Yonge and Dundas Square was all about fashion making a statement at the AIDS 2006 YouthCARE fashion show on Tuesday. The show was an international representation of the message these young people wanted to get across through clothing about AIDS.

Each group had a different feel to their clothes. Whether it was laid back, dolled up, urban, or ethnic inspired, these clothes deeply expressed how these young people feel about AIDS. I think these young people did a great job coming up with designs that created emotion, awareness and a desire to make a difference.

Jennifer Hollet, former MuchMusic VJ, wore a basic t-shirt with the number "8000" on it, explaining this is how many people die every day from AIDS. Participant Karen Liu believes that a "t-shirt is a powerful thing". Her t-shirt said "stop the spread" on the front and "get tested" on the back. It was awesome how she took such an innocent concept like a piece of bread, jam and a knife to make her statement.

My favourite outfit was by Princess (and yes, we were assured this was her real name) who will be attending George Brown in the fall. It was a graffiti dress and the audience came up onto the stage to sign their names. To raise money she is selling ribbons for $1.00 each and Jennifer mentioned she will be auctioning off the dress to help the cause.

One girl, inspired by children in Africa, made the point that AIDS has a face. She will be going to Africa in the fall to help make a difference in the fight against AIDS. The clothes and messages were all real and in your face. These young people stressed that we must not be afraid of AIDS in a creative way that really made a statement.

The Condom Project was also set up at the Square. If you haven't heard about this group, they have a totally cool concept. They are trying to de-stigmatize perceptions about condoms. The way they are doing this is by using open back condoms and letting grown-ups decorate them (like you were in Arts and Crafts again at summer camp). The condoms could then be worn as pins - they were awesome. The idea is to get people talking about condoms without necessarily talking about sex.

It was a great day of awareness and youth creativity at Dundas Square.