WEST LIBERTY, WV – West Liberty University’s Topper Thrift had their annual Fashion Show for their third consecutive year in a row this Tuesday in the Student Union. The event started at 5 p.m. with various performances from other clubs and students, along with refreshments and racks of clothing from the store for students to buy.
Topper Thrift started back in 2022 to allow students to donate clothes and encourage awareness for consumer waste. The Topper Thrift Fashion Show was started by past WLU student, Tessa Ullom, to spark engagement in the campus community. The event shows students what they can do with secondhand clothing apparel in day-to-day life.
“I love fashion and wanted to show people that secondhand clothes and upcycling can be cute,” said Ullom.
The fashion show was taken up by Topper Thrift’s Executive Director, Nicolle Thompson, last semester, and she was able to tell us what all goes into hosting the event.
“There is a lot that actually goes into setting up the fashion show,” said Thompson. “From planning the themes, finding ways to break up the event, to actually setting it up, the event requires a lot of work and planning.”
Thompson says that advertising is key to planning the fashion show, to find models and designers, and to garner volunteer support. This year, they had various models for the three clothing categories: Mix and Match, Formal Flare, and Office to Outing.
A Topper Thrift model for the past three fashion shows, Stephanie Santilli, talked briefly about how she feels participating in the fashion show.
“It was cool!” said Santilli, “And it’s nice cause I’m with other people.”
Topper Thrift also had musical performances by Tiffany “Epiphany” Sites, who sang “Pink Pony Club” by artist Chappel Roan and her own original “Knight in Shining Armor,” and a harmonious performance from the Hilltoppers Harmonic Collective.
Topper Thrift gained support from faculty as well. Hosts Professor Chris McPherson and Dr. Gregory Chase described the outfits of the models, and Dr. Jeffery Grubbs hosted the International Fashion Show, where he explained cultural outfits from countries such as Poland, China, and Morocco.
The event ended at around two hours, and all the models garnered final rounds of applause from the crowd. Students after the event could go and talk to the models and look through the clothing provided by Topper Thrift. If they got a pamphlet from the event, students could use the coupon attached for one free item.
The audience had great feedback from the event. Brett Adkins, who has been an audience member of the fashion show for the past three shows, talked about how much was added to the event this year.
“I really enjoyed the fact that they added the International Fashion Show and expanded on what they had before,” said Adkins. “It felt there was more content than before.”
Topper Thrift hopes this opportunity shows others the wide selection of clothing they provide to refresh one’s look. They will continue to be open for the rest of the semester, Monday through Friday, and on Sunday.
