Strutting down a runway built by construction technology students, dozens of young models showed off both casual wear and homecoming dance-worthy ensembles at a series of fashion shows at Mount Si High School on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

The lunchtime and evening shows were coordinated by students in Elaine Berg’s merchandising and sales class, designed to teach students about marketing and prepare them for entry-level jobs in the retail and clothing industries. The class is offered in conjunction with DECA, an international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship.

The fashion show is “a way we can present our work to the public, and to show what DECA is and how it lets us do hands-on work,” said sophomore marketing student Lindsay Masters.

“It’s their show. They do all the work,” Berg said. And they’ve gotten some attention for it: The students were asked by West Seattle High School to help them launch their own fashion show.

Junior Kristina Swanson, who modeled in and also helped coordinate the Mount Si event, said it was a fun payoff for hard work designing decorations, recruiting models and finding sponsors Macy’s, Caché and Men’s Wearhouse to lend outfits.

A freelance photography model who has also done runway work for Nordstrom, Swanson helped prepare the models for their moment in the spotlight.

“I talked to them about what they’re supposed to do at the end of the runway, and the ‘three-second rule’: three poses, three seconds,” she said.

Experienced as she is, Swanson said it was “nerve-wracking” to hit the catwalk in front of her peers.

“I get way more nervous than at a regular fashion show, just because you know everyone,” she said.

Though she has been involved in the fashion show since elementary school, when her sister studied marketing at Mount Si, freshman Christina Purser said she still turns red when it’s time to hit the stage.

“I get so embarrassed, but I love it,” she said.

As one of the MCs, sophomore Rebekah McFarland helped pick the high-energy runway music, and determined the models’ line-up. She, along with fellow sophomore Olivia Thomas, introduced the models, giving details about their outfits and sharing a fun fact about the people behind the fashion.

Some students took advantage of the runway platform to promote other school activities, such as the music program’s “Little Shop of Horrors” production, which runs Nov. 19 to 22, and new Mount Si High School T-shirts designed by student Olivia Guterson that are for sale in the school store.

The marketing program will put on another show in the spring, in time for prom, Swanson said.