Iowa State’s The Fashion Show organization is one of the largest student-run fashion shows in the country. The Fashion Show’s philanthropy committee hosted a pop-up thrift event from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m Tuesday in the Student Innovation Center, offering students the opportunity to shop for previously owned clothing donated by students, staff and community members. 

The proceeds from the event will be donated to Dress For Success, an organization based in Des Moines that provides free business attire for women in need, according to Madison Halliday, philanthropy committee director and senior in apparel, merchandising and design. 

The event included mannequins displaying outfits put together by committee members and organized tables showcasing the clothing and jewelry available for sale. Clothing racks were positioned throughout the room, showing off hand-picked pieces pulling in students from the Student Innovation Center’s common area. 

“We are here to spread the philanthropic aspects of The Fashion Show,” said Marzieh Poorbarfehi, a committee member and anthropology grad student. “We also want to encourage people to use sustainable fashion.”

Dress for Success is one of the philanthropy committee’s biggest responsibilities for the year as it raises money for the show’s production costs as well as promotes ethically sourced clothing to students and visitors.

“We put out donation boxes around campus and in some sororities and fraternities and basically just advertised and pushed for donations from people who wanted to get rid of some clothing,” Halliday said. “Then we went through every piece of clothing to price, which took some time.” 

In addition to hosting Dress for Success, The Fashion Show’s philanthropy committee is in charge of reaching out to the community and advertising on behalf of the organization.  

“Another event we did was sewing hats for children in hospitals around the area. We made about 135 in total, and we had so many people that showed up to help us,” Poorbarfehi said. 

Ashlyn McDougall, a junior in apparel, merchandising and design, attended the event as a photographer, catching shoppers and committee members in their natural element. 

“As a photographer, you sign up for what you want to do,” McDougall said. “You have to sign up for a minimum of four events…I especially love photographing The Fashion Show itself.”

The Fashion Show will be held at 7 p.m. April 20. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster and range from $16 to $31.