Jessica Nau

 The Life of a Senior Designer:

An Inside Look at Jessica Nau's Senior Collection

Brenna Lahiff Senior Collection

The Life of a Senior Designer:

A Look at Brenna Lahiff's Senior Collection

Kayla Cappiello Senior Designer The Lights of New York

The Life of a Senior Designer

An inside look at Kayla Cappiello's senior collection

Model Rehearsals

What Does it Take to Be a Model in The Silver Needle Fashion Show? Practice!

Here is a look at our new model rehearsals:

Kira Pannucci Senior Collection

The Life of a Senior Designer 

A look at Kira Pannucci's Senior Collection

Lauren Duncan

The Life of Senior Designer

An inside look at Lauren Duncan's Senior Collection

FINISHED ELLEN VIDEO

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Annual Silver Needle Fashion Show, a student-produced event by the Fashion Program at Marist College. Danielle DeZao, Communications Manager of this year's show, is the founder of  h♥rt1, a non-profit organization striving to "heal a heart, remove the 1," of the 1:3 ratio of teens affected by physical and/or emotional relationship abuse.

Watch as this year's fashion show production team and over 100 h♥rt1 supporters recreate The Ellen Show in order to not only raise awareness of dating violence but also the development and growth of the Marist Fashion Program over the past 25 years!

 

Thank You ,

h♥rt1 and Ryan Rivard and Brian Smith from MCTV!

Rachel Gallagher

The Life of Senior Designer

An inside look at Rachel Gallagher's Senior Collection

Meet The Judges (Continued)

What’s an award show without the judges? Get a sneak peek at this year’s guest judges for the Poughkeepsie Show! We are honored to be having these accomplished industry members attend and critique our students.  Which designer will win best overall collection?  Which model will walk down our runway in the most innovative garment? Who will provide the best overall merchandising business plan?  The awards will be chosen by the following panel:

April Uchitel

April has 23 years of experience in the fashion and luxury goods industry. Currently she is the Executive Vice President of Global Strategy for Diane von Furstenberg (DVF), the global luxury RTW and accessories brand that was re-launched in 2000. Prior to this she was the Global Head of Sales at DVF for 8 years, driving the build out of the DVF brand both in the US and internationally. Under her leadership, DVF expanded its distribution network to 1,200 points of sale in 71 countries. She has been instrumental in positioning DVF as a key brand for all major department stores internationally, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Barneys, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, and Harrods as well as in all major luxury online retailers and top boutiques worldwide. Prior to joining DVF she held various senior executive positions at BCBG, Prada and Karen Kane.

April attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, where she studied Psychology. She grew up in Colorado, spent 10 years in Los Angeles, and currently divides her time between NYC and Hurley, NY, with her husband Diego and their two children Luella and Sebastian.

  

Rina Stone

Rina Stone was named creative director of InStyle in 2007, overseeing the core magazine, special issues, books and digital. Stone played an integral role in the magazine’s successful redesign in 2008, and in 2010 InStyle received Time Inc.’s Luce Award for “Magazine of the Year.”  With the category’s highest newsstand sales, largest number of advertising pages and most affluent readership, InStyle is the world’s leading fashion magazine media brand
Stone’s career at Time Inc. began in 2002, when she was named PEOPLE magazine’s first creative director. Prior to that, she served as Talk’s design director, and worked on the prototype for Radar. Her prior experience included design and art director positions at Us Weekly and its monthly incarnation Us magazine. She also redesigned and launched Sports Illustrated for Women, and contributed to the redesigns of GQ and Entertainment Weekly.
Stone has received three silver medals and numerous merit awards from, among others, The Society of Publication Designers, The Society of Illustrators, American Illustration and American Photography.  She received a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University.

Mark DeZao

Mark DeZao has over 25 years experience at all levels of retail, starting his career with the launch of the Easy Spirit footwear brand. With a keen eye for product, Mark evolved his career from store operations, buying, planning and merchandising into his current role as the EVP Easy Spirit Design and Direct, Nine West Footwear Corporation/The Jones Group. Mark’s product focus is comfort and innovation and he applies this knowledge over a number of NWG brands.

A lifelong proponent of learning and the development of talent, Mark spends a great deal of time crafting and cultivating footwear training and development programs at NWG and also have been selected as a senior member of the JAG Corporate Committee on Leadership and Culture.

Mark holds a BA from William Paterson University enjoys cooking in his spare time and resides in New Jersey with his family.

Meet The Judges!

What’s an award show without the judges? Get a sneak peek at this year’s guest judges for the Poughkeepsie Show! We are honored to be having these accomplished industry members attend and critique our students.  Which designer will win best overall collection?  Which model will walk down our runway in the most innovative garment? Who will provide the best overall merchandising business plan?  The awards will be chosen by the following panel:

Dominique D. Pino-Santiago

'99 Marist Grad. Owner and Designer of Dominique Daniela, Inc. in New York, NY, and New Hope, PA.  It was her own wedding that inspired her to start her own bridal and eveningwear line.  Her gowns are custom made and are as elegant her clients.  She also has a strong background in womens sportswear. She has worked along the side of Marist Alum, JR Morrissey whom she credits for exposing her to the true business of fashion.  Dominique lives in New Hope, PA with her husband, daughter, and son.

  

Michelle Gondolini

Michelle Gondolini started RMC, USA in 1996 with her husband, Raymond. RMC, USA is a production company that specializes in knitwear with their main account being Anthropologie. They have worked close with them for the last 12 years. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute in Technology and currently lives in Brooklyn with her family. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys yoga, traveling, and cooking.

Christina Mendez

The Life of a Senior Designer

An inside look at Christina Mendez's Senior Collection

Ellen Degeneres

Our Quest For Sponsorship:

The Making of Our Ellen DeGeneres Tape! 

Along with some bloopers

Shaelynn Hanning

The Life of Senior Designer

An inside look at Shaelynn Hanning's Senior Collection