Launching a large-scale fashion show is no easy feat, but JWU fashionistas and marketing students pooled their expertise to make the “Glitz, Glam and Business Fashion Show" a hit and raise over $1,000 for JWU student clubs.
“Our clubs have a hard time raising money,” says Amanda Slack ’11, the show’s coordinator. “We realized we’d raise a lot more, and pull off a better event, if we worked together.”
Putting Event Planning Skills to the Test So Amanda and her fellow American Marketing Association (AMA) teammates joined forces with our International Fashion and Special Events Societies. For the next five months, the students put in overtime. They used their marketing, event management and PR experience to plan and design every aspect of the show, from decorations, lighting and music to getting donations and advertising. “For marketing students, this was a great way to use our skills to raise money,” Amanda points out. “This is what we’ve learned to do at JWU.”
The Rhode Show's Expert Input Meanwhile, Fashion Merchandising students got Kohl's, JC Penney and TJX to donate clothes. Then they styled more than 30 wearable business "looks." Jill Marinelli, of Fox’s The Rhode Show, agreed to emcee the fashion show. She says the looks were exceptional. “I was very impressed with the styling of the clothing. The students did a great job creating high-end looks with very affordable garments!”
To top things off, the students donated $500 worth of the clothing to Dress for Success, which provides professional attire to economically disadvantaged women and over $300 for the American Cancer Society.
Student Collaboration Pays Off“The event was extremely well-run,” Marinelli says. JWU’s Pepsi Forum was transformed into a chic black and pink runway. The students didn’t have time to sit back and admire their handiwork, but others did. Professor Diane McCrohan, moderator of the International Fashion Society, got a little choked up. “With an event this big, I don’t think any one student group could pull it off,” she says. “But these students really came together.”