For students involved, Diamanté is representation, confidence, and transcendence in equal measure. As Georgetown’s only fashion showcase centered on “the voices and stories of Black and Brown queer creatives,” Diamanté is an annual spectacle that has become an integral part of the campus creative scene.
Since its founding in 2018, the show has remained entirely student-led.
Though Diamanté focuses primarily on featuring designer pieces from across the DMV and East Coast, this year, the show includes a designer from as far away as California. The 2025 performance will take place at the Georgetown University Hotel Ballroom on April 13.
A highlight of Diamanté is its dynamic theme. From 2023’s “A Muse is Born” to “Mosaic of Self” last year, the show relentlessly explores the complex and diverse nature of identity, encouraging individuals to express themselves with confidence. This year’s theme, “Fantasy vs. Reality,” serves as a continuation of Diamanté’s legacy. On one hand, it highlights the group’s roots, honoring queer people of color and Ballroom culture, an underground queer subculture from the 1970s. On the other hand, the theme envisions a future for the community with immense possibilities to thrive.
“[Diamanté is] meant to be a safe, creative, queer space for Georgetown students of color,” Justin Goris (CAS ’25), the co-director of the show, said. “That’s the heart of Diamanté. We were tossing around ideas about how to incorporate that and bring it back to what it was originally meant to be, and we landed on Fantasy vs. Reality. Essentially, imagining a world for yourself and making that reality.”
Diamanté’s power to reimagine and redefine oneself is likely why the show attracts so many students. Creatives in Diamanté come from all Georgetown schools and have myriad interests but are bonded through their shared passion for fashion.
Saima Jean-Louis (MSB ’28), one of Diamanté’s models, said the show fascinated her even before she arrived as a freshman.
“I came here during Hoya Saxa Weekend, and our group took us to the Diamanté show,” she said. “I was just amazed by it. I was like, ‘wow, I need to be part of this when I come to Georgetown.’”
For model Jada Dickerson (SOH ’27), the show provides a chance to explore the creative side of herself with conviction and imagination.
“It’s not really common to find students who are into creative extracurriculars on campus,” Dickerson said. “It’s a very good stress relie[ver] for me, to not be in an environment where it’s biochemistry research labs every day. It’s really good to come to practice and be able to let go.”
Diamanté is not restricted to only Georgetown students, having accumulated interest in schools across the DMV. Collaborating with other universities in the area, the show sparks innovation and dialogue not only within, but also across schools. This year, the showcase is working with models from Howard University.
“The dedication that these Howard students have been putting in is honestly kind of amazing. They’ll travel from the opposite side of D.C. to come to Georgetown for practices, they’ll come for fittings, and they’ll come for tabling,” Goris said. “It’s less about coming to Georgetown and more so [about] coming together to create this show that they’re passionate about.”
This collaboration is particularly personal to Goris, who transferred from Howard to Georgetown in spring 2022. For Goris, it was a challenge to navigate expression and student engagement coming from Howard, where the creative scene is much larger.
“[Howard’s] environment fosters students’ creativity and entrepreneurship, whereas Georgetown’s fosters the intellectual side of students, which is what I found the most difficult about acclimating to Georgetown’s environment,” Goris said. “I was so used to feeding this creative side of me that the intellectual side of me was kind of taking a back seat. And so coming here, I had to rewire my brain a little bit to switch roles.”
With Georgetown’s limited emphasis on arts and self-expression, Goris said, it is important for spaces like Diamanté to exist as an outlet for students to explore their identity.
“Of course, we have a lot of the pre-professional organizations, which are great… They give you the experience you need after you leave undergrad. But there’s so much more to people,” said Goris. “There are so many other interests, and to have even one space or two to three spaces where students can come and express their interest in fashion or photography or modeling or anything, and create that community, has been really special.”
Diamanté is more than just a fashion show. In many ways, it is a connection. This year, it is a liaison between Howard and Georgetown, between the past and the future, between intellect and creativity, and between Black and Brown queer creatives and the world around them.
When asked, “How would you describe Diamanté?”
“Transcendent,” Goris replied after deep contemplation. “Students can come and get what they expected, but also leave getting something that they never thought they were gonna get.”
