Students in the fashion, entrepreneurship, and music departments successfully planned and produced their very own fashion show this past week! Members of the Introduction to Fashion and Introduction to Entrepreneurship classes collaborated to create outfits and plan Fashion & Entrepreneurship: Stories and Role Models, a fashion show and informative discussion held on Wednesday, November 16, at the Stone Ridge campus. The event highlighted the designs, merchandise, and entrepreneurial stories of seven fashion companies from the local community. The designers and companies who worked with the students included Leong Ong, Pool 28, LLC; Cal Patch, Hodge Podge Farm; Karina Cousineau, Karina Dresses; Margrit Wenzel, LGND Supply Co; Beth Petramale, Next Boutique; Ryan Roche, Ryan Roche Fashion; and Kelly Lyndgaard, Unshattered. A following panel discussion with the business owners offered wisdom and advice for the up-and-coming designers and entrepreneurs, as well as the public.
To create the show, the Fashion and Entrepreneurship students were put into teams and received valuable experience while they studied the work of the fashion companies, met with the business owners, held interviews about their designs and companies, and planned the fashion show. The students compiled what they learned about each company into a story that they shared at the show. Designs were showcased using students as models. A group of students studying Music Entrepreneurship designed the music for the event, and students planned and implemented the marketing for the fashion show.
Assistant Professor Mindy Kole, Director of the Darlene L. Pfeiffer Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, was enthusiastic about
the event and its importance to Ulster: “Projects like Fashion & Entrepreneurship: Stories and Role Models are what set SUNY Ulster apart from other colleges and universities. Here at SUNY Ulster, students don’t just learn about entrepreneurship and fashion from lectures and textbooks, they learn by
immersing themselves in the real world, they learn by doing and spending time with experts. Students actually practice skills and the characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset through projects like this. This is truly the SUNY Ulster way.”
We commend the SUNY Ulster students for all their hard work, and thank the business owners for their support and participation!
