Runway 27. A club? More like an experience worth having!

What is Runway 27 you ask? Runway 27 is a student run club at the Fashion Institute of Technology. This organization has produced and hosted an annual fashion show every fall, for the past four years.

Here's a few facts about Runway 27

1. Runway 27 is separated into 3 different committees. Each committee has its own responsibilities.

The Merchandising Committee handles the wardrobe and sponsors for the show. They have some absolutely amazing designers in the show this year's sponsors include: French Connection, WDNY, Faviana, Ralph Lauren, Sam Edelman, Cosabella, Lands End, Maaji, Cult Individuality, NYC Vintage, and more!

The Public Relations Committee handles everything from the guest list to the advertising and social media.

The Production Committee handles the preparation and set for the fashion show.

2. Runway 27 has held 4 fashion shows so far

3. The club was started in 2013

4. They have an executive board of representatives within the group to oversee the entire fashion show. The executive board goes as followed:

Club Advisor Professor Lori Massaro
President Hannah Owens
Vice President Gregory Pepe
Secretary Liz Clark
Treasurer Erin Stief

Men’s Merch Kaily Adamic & Cade Boss
Women’s Merch Tara Hull & Amber Castellanos
Production Eleni Kouvaris & Jaclyn D’Andrea
PR Chairs Raella Verity & Stephanie Martinez
Men’s Coordinator Isabella Ekeze

Women’s Coordinator Lauren Murtaugh
Stage Manager Kim Massa
AV/Lighting Joel Yates & Harry DeJesus
Social Media Director Emily Barbera
Creative Director Kelly Chan
Assistant Directors Lauren Donadio & Nathan Maldonaldo
Webmaster Lucy Borden

Model Coach Cassidy Colpoys
Model Coordinator Emily Maestranzi
Community Service Julia Gianfortone

I actually had the chance to go to one of their meetings this past week. It was definitely a stressful meeting because it was a week before the fashion show. I sat in on the full meeting (I definitely plan on going to others). While there may be around 80 student members, this club is very well-run and controlled. Each person has a voice in the matter. Just to put it into perspective; the meeting started at about 1 p.m. in room C508. I took a good friend with me. (She's also one of the first people to go through each article I write, HEY EM!) The meeting started with a few words from the executive board. They discussed that nominations will be held the week after the fashion show for a new executive board. After, there was a presentation about possible makeup looks for the show, (Fun Fact: one of their sponsors this year is actually NYX cosmetics, which actually came about through their social media) The makeup looks are definitely amazing, if I do say so myself. After an open discussion with the entire club, they separated into the committees. I actually did a small bounce around from one committee to another, sitting in more on the PR committee meeting, where they spoke of hashtags, swag bags, ticket sales and VIP guests.

After researching the club itself, interviewing their club president Hannah Owens (thank you so much by the way Hannah!) and experiencing a club meeting itself, I must say that this is more than just a club. It is most definitely an experience worth having!

So if you've ever thought about joining, just go to one of their meetings or even just shoot them an email (I'll make sure to include all of their information at the end of this article). They're always welcoming new members. Even if you are not looking to join the club I would highly recommend attending their upcoming fashion show! Tickets are being sold in the breezeway. Tickets are free for FIT students and $5 for non-students. It's going to be a great show! The theme this year is Kaleidoscope Dream. The show will be this Thursday, November 17th in the Haft Auditorium at 7 pm.

Hope to see you there!
I'll be writing an article about the show next week as well, so stay tuned!

Connect with Runway 27!
Runway27@fitnyc.edu
@fit_runway27 on Twitter
@fit_runway27 on Instagram
you can like them at Runway27 on Facebook
you can also follow them @fitrunway27 on Snapchat

Thank you so much for the interview, Hannah!