College Town Kent (CTK) has created the perfect “girl’s night out” event to showcase local businesses and bring the community together: the For the Love of Fashion show. This Friday, you’ll have the chance to enjoy food from Kent’s best restaurants while you watch the hottest spring trends strut down the runway. After the show, you and your friends will be able to buy featured looks at the one-of-a-kind Mini College Town Kent Boutique.
Five shops will be featured in the show: Carnaby Street Style, Graceylane, One Love Yoga & Boutique, Rush by Dino Palmieri, and UniversiTees. Each retailer will bring something different to For the Love of Fashion.
According to Carnaby Street Style’s (CSS) owner, Emma Kennell, CSS has been working closely with CTK to plan For the Love of Fashion from start to finish. One of their staff members will be serving as the stage manager during the show and their models are CSS customers. In regard to what we’ll see on the runway, Kennell says to “get ready for a little color.”
Kennell also revealed that CSS will be featuring a variety of styles from casual to formal. “We love outfits that reflect versatility, and we definitely have that in the show,” she said.
Graceylane will send four models down the runway in their newest Brighton and Vera Bradley pieces. The manager, Lisa, says that she enjoys being located in CTK because “the town is very alive with people and businesses.”
UniversiTees will feature four models and eight outfits at the show. They will also be giving away 20% off coupons to the first 200 guests. Justin Heiser of UniversiTees said that he loves the diverse group of businesses in CTK. “Whether it is Welcome Weekend in August, or the holiday shopping season, there is always something going on,” he said.
Rush by Dino Palmieri will be responsible for each model’s hair and makeup. Assistant Manager Terri Lamm said that the salon loves the feeling of community in CTK. “It’s a fun and creative support system,” she said.
CTK made For the Love of Fashion even better by offering to donate the proceeds from the event to one sorority’s philanthropy. To decide which sorority would get the funds, CTK created a competition. In order to win, a sorority had to send as many of their members as possible to the stores in Kent and then create a picture that incorporated their philanthropy and CTK. Delta Zeta came out on top and their picture (shown below) got over 230 likes on Instagram. Their philanthropy is the Delta Zeta Foundation which supports the speech and hearing impaired.
Taylor Ridenour, Delta Zeta’s Lipsynch Chair, said that being a part of For the Love of Fashion has been a great experience for her chapter. “Not only did we get to participate in the original sorority challenge, but we will have girls volunteering at the event, and even modeling in the show,” she said.
Delta Zeta is also grateful for the opportunity to spread the word about their philanthropy outside of the Greek community.
Tori Tedesco and Debra Sherman, members of CTK’s Marketing Team, are looking forward to the show. “College Town Kent is the ideal place to shop, eat, and play and we are hoping that this event will showcase the property and our tenants to a new audience while raising funds for the Delta Zeta Foundation,” they said.
Tedesco and Sherman also said that they have enjoyed working with Kent State students and sororities; they hope to do more collaborations in the future.
For the Love of Fashion will take place this Friday, February 13th. You can purchase tickets for the event for $10 at Carnaby Street Style or online. Doors to the Kent State University Hotel & Conference Center open at 6:30 and the show begins at 7:30. Be sure to arrive early because the first 200 guests will score some awesome swag from the businesses featured in the show! For more information on the event, head over to CTK’s Facebook page. Her Campus Kent State hopes to see you at For the Love of Fashion!