The Pitt Fashion Business Association (FBA) struck a pose at its eleventh-annual charity fashion show, “Couture du Jour,” which transformed the O’Hara Student Center Ballroom this past March into a runway stage with student models showing off designer clothes.
The show, which raised over $650 for Dress for Success Pittsburgh, promoted Pittsburgh’s current fashion style by teaming up with local boutiques.
“The concept of ‘Couture du Jour’ came from our desire to take our business knowledge from the classroom to the city,” says FBA President Sage Minton (Junior – Marketing & Business Information Systems). “Together, we cultivated an event that marks today’s trends in fashion.”
At the fashion show, attendees could shop, watch models demonstrate clothes on the runway, win prizes, and take pictures in a photo booth. Students purchased general admission tickets, while VIP tickets were reserved for FBA’s corporate partners, guest speakers, Pitt Business faculty, raffle sponsors, and alumni.
A new element to this year’s show was a trunk show.
“We decided to enhance the experience,” Minton says, “by allowing the boutiques to sell their apparel before and after the runway. Fusing a trunk show with a fashion show made the experience more worthwhile for our guests and helped us accomplish our goal of generating more revenue for Dress for Success Pittsburgh.”
Every dollar raised at Couture du Jour was donated to Dress for Success Pittsburgh.
“We’ve supported this organization for many years now because their mission and goals reflect what we believe in FBA,” Minton says. “Dress for Success strives to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and developmental tools.”
In total, FBA raised over $650 from this year’s show. About $530 was raised in ticket and raffle sales and boutiques donated $120. Each boutique that participated in the show either made a donation on their own or donated a portion of their sales to the charity.
“This year, we had our highest attendance, donated the most money, and improved the customer experience,” Minton says.
FBA is the only fashion club at Pitt. With over 40 members, most of whom are from the business school, the club combines fashion and business.
“Our slogan is ‘combining commerce and couture since 2008,” Minton says. “Our goal is to expose our members to as many aspects of the fashion business world as possible.”
Guest speakers from Aerie, Burlington Stores, and DICK’S Sporting Goods have visited FBA to speak about merchandising, financial analysis, brand marketing, social media marketing, portfolio building, e-commerce, and retail store operations.
“Fashion is entwined in everything we do. We provide business acumen through our various professional events such as guest speakers, workshops, and alumni connections,” Minton says.
Learn More
To join the Fashion Business Association, please contact Sage Milton at secretaryfba@gmail.com. Home to all different business majors, the group is always happy to add new members who have an interest in fashion.
Learn more about all 25+ student organizations at Pitt Business by visiting the Pitt Business student organizations web page.
