In preparation for the upcoming career fair, over 25 students strutted down the runway in front of a large crowd of their peers and under bright white lights. They modeled professional and business-casual ensembles during the Campus Closet Fashion Show.
The clothes at the “Project Runway”-style event belonged to Campus Closet, a free on-campus resource that lends suits and other professional clothes to students for business situations.
The show was intended to demonstrate the appropriate and stylish ways to present oneself for an interview or first day at work. Volunteers served as models for the show.
“I have always wanted to be a model deep down, so I thought this would be a good opportunity for my modeling career to launch,” said Arthima
Chaisiri, second-year ARCH. “That’s why I decided to volunteer.”
The event featured LaTavia Roberson, who is a Grammy Award-winning original member of Destiny’s Child. Roberson has had a long career in the music industry, and she currently has several projects in the works. She
appears as an actress in several movies to be released in 2017, has released an EDM track that marks her debut as a solo artist and published a memoir in the spring of 2017.
The event was emceed by Kenji Terawaki, manager of Campus Closet. As each individual walked down the black runway to the applause of the audience, Roberson commented on each outfit and told the audience why the choices made by each student’s stylist were ideal for a business situation.
Roberson encouraged confidence in the models and in the audience. She made several comments to this effect throughout the show.
“Make sure you are your best self no matter what anyone else says,” Roberson said. “Love yourself no matter what.”
Twelve hair stylists and makeup artists from Paul Mitchell the School in Atlanta were available for free consultations and live demos in order to further educate students on how to style their look for a professional environment. Students were shown how to braid hair in certain ways, arrange messy hair more neatly or do a
sophisticated makeup look.
Cedric Pendleton, an actor, producer and author, also made an appearance at the event in order to talk to visitors about fashion in the movie industry. Pendleton’s resume includes numerous movies, television shows and stage productions; he has even dabbled in stand-up comedy.
Later in the night, students were allowed the opportunity to mingle with a number of Tech’s partner recruiters that were also in attendance at the event. Since
attendees were encouraged to “dress for success,” the representatives were made available to answer questions regarding the various roles appearance can play at
interviews and provide feedback about their clothing choices.
Amy McGaughey, the student ambassador for Campus Closet, was one of the organizers of the event and talked briefly about the history of the organization and its role in providing free wardrobe choices for students who might need them.
“As we all know as students, free is the best,” McGaughey said.