FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The longest running sexual violence prevention and education campaign is coming to the University of Arkansas on April 22.

Denim Day is an awareness campaign held around the world in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Participants in the campaign wear jeans in protest against victim blaming and myths surrounding sexual violence.

The campaign originated following a 1992 Italian Supreme Court case. In the case, the court overturned a rape conviction by claiming that the victim’s tight jeans implied consent.

University Programs and the UARK Sustainable Fashion Club have collaborated with Goodwill Industries of Arkansas to present the Denim Day Fashion Show.

Courtney Cantu is the visual and performing arts chair for University Programs and the co-producer of the Denim Day Fashion Show. She says that there needs to be more positivity toward survivors.

“There’s a lot of different ways we can raise awareness for a lot of different causes,” Cantu said. “You can use creativity in any way, but especially in activism.”

In the Denim Day Fashion Show, student models will wear garments designed by their fellow students. This year, organizers added a new multimedia student gallery of denim art. All of the pieces are crafted from secondhand jeans donated by Goodwill Industries of Arkansas.

Cantu says that her favorite part of Denim Day is the fashion show and “getting all these different students together from the art school… and even students who have maybe only sewn a few pieces, it’s getting all those levels, experience, and all those different backgrounds and bringing them together for a good cause.”

The show will take place at the Verizon Ballroom in the University of Arkansas Union. The event is open to the campus community and the general public. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the show will begin at 7:30 p.m. on April 22.