models sported orange and yellow shorts, contrasting their loose, light T-shirts while the female models skipped down the runway in simple, striped fitted summer dresses.

Shifting gears, Pham introduced the ultra-sophisticated designs of Shin Choi. The models posed against the show's dramatic black background with gold, falling block letters S, K, I and N, setting a trendy, New York-bar mood, complete with techno runway music. SKIN coordinator Thomas Ahn '09 said, "For this line, it was essential that the clothing showed strong, confident and independent women." Indeed, the female models strutted nonchalantly in black, white, silver and tan tones from short spring trench coats to shiny, sleek tank tops and skirts.

Besides showcasing Asian fashion designers, SKIN featured performances by the "Unofficial Project" dance troupe from Boston University and music from "The Ides." Unofficial Project put together an eclectic, urban Asian fusion where street swagger met chic. Much like the wind-up dolls they mimicked at the beginning of the act, the dancers' movements were sharp, energetic and sassy.

After a short intermission, "The Ides" smooth, mellow R&B rock sound-think John Mayer with a crisper voice-set the mood for the second half. The band played a set of four songs, including a few original pieces and a cover of Musiq's "Just Friends (Sunny)," which was particularly well-received by the audience.

Carrying energy left in the air from the performers, the models took the stage again, starting with designer Mayan Tamang's bright, young styles, Kim Pham's "customer-designed" soft colors in shiny, backless tops and flowing spring dresses and Blanc de Chine's grey suits and night-out-from-the-office attire-all of which were garnished by the glass beading of designer Leanna Lin's necklaces and earrings.

SKIN was not just about fashion, however. Designer Christina Lu gave a short PowerPoint presentation about the effect of Hepatitis B on the Asian community. After the show, a clothing auction was held, which raised about $3,000, according to Ahn. "This initiative was very important for me because I love fashion," he said. "I want to be able to use fashion to help people and improve conditions in society."

Though the ballroom was far from filled, SKIN celebrated various facets of Asian-inspired art with an audience as bright as the clothes on the runway. As they say on Project Runway, they definitely made it work.