By Karla Lopez, Editor
Long State State Campus Couture met on Monday, Nov. 5 in the Family Consumer Science building to discuss the expenses and sponsors of the upcoming annual fashion show.
Present at the meeting were design liaison coordinator Nicole Cifuentes, senior assistant head coordinator Tomisin Oluwole, student coordinator Quori-Tyler Bullock, head coordinator Gabrielle Da Silva, public relations coordinators Alondra Pena and Alissa Oh, and creative director Nhi Bui.
To initiate the conversation over finances, Da Silva explained her experience with the video recording company and their conversation on the expenses for filming the fashion show.
“We got a quote of $4,000 from a video company and it’s out of our budget,” said Da Silva.
The $4,000 video package includes four rotating cameras with crew, the livestream of the show on the television platforms, a huge raw file of the entire video recording and backstage video clips.
After learning the costly charge of the video recording and livestream of the fashion show, Da Silva organized a quick follow-up with the company contractor the day of and established a budget limit of $2,000 for video production.
“What can you do for me with that, I asked him,” said Da Silva.
With the $2,000 budget, the video company will provide two individuals handling rotating cameras for the front stage, one stagnant camera and a small file size with a 2-3 minute highlight video of the show and snippets of the show itself.
Bui added her contribution: a personal 1 TB flash drive that would decrease the amount of the expense by a “couple of hundred dollars,” according to Da Silva.
As talk of the expenses of the video production simmered to a silence, Bullock suggested the potential of a fundraiser with Zero Express.
The fundraiser with Zero Express on Palo Verde Avenue gives 20 percent of its proceeds to the organization which fundraises with them, according to Bullock. The advertising flyers for the fundraiser are provided by the boba tea company as well.
“We need to make sure local businesses are interested,” said Da Silva.
Cifuentes and Bui then alluded to the deadline of the Campus Couture press release kit.
“The first page we talk about what we do, the show, and the support of Dr. Marshall and the second page talks about the history of Campus Couture, the ways we [students] put our efforts into fundraising,” said Da Silva.
Potential sponsors are given images of previous fashion shows, the breakdown costs of the show and a contract to pursue a sponsorship.
A honorable mention of San Diego Mesa College and their personalized PR kit brought conversation of modifications to the layout of the LBSU Campus Couture PR kit. Both Bui and Cifuentes attended San Diego Mesa College for two years and voiced their opinion on the effectiveness of creating a breakdown of different sponsorship opportunities.
“We need to make sure local businesses are interested,” said Da Silva. “Mesa College prices need to be modified for [LBSU]. It’s simply too much.”
In past years, Mesa College proposed an optional program ad space with four different sponsorships, the first being an honorary recognition for $30, a business card-size advertisement for $50, half a page for $100, or a full page for $150, according to Da Silva’s notes.
“This worked effectively in Mesa College and LBSU is the gem of the city,” said Cifuentes. “We would be losing on some financial gains with not sticking to the prices Mesa College imposed.”
Towards the tail end of the meeting, LBSU Campus Couture officers made a full circle to the Zero Express fundraiser and how the money will contribute to the overall expenses of the annual fashion show.
“We have to reiterate and confirm [that] the [fashion] show is up to par from previous years,” said Da Silva.
One by one, the 52 models present at the Oct. 9 model casting were under the scope of all four members. The model’s walk, measurements, and overall attitude were pinpoints of discussion.
“We need to filter through and get close to professional standards,” said Cifuentes.
All LBSU Campus Couture members in the midst of discussion and note references of the models exchanged laughs from the short-handed remarks and abbreviations made on their behalf. One of the comments made by Bullock about a model’s walk, “nice dawg” led the initial laughter session between the LBSU Campus Couture members.
“We have to reiterate and confirm that the fashion show is up to par from previous years,” said Da Silva.
Besides the jokes and laughs, the conversation of strict requirements of models led the other half discussion of the meeting. In the first round of model selecting, there was a set mutual agreement to the amount of models accepted.The 5’5 height minimum for female models and 5’8 height minimum for male models set the top requirement in narrowing the 52 models from the first model casting. According to Da Silva, it helps ease the process for the model approvals for the future planned three model calls but, “ a versatile group is a want but another big factor is how they walk right now.”
The selective approach reinforces the aesthetic of following the “professional standards” as Cifuentes mentioned early in the meeting.
After an hour and twenty minutes of deliberately evaluating the models, 30 models were chosen from the 52 individuals, “We follow-up by email, congratulate them and have them know to wait for further details once the first run through for the fashion show comes closer to date”, said Cifuentes.
Towards the tail end of the meeting, LBSU Campus Couture officers touch base on fundraisers for the month such as the candy fundraiser in FCS room 006 from Thurs. 25th to Wed. 31st and the Chick-Fil-A fundraiser Wed. 22nd.
Money raised in these fundraisers help with costs of the annual fashion show production and overall extravaganza, “We have to reiterate and confirm the [fashion] show is up to par from previous years,” said Da Silva.
