Interested in fashion without the cruelty? Students at the University of South Florida in Tampa will be hosting a cruelty-free fashion show in April!

The fashion show takes place on April 3rd 2014 at 7:00 pm in The Centre Gallery, located on the 2nd floor of the Marshall Student Center on the USF campus.  The address for USF is 4202 E. Fowler Avenue in Tampa and for the Marshall Center on campus, 4103 USF Cedar Dr.  (For those concerned about parking, USF does not check for passes after 5:30pm, and either way your first ticket is always a warning).

The fashion show is a collaboration between USF SPEAK (Students Protecting the Environment and Animals through Knowledge), The Centre Gallery and The Fashion Executives @ USF, a fashion interest club whose members are lending their expertise to help plan the fashion show.

Admission is free, and we will be serving free vegan food! There will also be door prizes, a raffle, and free raffle tickets to the first 50 people who arrive. Some highlights of our raffle prizes include: a free pair of shoes (of your choice) from Beyond Skin UK -- over $100 value! We also have makeup from Lush Cosmetics, perfume from Pacifica, samples from Dr. Bronner's and many more high-quality cruelty-free products to distribute.

In addition to the variety of cruelty-free products we have to offer, several generous sponsors have donated their time to help the show go on. Thanks to Ecco Bella cosmetics donating hundreds of dollars of makeup for our models, we will be having an Ecco Bella makeup feature segment, presented by a local makeup artist from Andrea Lauren Beauty who is donating her time for the show. The Paul Mitchell School is also sending hairdressers and makeup artists to style the rest of the models.

There will be a fashion sale of wares from the visiting designers as well. We are featuring Accessuri ethical fashion designer from NYC, local designers Dollface and Whiskey Dog Wares, and a favorite from Veg Fest -- Calico Dragon Bags, purses with powerful animal rights themed graphics.

We would love for our friends at FVA to stop by our event and share in our dedication to this cause. The leather, fur and makeup industries cause animals to be needlessly harmed in the name of fashion, and we hope to reach people who might not learn about this cause otherwise and show them the beauty of cruelty-free alternatives.

Meghan McManus