The gymnasium floor at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum was transformed into a lit up runway on Friday, April 14, as hundreds of attendees enjoyed an oasis of fashion, creativity and more at the “The XIIth Hour.” This year’s event name and theme signifies the 12th anniversary of The Fashion Event that continues to be a favorite student-led event on campus hosted by the College of Human Sciences.
Known as Auburn University’s premier fashion showcase and one of the top college-level productions in the nation, the annual Fashion Event is co-sponsored by the College of Human Sciences Department of Consumer and Design Sciences and the Auburn Apparel Merchandising and Design Association.
Since its inception in 2011, The Fashion Event has experienced tremendous growth and the most impressive fact about the event is every garment presented on the runway is designed, created and styled by students in The Fashion Event Planning Class.
The 22 students in the class are assigned different roles and placed on committees that include creative, fundraising and look book, media, styling, modeling, social media and decorations. .
Kinsey Pastore, a senior majoring in apparel merchandising who also serves as the Auburn Apparel Merchandising and Design Association president, has been involved in The Fashion Event since her freshman year where she has gone from Styling Chair, to Director in 2022 to now President.
“Our organization is multi-functional so I have to be able to oversee the different functions of AMDA,” Pastore said. “So, we have The Fashion Event, SWATCH Magazine and more so it’s been an honor not only being able to be involved with The Fashion Event but making the connections through all the other things we do on campus. I think personally the biggest difference was focusing more on interpersonal connections within our college rather than just focusing on the success of the event so that’s been a treat because I’ve got to meet a lot of awesome people.”
Through those connections, Pastore met Jim Sinor, vice president of manufacturing at the VF Corporation, a member of the Apparel Advisory Board and supporter of The Fashion Event.
“I utilized that connection in just helping my mom and I grow our company,” Pastore said. “I love telling people that story because I heard his story and I connected with him through the advisory board and he’s given me a ton of knowledge.”
On top of making crucial connections that could help booster their careers after graduation, students who participate in The Fashion Event can take pride in the fact their own work is being displayed and leadership qualities are developed by working together in teams throughout the school year. One of those students stepping into a leadership role is Cecelia Mintz, also a senior majoring in apparel merchandising who served as the 2023 Fashion Event director.
“I’m the one making sure everyone gets their tasks done on time and I’ve been responsible for coordinating volunteers for every single committee that we have,” Mintz said. “What I love about it is getting to know everybody and getting to see how everyone is working together as a team and it’s amazing to watch. What I didn’t realize last year was how much work each individual committee was doing and now that I’m managing I’m like ‘wow, they are responsible for so much’ so I have a newfound appreciation for how it’s all working together.”
In addition to the fabulous garments, The Fashion Event ticket holders and students who attended were treated with music by World-famous DJ CoCo (Andrew Thorp) who has provided music for high fashion runway shows in New York, Paris, Milan and London as he helped highlight the commitment and creativity of apparel students with his musical talent in Auburn.
In regards to the garments, Savannah Londre, a sophomore majoring in apparel merchandising who also served on the styling committee, discussed the process of choosing the appropriate garments to feature paired with the models used in the show.
“We work hand-in-hand with the modeling committee so we are in charge of all the garments and getting them submitted, approving or denying them, what category they will be in such as this year we have three categories; general, The XIIth Hour and then light and dark,” Londre said. “We pair all the garments with the models and that’s a big role. We have 111 garments in the show this year so we have roughly 80 models in total. We have to constantly communicate with them and make sure everyone’s in check is the biggest challenge but in the end, it’s awesome and so fun.”
Those recognized at the conclusion of The Fashion Event included Best Mini Collection: Let The Light In by Charletta Young, Best Capstone Line: Diore X Harley Davidson, Best of Show: Phoenix by Sydnee Johnson, Rookie of the Year: Sean McAlpin, Best in Theme: Full Time by Elizabeth Langer and Most Sellable: Sleek by Anna Hyde.
For more information on The Fashion Event, visit aub.ie/fashionevent