Despite her prior involvement with social advocacy, the reality of human trafficking didn’t sink in until Tanisha Dhankhar heard Kim Flynn’s life-altering story.
Three years ago, Dhankhar sat in Room 034 of Lazenby Hall as Flynn, founder of Overcomers on the Move — an anti-human trafficking organization — recounted the harsh realities of human trafficking just a few feet away from her, with emotion spilling through each word.
Flynn emphasized that she and others alike are not victims, but overcomers — a message Dhankhar, a third-year in neuroscience and president of Unchained OSU, has cherished ever since.
Unchained OSU is an Ohio State student organization dedicated to spreading awareness of human trafficking through its annual fashion show, from which all proceeds are donated to the She Has A Name: Strategies for Success Scholarship. Though the organization aims to touch the broader community, Dhankhar said its impact is also deeply personal.
Designers Destiny Howards (left), Amrita Chehil (middle) and Anjali Phougat (right) take the runway alongside their designs at the 2023 Unchained OSU fashion show. Credit | Dave Toth
“You understand it much more when you have an in-person setting and you get to actually hear them speak about their experiences,” Dhankhar said. “It just makes the whole gravity of the situation be like, ‘OK, what I’m doing actually matters. I have an overcomer in front of me, ready to help me in order to help others who were like her at once.’”
This year’s show — set for Sunday at 6:15 p.m. in the Great Hall Meeting Room in the Ohio Union — is focused around seasons. Each season corresponds with one of the three stages victims of human trafficking endure: innocence, violence and restoration.
“We have summer for innocence, then we have winter for violence and then we have spring for restoration,” Dankhar said. “And for each of these themes we usually leave it up to the designer in terms of [inspiration] and creativity and what they think embodies these certain themes that we give them.”
Sydney Peters, one of this year’s designers for Unchained OSU, was assigned to winter and said she played with the season’s darker color palette to channel internal pain.
“And that section itself, winter, is kind of standing for being in the depths of the human trafficking story, that narrative,” Peters said. “It’s kind of telling their story of [their struggle], before they’re actually out of it and getting help.”
Peters said she has channeled her past tumultuous relationship into her sketches, incorporating both feminine and masculine details.
“I want you to see this ethereal woman who is full, is whole, is confident, but also has been through things and has that deep strength underneath, and really just feel like you’re seeing the full image altogether,” Peters said.
Avani Bhalla, a third-year in fashion and retail studies, is a returning model for the show and said she hopes to portray survivors’ stories on the runway through her powerful strides and facial expressions.
Models walk the runway at Unchained OSU’s 2023 annual fashion show aimed at spreading awareness on human trafficking. Credit: Dave Toth
“It’s super fun to walk down the runway, but at the same time it is very emotional, and I do try to think about the survivors and the victims of human trafficking when walking or when even just preparing for it,” Bhalla said.
After every show, Bhalla said she is excited when talking to audience members, but intentionally takes time to reflect on the event’s core messages.
“I’ll go home and just kind of sit there for a little bit and I’ll just think about [it], it gives you a lot of perspective on life in general and how precious it is and how fleeting it is and how we’re very lucky to be the ones helping to represent it,” Bhalla said. “But there are a lot of people where that’s their lives, that’s their every day.”
Bhalla said she is grateful to be able to make a positive change through something she loves.
“At the end of the day, I can just hope that I can shed a little bit of light on something that really does deserve to have a lot more attention, and maybe — hopefully — help somebody’s life,” Bhalla said.
More information about Unchained OSU’s 2024 fashion show, including how to reserve tickets, can be found on Eventbrite. Organizers encourage Ohio State students to donate $10 for admittance, while non-Buckeyes are advised to give $15.
