In-Transit To Our Next Station: FiftyFive
Let’s Recap
By Yuvna Jayant
Thursday March 16th, 2023. If you are not aware of the significance of this date, I will have to ask you to take a seat and come IN-TRANSIT to our next station, FiftyFive! We will recap the first-ever Fashion Show that was hosted by Sabrina, the VP Marketing under the Ted Rogers Students’ Society (TRSS), alongside the Apparel Team: Vathulen, Kenneth, Nora, Rebeca and Jack.
T-Minus 30 minutes to FiftyFive
Even Though I had arrived 30 minutes early to the show, the 150-capacity venue was fully-packed with students sporting various fashion styles ranging from chic to streetwear to business-casual. I wondered what other students’ were expecting from this fashion show and I had the wonderful opportunity to interview first-year Business Management student Dhruvi who shared her thoughts and expectations for the fashion show.
“I want to see how each student group has incorporated their apparel lines to symbolize their name and brand” ~ Dhruvi
There was music playing in the venue, conversations were taking place and photographers were in place capturing every moment of this historical event. However at around 7 pm, every student’s gaze was taken towards the entrance of the doors at the venue, where models in various fashion styles had lined up and it was SHOW TIME!
You have arrived at FiftyFive!
The show was kickstarted by members of the Ted Rogers Marketing Association, Ted Rogers Ace and the Retail Students’ Association, where the teams displayed their various apparel lines ranging from hoodies, quarter-zip ups and tote bags. The student groups displayed their apparel through various creative looks that definitely slayed the house down!
After that amazing display of apparel lines from student groups, it was then time for us to experience and explore our destination with FiftyFive.
FiftyFive, previously known as Bay and Dundas, showed off the newly branded ’55 Garden District line’ with models wearing a selection of the hoodies in the colors cream and black and accessorizing it with the new FiftyFive tote bags and caps. However, the Easter egg during this display was when one of the models wore an unreleased version of the hoodie and I want to keep this a surprise and just say that there will be a LOT of people lining up for this color.
Fiftyfive closed the fashion show with multiple rounds of applause, constant cheering and many proud smiles from the audiences. It was then time for us to explore the destination FiftyFive with some of the team members who played a major role in bringing the fashion show to life.
We Reside At FiftyFive.
The IN-TRANSIT fashion show hosted by FiftyFive brought the brand’s vision to life with an extraordinary display of apparel lines that has never been seen at the Ted Rogers School of Management. The event was clearly a huge success amongst the students and I had the opportunity to interview several members of the team, who contributed their best efforts to put together this creative vision.
Jack Suficiencia is a 4th year Law and Business student and he is an Apparel Associate on the TRSS team. As a part of the Apparel team, Jack was responsible for the opening ceremony at the IN-TRANSIT fashion show and I had a chance to speak with him about his thoughts on the theme of the show.
What does the theme of the fashion show IN-TRANSIT mean to you?
“IN-TRANSIT means we are just a variety of different kinds of people in all walks of life. Especially as a commuter school there’s so many different perspectives that you get into different types of students. I think as TRSM students we embody diversity and we should be able to just show off how diverse we are and not just through race and background but also in terms of style. I think that our ability to revolutionize the idea of school merch rebranding and having the phrase In- Transit really shows off how we are as a school”
Yenuli Kongaha, is a first year Economics and Management Science student who modeled for the IN-TRANSIT fashion show. She definitely captivated many gazes, including mine, when she was on the runway and I had the amazing opportunity to speak with her about her decision to join the runway as a model!
Why did you choose to model for the brand FiftyFive?
“What really attracted me about the fashion show was the fact that it was a student run brand and the fact that they were really attracting all students of all personalities and different styles. I knew that going into this I didn’t have the aesthetic that I thought all the other streetwear students would have. But I was like I have never modeled before and I have never ever had the opportunity too. I am from a South Asian family and they don’t believe in this type of stuff, but I always had a spot for fashion in my heart and I knew that when I see the opportunity I have to chase it and I did. I was like I may never get this opportunity again and I want to inspire other girls and boys who are struggling to come out of their shell. I’m a very shy and introverted person. I know saying that after walking on a runway sounds very hypocritical but I’m not I’m telling you this was one of the most things I’ve ever done in my life”
Vathulen Raveenderan, is a fourth year Economics and Management Science student and he is one of the Apparel Managers on the TRSS team. Vathulen played a huge role in bringing the brand FiftyFive to life and his immense commitment and contributions to the brand helped bring the fashion show to life. Vathulen shares with us a glimpse of the rebranding process of Bay and Dundas to Fiftyfive and he also talks about his thoughts on the fashion show.
How did you feel before the show and what did the planning process look like for IN-TRANSIT?
“Beginning of this week, we had 37 tickets sold and we were super worried. No rehearsals had been run yet and we were still arranging all the models, so beginning of this week it was super super stressful. We got closer and closer and the more we saw the models actually get into their element and we saw everything coming together. This FiftyFive brand started with me, Kenneth sitting at TRSS transition meetings and we were sitting in the auditorium 1067 beside each other trying to figure out what name to do. That entire day was just to figure out names and we went from that to sitting in my apartment at like 3 am trying to figure out designs and it went from that to ‘Oh, let’s do a fashion show!’. To see the show actually finish and then it exceeded my expectations, it’s such a crazy feeling like knowing that entire process and seeing it through and now we’re doing the show really incredible. I can’t say it enough but everyone pulled through and it was the best it could have been and I don’t see anything I would have changed to be honest”
Finally, we have Sabrina Padilla who is a fourth year Marketing student and is the current VP of Marketing at TRSS. She was the backbone in the process of organizing the first-ever fashion show and she shares with us how she felt during the process of planning such a major event and how she feels now after hosting one of the most successful events at TRSM this semester!
How did you feel before the show and now after hosting the first ever fashion show at TRSM?
“I’m not gonna lie, I felt very nervous and anxious. I wasn’t sure if things were gonna go well or if anything was gonna go right. Honestly, I kind of calmed down when I saw my team and the way they put their passion and determination into this project and the way everybody was excited even our models. I honestly felt a bit better because I was like I have full trust in my team and I just felt to be honest really grateful. I just tried my best to kind of make sure everything runs well and that we get to share the vision we had as a team, the vision I had two years ago. I feel like now we have made a name for ourselves FiftyFive and how do I feel about organizing and hosting the first ever fashion show? For some, that’s kind of crazy and to be honest with you like it still hasn’t hit my head. I mean I have been called a lunatic for doing an event considering I am the VP marketing and we don’t really do events, but I was like let’s do it and we did it and now here we are. I hope that this continues as a legacy to all the succeeding years that you know there’s nothing that we can’t do. I honestly was just in shock like I cried ike I just can’t believe it happened and none of this would happen without my team”
Lastly, I interviewed Kaylie Figaroa, who is currently a third year Marketing student and she is also the next VP of Marketing at the TRSS for the year 2023/24. Kaylie shares with us some of her thoughts on fashion and she also gives us a sneak peak on how she aims to grow the brand in her term as VP of Marketing!
As the next VP of Marketing, where do you see the brand going in the next year?
“I feel like we’ve made us a very strong brand and after this fashion show I think I’m ever more passionate about FiftyFive. I hope to reach more people and I hope to keep on growing the brand in the future and maybe we will cater to some more individual groups next year. I guess we just have to wait and see and wait for the next launch.”
You have finally reached the end!!
Even if you were not able to attend the fashion show, I hope this article made you feel as if you were sitting in the front-row of the fashion show with the best seat in the venue!
Thank you for your time and patience through this read and we have finally reached our destination and the place we reside at, FiftyFive.