As more people trickled into Tommy Nevin’s Pub, 1450 Sherman Ave., on Thursday night, students were hanging out around a pool table, talking and eating cheese and vegetables with dip. Live music from the Chicago-area band Archie Star filtered in from the adjoining room.
The bar set the scene for the Rock ‘n’ Rag Benefit Concert and Fashion Show, organized mostly by Communication junior Sasha Shaikh, a representative for Macy’s clothing line American Rag. Students who came to support their friends were admitted for free with a clothing donation for Entry Point, a homeless shelter in Evanston. The event planners worked with OASIS to find a worthy organization, Shaikh said.
Shaikh picked 16 “models,” all students from major Northwestern campus groups. The students walked down a runway, showing off pieces of American Rag clothing.
“This is the campuswide event,” said Shaikh, who hosted a smaller, VIP fashion preview in the fall. “Personally, my favorite part of the event is that we have 16 different student organizations represented, and it’s a great networking opportunity.”
Groups such as College Feminists, Women’s Varsity Fencing Team, Pi Beta Phi, Chi Psi, Studio 22, Zeta Tau Alpha, Men’s Club Soccer, the Institute for Student Business Education and Fusion Dance Company were represented at the event. The models were split evenly between men and women.
Shaikh said she thought it was both beneficial to the students and American Rag for the event to involve such a diverse representation of NU.
“We picked the biggest student groups we could and ones that would have the strongest followings, that way it gives more exposure to the brand,” Shaikh said.
Shaikh heard about being an ambassador for American Rag through AdShop, an advertising group on campus. She said she had an interest in marketing and decided to take on the work of hosting events for the clothing line at NU. Medill junior Sneh Naik helped her organize the event and set up at Nevin’s.
“It was actually very easy to set this up – American Rag comes up with all the funding and we pick a location, and everything fell into place,” Naik said. “We picked Nevin’s because it’s a great place to just have a good time and hear good music. It fits into the American Rag lifestyle.”
American Rag paid for Archie Star and another band who played after them, Square Wave. If the models got 20 people from their group to come to the event, they got to keep the clothes they picked out for the fashion show. Nancy Fru, a member of Fusion and a Communication sophomore, won $200 for Fusion by bringing the most supporters.
Weinberg junior Samantha Nemecek, who represented the Varsity Women’s Fencing Team, said the student groups appreciated the opportunity to win money.
“Our travel squad can always use money for when we travel to tournaments around the country,” Nemecek said. “It’s great just to give us the opportunity and we get to help out a shelter while we’re at it.”
The models were able to select up to three items of clothing from the Macy’s at Old Orchard Shopping Center, said model and Weinberg junior Jenna Hartnett.
Jake Kneeman, who represented Club Soccer, said the event was an incentive to try something new, but picking out clothes was difficult.
“(Going shopping) was really funny because I didn’t know what I was doing,” said the Weinberg sophomore, who laughed as he admitted the girls had to help him.
“It was really awesome because all the models got to know each other after going to the mall together to pick out clothes, and it was nice to see them become friends,” Shaikh said.
The fashion show started about 9:30 p.m. after the two bands finished playing.
“(Macy’s) believes in the power of word-of-mouth and students themselves instead of just advertising in magazines,” Shaikh said before the fashion show. “I’m so happy we got 16 such diverse people.”
Reach Corinne Lestch at [email protected].
