A taste of African fashion will be available at NIU tonight.

The Present Perfect Modeling Organization is sponsoring its 16th-annual Afrocentric Fashion Show. The event starts at 8 p.m. at the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

PPMO has been on campus for 20 years. It has presented this fashion show for the past 16 years as a contribution to Black History Month. The scenes in this show commemorate African heritage with the models dressed in African attire.

“Our four major objectives are style, poise, attitude and creativity,” says Nick Jacobs, a senior marketing major and vice president of PPMO. “We pride ourselves on the time and effort that we put forth as an organization to make sure that all of our shows are entertaining and professionally done.”

This year’s theme is “Jewel of the Nile.” The theme was chosen because the first scene is set in Egypt and reflects the styles of the times.

“This show allows not only our own culture, but also people from all races and ethnicities, an opportunity to see what types of garments we wear and what African-American History Month means to us,” said Tanisha McCaskill, a senior public health major and president of PPMO. “We are hoping that this promotes cultural awareness and unity that gives students, parents and faculty the chance to see where we come from and what our heritage means to us.”