By KATIE MCDOWELL/Lifestyles Editor

Dressed in yellow skinny jeans and a printed top, Santeria Broadnax stepped onto the catwalk with confidence.

She sashayed past a lifesize Justin Bieber cutout and paused several times to let the audience see her outfit. Then, she blew a kiss to the crowd and let the next model on the stage.

Broadnax was participating in a back-to-school fashion show at the Alabaster Belk on Aug. 11. Dozens of local children, ranging from 2-13 years old, modeled fall fashions in the show.

Jasmine Prince, one of the Kids Fest organizers, said Belk sponsors several children’s fashion shows during the year.

“This is Kids Fest, one of Belk’s annual fashion shows,” she said. “The first one is in March. It’s usually spring merchandise and then we have one that’s back-to-school.”

The purpose of the fashion shows is to give the children and their parents an idea of what clothes are going to be popular that season.

“The trends are colored skinny jeans, long tunic tops with leggings. Boots are always in,” Prince said.

Another new trend is the schoolgirl-inspired outfit, one of which was modeled by Abigail Rush. Rush wore a pink plaid skirt, pink plaid tie, blue button-down shirt and pink sweater.

Most of the outfits for girls of all ages focused on color: dresses and tops over leggings for children and skinny jeans and tunics for teenagers.

Color was also popular for boys, although jeans were the choice of pants. Seth Belsher wore a bright yellow vest over a white button-down shirt, while Bryant Washington Jr. modeled a bright blue plaid shirt.

Belsher mother, Caroline Belsher, said this is the second time her children, including her daughter, Abigail, have modeled in one of Belk’s fashion shows.

The children’s grandfather works at Belk, and they also participated in the spring show.

“They love the attention,” she said with a laugh.