Make A Wish!

Every year, Fashion for Philanthropy hosts their annual spring fashion show, which is coming up this Friday, April 8^th!  Fashion for Philanthropy, FFP, is an on-campus club that amplifies different aspects of the fashion world and hosts fundraising events that benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. As an executive board member of FFP, I am proud to announce that this year’s theme is FFP Schwarz – Toys on the Runway. We chose this theme based on trends from various Fashion Week presentations that were a fusion of the relaxed 1970’s vibe and 1980’s retro lifestyle with bright Barbie inspired pop-culture accents. While the show itself is always an exciting event that both fundraises and fosters school spirit, the process of putting the show together is itself perhaps even more exciting.

Image for this year's show!

Preparation for the show is a yearlong process. Along with the rest of the executive-board, the club hosts different bake sales and food-runs during the first semester to raise money to purchase decorations and food for the fashion show. Mid-way through the first semester, we pick a theme, and once we have done so, we create an in-depth budget packet that we present to the Office of Student Life. This packet allots the necessary funds for the executive board to finance the entire show, which includes more decorations, hiring a DJ, purchasing raffle tickets, and necessary supplies for models and student designers.

 

Lollipops for a fall fundraiser

It is truly the second semester that everything comes together for the show. This, in my opinion is the most hectic, but the most exciting part of the year! One of the most important parts of the show is gathering sponsors and donors for the event. These companies, which span from accessories brands to couture fashion lines, will either donate items for our raffle or for the student models to wear during the show. Additionally, some pieces are put into our VIP gift bags, which are normally priced up to $125 a bag! Essentially, a general admissions ticket to the show is $6, and a VIP ticket is $12 – all if which benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This year we are showcasing some New York designers as well as gifts from Bloomingdale’s, Pura Vida, and Donna Morgan Bridal! Our alumni network is key in assisting us with the sponsorship portion of the event since many are so willing to help us reach out to contacts in the fashion industry.

A sneak peak of some of the clothes donated for this year's show!

The week of the show, (which is this week!!,) is always a rush. Every night we have auditions for our student models, which we cast several weeks prior to the show. The male and female models are always an exciting group to work with since they are the face of the show and always promote spirit around campus to hype up the event! Additionally, this week we get together all of the baked goods and work on all the decorations that will be set up in the Rose Hill Gym for the event. We also receive all of the gifts from our sponsors that the club works so hard for all semester. The show itself is only an hour, but it feels like so much more time!

I always have felt that this is an event that captures Fordham's spirit of caring for the whole person while working for others – essentially the annual fashion show is a culminating moment on campus where spring is in full bloom and adds to the positive spirit towards the end of the school year. And the best part is, it’s all for a great cause!

Student-made flier that announced modeling auditions.