Friday night, The Fashion Show (TFS) committee members, producers and supporters all gathered to celebrate the launch of the TFS 2024: Midnight Bloom. Audience members buzzed in anticipation of the reveal of this year’s guest designer.
Gerdin’s Kingland Hub was decked out in purple and green, this year’s theme colors, as the organization’s members and their guests enjoyed a night of socializing, snacks and suspense, as they waited for the event’s big reveal.
“We had to plan the entire event without knowing who the guest designer is,” said Owen Abrahamsen, a junior in apparel, merchandising, and design and special events director for TFS.
The student-led production’s 15 different teams tackled their own unique tasks to create a cohesive event with themed decorations, photo backgrounds and a charcuterie table, all without a clue about the company with which it would soon be collaborating.
Midway through the night, producers Sadie Besch, Megan Lenzi, Lindsey Skaaland and Katherine Haidvogel revealed the guest designer for this year’s show: Nordstrom.
The multi-billion dollar company will partner with TFS to bring the Midnight Bloom show to life, displaying hints of their colorful and innovative clothing throughout the video reveal.
“This has been a long time coming… we’re so super excited for this… Go Nordstrom!” Besch said after the reveal.
Producers Besch and Lenzi, both seniors in apparel, merchandising, and design, serve as the outreach directors for the TFS organization. They work to connect with companies and Iowa State alumni and encourage them to get involved in the show. They also work with the organization’s managerial producers to plan the partnership, all while keeping the secret up until the big reveal.
“It finally feels real… we looked through a few different companies before landing on Nordstrom… they sent a response back within a week,” Besch said.
Managerial producers Skaaland and Haidvogel, seniors in apparel, merchandising, and design, oversee all 15 committees in the organization. These committees range from set design to marketing and alumni relations. They expressed their excitement for the upcoming show and their gratitude for the hard work and long hours they have seen each committee put in.
“I’ve learned a lot about leadership and working with different work styles,” Skaaland said when reflecting on how she has grown in the past years as a part of TFS.
Haidvogel shared that she has grown in her public speaking skills, as well as her ability to work with different personalities and methods when approaching their tasks.
All four producers have worked their way up from roles as committee members and directors, through a rigorous interview process to become producers for their senior year. All producers are elected in the previous year of TFS and are responsible for interviewing and choosing the next set of producers to lead the following year’s show.
The Fashion Show 2024 is set for 7 p.m. on April 20, with tickets being released sometime during mid-March. All are invited to attend the show, with last year’s production reaching over 2,000 attendees.
