One of Marist’s biggest events is our Fashion Program’s Silver Needle Runway Show. To highlight the event, FoxTales teamed up with the Communication Team of the show and will be featuring blog posts as part of our new “Fashion Fridays.” Follow along as the class prepares for the show and get an inside look on what it takes to put together a fashion show!
The Fashion Show Production class is gearing up for their annual Silver Needle Runway in late spring. Every year the Marist Fashion program produces this large-scale event for over 2,500 guests, including industry professionals and press. The event showcases garments made and designed by sophomores, juniors, and seniors of the Marist Fashion program. These designs are judged by a panel of industry professionals prior to hitting the runway. The show, which is being held on May 4th at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, is one of the most highly anticipated events put on by Marist College. This highly regarded show is made possible by the efforts of the Fashion Show Production Class. This class is run in a professional working format, with all teams working together at first, and then in groups run by the student directors. The class is overseen by show director Juan-Manuel Olivera-Silvera. Each year interviews are held to select the most qualified and passionate students to be placed on one of the class’s three teams: Communication, Creative, and Production. Each student has a different task in order to ensure the show runs seamlessly.
The Production Team is led by student directors Lauren Kurre and Michelle Savino. Their responsibilities vary from: organizing the pre-show thesis judging, which involves the senior designers presenting their collections to a panel of industry professionals who determine the awards, to professional model casting and creating a model lineup. Lauren and Michelle act as a liaison between the FSP team, models, designers, faculty, and venue production team. They take care of all the behind the scenes work to make sure everything runs smoothly on the day of the show.
The Communication Team is led by student director Haley O’Grady who is in charge of the marketing and promotional aspects of the show. Her responsibilities include overseeing the Public Relations Team and Social Media Team as they create an effective marketing campaign for the show. Haley acts as a liaison between the FSP team, industry contacts, press, and social media outlets. The team helps create a “buzz” and draws attention to the show through different campaigns and events on and around the Marist College campus.
The Communication Team brainstorming campaign ideas.
The Creative Team is led by student director Taylor Durand, who helps all these ideas come to life. This team assists Taylor in creating a consistent theme throughout all the aspects of the show, as well as the visual components. Taylor helps oversee and review weekly music submissions from the Visual Audio Coordinators and directs the promotional videos. The creative team also helps to design the runway and seating layout and then writes the script to determine the sequence of events for the show. The vision of the show would not be possible without this team.
Fashion Show Production is a very unique and hands on experience for all involved. This class gives students an opportunity to learn more about the industry in a combined real-world/classroom setting. The class helps prepare students before they enter the workforce, stressing the importance of time management and professionalism. We are currently hard at work trying to make this year’s show the best one yet. We hope to see you there!
Shannon Sproul, Class of 2021