Her Campus put New York Fashion Week and Mercedes Benz to shame with this year’s College Fashion Week in Chicago! Featuring clothing from European brand, boohoo, hair and makeup by TRESemme and bareMinerals, nutrition bars courtesy of Luna Bars, VitaCoco water, and a photo-booth run by Simon Premium Outlets, collegiettes from all over the Midwest travelled to Chicago to witness the show. After much configuring and planning, I was fortunate enough to be one of them!
Guests arrived to the show and were given programs for the night’s events. The first 400 people to enter were given “swag bags,” featuring some sweet products from the sponsors. Some of the products included bareMinerals lip gloss, boohoo sunglasses and boohoo emergency ponchos.
Attendees were given the model treatment, getting their make-under done by bareMinerals experts and receiving a free full size foundation matching their skin tone.
TRESemme offered hair touch-ups to all the guests, creating fabulous looks in under five minutes. TRESemme is also the official hair sponsor of the Mercedes Benz fashion show, just to show you how high Her Campus rolls!
After having hair and makeup done by professionals, guests were welcomed to have their professional headshots taken by a photographer for their LinkedIn profiles! They could then head over to the boohoo Sneak Peeks closet to adorn themselves with the fashions of the runway.
Any pictures they posted during the night with the appropriate social tags would be instantly printed at boohoo’s Instagram Polaroid station for the guests to take with them. After the guests had the chance to view all of the sponsored activities, they were invited to settle into their seats for the show to begin.
Cofounder and spokeswoman of Her Campus, Windsor Hanger Western, emceed the show and her introduction was a perfect reminder of what Her Campus is all about. “This show isn’t anything like New York or Mercedes Benz; everything you see here is real,” said Windsor, captivating the audience with one word. Unlike the high couture fashion shows, these were real college girls, owning that runway; these were real ready-to-wear clothes that adorned their bodies; and they most definitely changed the definition of real beauty.
College Fashion Week also offered three performing groups a chance for the spotlight. Each of the three performances occurred before each scene of the show. First to take the stage was Ignite Dance Company from DePaul University.
Their impressive routine set the stage for Scene Number One of the show: Imperial. Featuring a tousled top knot with a braided leather headband to unite the look, these girls commanded the stage in a cool urban look that screamed confidence. One after the other, these girls strutted their stuff, beaming as they posed for the audience.
Following the first scene, Loyola University Chicago’s Maddie Scott played piano and sang her heart out to covers of songs, “Latch” by Disclosure and “Halo” by Beyoncé.
As if it weren’t introduction enough, Brooklyn Princess was announced as Scene Number Two. Unified by a polished side chignon, the girls seemed to dance across the room in this romantic-meets-sporty look. Glowing with pride, these beauties definitely turned some heads!
The final flawless performance was by Run for Cover, a male a cappella group from University of Chicago!
As the last echo of their cover of “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons rang out, the call for the final scene was deafening. How could they possibly top the last two looks?! Called Woodlander, this fall friendly line just begged for you to cozy up as the plaids, wools and furs marched on. It featured a slight adaptation of the first hairdo, transforming the messy knot into a classic French twist pony. Man, those girls could rock it!
The final applause as all the models took the stage once more was full of pride. These girls had no training to make them as beautiful as they are. Thanks, Her Campus, for bringing us College Fashion Week and showing us the power of real beauty!