Bejeweled boots, Buster-branded blouses, fringed fashion—Western Michigan University students channeled their best Bronco spirit for a shot at a behind-the-scenes experience at one of the fashion industry’s biggest events.
Ainsley Rahm, a supply chain management student, earned the all-expenses-paid trip to New York Fashion Week (NYFW)—alongside Genesis Fernandez, a fashion design and development student, after winning the Bronco Spirit in Motion Competition.
Supported by Western’s Office of Marketing and Strategic Communications in partnership with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) and IMG’s fashion events division, the students attended U of NYFW, a unique educational opportunity offering a peek behind the curtain of the fashion industry with access to select runway shows, panel discussions and networking with industry leaders.
“I called my mom crying immediately when I found out I won,” says Rahm, who has been interested in fashion since she was little, recalling trying to design clothes with a mannequin that her grandma got her around age 10.
The Western NYFW competition challenges students interested in careers in fashion to put their creativity to the test. This year, participants were asked to create a visual design, product design or marketing project that captures the dynamic essence of the Bronco: bringing WMU spirit and pride to life. A committee composed of faculty and staff evaluated the presentations and chose the winners.
Rahm followed the marketing design prompt, laying out a comprehensive campaign for a student-designed T-shirt. She included extensive market research, polling students about shirt preferences and considering other successful university campaigns to design a tee rooted in tradition.
“I thought back to my summer camps and how everyone would sign your T-shirts, and they became a sort of wardrobe scrapbook of that time,” she says, suggesting the annual shirt designs be displayed year after year at Heritage Hall.
“I loved this idea because it will show how students interpret the spirit of WMU over time,” says Greg Gerfen, a judge for the competition and executive-in-residence in the advertising and promotion program at WMU Haworth. “Her ideas to market the shirt to students and alumni were so strong. Ainsley understood that Gen Z likes experiences, and the experience of having the student body create a shirt that lives on long after they graduate has the potential to be a winning, sustainable idea.”
To generate interest, Rahm also developed a social media promotion plan, pop-up events to disseminate the shirts and a promotion where students could receive discounts on food at athletic events when they wore their shirt.
Rahm was really able to delve into the fashion industry during the trip, learning firsthand from industry professionals. “This experience further reaffirmed that this is what I’m really passionate about, and this is what I want to be doing,” she says.