April 19, 2023 • 33 mins
What are today's current fashion trends? How is the industry changing through lens of social media? Hear from Makenzie Phillips (RCBC Fashion Design Student), Lisa Steinberg (Program Coordinator for Fashion Design and the new Fashion Media and Merchandising) and Lisa Wolstromer (Senior Marketing Director for Cherry Hill Mall) as they discuss the RCBC Fashion and Design program and full details of RCBC's 2023 Spring Fashion Show returning to the Cherry Hill Mall on Friday, May 12.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason Varga (00:01):
Welcome to the program pod a national award
winning program on the RCBCPodcast Network which takes a
deep dive into the programsoffered at rcbc. through
different perspectives ofstudents, faculty and employers.
That's right. National Awardwinning found out taken silver
actually the Paragon awards,talk about that maybe in some
other future programs, but it isJay Varga and during the
(00:24):
conversation today, your hostWell, it's gonna be me. But
again for today's episode, we'retalking fashion design, fashion
media and merchandising andgetting ready for RCB ces 2023
fashion show coming up onFriday, May 12, which is
returning to the Cherry HillMall. Joining me this morning,
Mackenzie Phillips a graduatingrcbc Spring 23 student in
(00:44):
fashion design and currentlyenrolled in fed to to to its
fashion and design, right that'swhat that's for fashion
collection where she's currentlyworking on a four piece called
sacrilegious. We have LisaSteinberg, and a fellow
colleague of mine rcbc programcoordinator for fashion design
and the new fashion media andmerchandising program, and many
other things. And of course,obviously the fashion show
(01:06):
production. And then LisaWolstromer, Senior marketing
director for Cherry Hill Malland key component of having RCBC
Spring Fashion Show returningthere, everybody, welcome to the
program pod is we can say hello.Hi. Hi. Don't be shy. So, as
always, rcbc likes to embrace astudent first philosophy. So
(01:27):
let's start with you. Mackenziesaid okay. All right. Hi. Good.
So are you ready to graduatenext month?
Unknown (01:33):
Yeah, it's really exciting. I mean, I grew up I
was homeschooled in high school,so I've never really graduated
anything before.
Jason Varga (01:39):
Okay, so, big celebration. Alright, so what
brought you to rcbc? Then andyou know, was fashion design
your first choice?
Unknown (01:45):
Absolutely not, it was kind of never sewn before last
year. So it was kind of very, Iwanted to try something new. And
fashion is always something thatmade me really happy. And I the
one thing I could look forwardto in the morning was getting
dressed so.
Jason Varga (01:59):
So how do you become aware of the fashion
design program here at rcbc?
Unknown (02:03):
I think I had to look through almost every single
major and that's the only onethat spoke to me.
Jason Varga (02:09):
Okay. And she was saying you started out during
COVID stuff, too. So how was howwas that experience? Like for
you going from like, you know,from home school, and then you
gotta go online right now tryingto learn a new major. How was
that all that process?
Unknown (02:21):
It was very discouraging. Honestly, I spent
like last six years onlineschool, so like going to college
was something I really lookedforward to like human
interaction. So and makingfriends. I was really excited
about that. So I made it, Ithink two months, and then they
pulled me out. I was like, no.
Jason Varga (02:40):
Well, as Lisa, you know, I know she's a great
professor, and the learning fromhim brings the best out of
everyone. And we'll get to herin just a second. But tell me a
little bit more about this fourpiece collection called
sacrilegious. What's this allabout?
Unknown (02:51):
Honestly, I just I bounced a few ideas. I had a lot
of ideas for this show. And onethat really spoke out to me I've
really been into like the GothicRenaissance era and just like
Catholicism and messing aroundwith that in like fashion,
because there's so manydifferent ways. Like you can go
(03:12):
about it. I think the mat didlike heavenly bodies. And I was
just so inspired by like all thegorgeous metallics and like,
chainmail materials, I just, itsucked me right in.
Jason Varga (03:22):
Awesome. Well, how has Lisa then got Lisa Steinberg
is we're gonna start breakingdown. We said l one L two or
Lisa W. Steinberg. So no one'sgetting confused. That's
listening right there. But LisaSteinberg, again, our rcbc
program chair and Coordinatorhere at fashion design. How was
it like, you know, are theinspiration she brought along to
you? She's tough. I don't getthat you'd like to talk to I
(03:43):
don't get there.
Unknown (03:43):
Oh, yeah, She's tough. She's not she's not let anyone
go below their potential. Ithink she saw my potential and
made me pull it out of myself.Because I don't think I saw my
own confidence. But now thatI've gotten older, I see why she
does what she does. And I seewhy she's hard on her students.
And I can sympathize with it.And she does it for good reason,
(04:04):
because everyone that listens toher gets somewhere in life. So
Jason Varga (04:07):
I've had instructors like that when I was
in school, too. I thoughtthey're too tough. And then you
realize they said they're justreally look out for the best
interests you you know, reallyprep you for the real world the
next step and stuff. So what isshe teaching? That's kind of,
you know, getting you ready forthat next step.
Unknown (04:21):
Honestly, time management. I think she's taught
me so much with time management,because I don't think that she's
really tough on her due dates,and she doesn't. She doesn't
give a lot of leeway. So itdefinitely made me step up and
realize like, if I don't do itnow, it's never gonna happen.
And it's made me a lot morepunctual.
Jason Varga (04:42):
So what's next? You're going to be graduating
next month. what's your what'syour next step, your next
chapter.
Unknown (04:47):
That's the scary thing. I had plans to get fit, but I've
had some health concerns. So I'mjust taking a step back and I'm
probably going to do aninternship for a year gain some
experience and just work onmyself and continue to learn. I
think I definitely don't want tostop learning I have so many
(05:08):
things in the fashion realm thatI'm just like so interested in
like tailoring suits and like,soft sculptures, and there's so
many different areas that Icould go into. But I just want
to dabble in a little bit ofeverything. I'm excited.
Jason Varga (05:21):
Okay, well, Lisa, now I can flip the script. Did
you not like her in thebeginning?
Unknown (05:26):
Well, I saw her on Zoom, or WebEx. Or that was it.
So I, it happens, it happens. Iappreciate the the truth with
it. And a lot of the studentswill come to me after and go,
you were so hard. You weretough. And, but thank you. But
Jason Varga (05:47):
that's what that's what that's really up to we
learn the most though, right?Like you push and you push.
Again, when you're younger, youdon't really realize that, you
know,
Unknown (05:55):
I've definitely been good at what it is. And when I
see the potential in thestudents, which I really do see
it in all of the students, theydon't see it in themselves, just
like what McKenzie said, youknow, the lack of confidence, I
would never have known she neversaw before. The you know, from
the quality that I saw, I wouldassume, Oh, she's been sewing
for years. And I would, that'swhy I could push her further.
Jason Varga (06:18):
So and that's where I kind of like to always ask the
faculty members, you know, whyyou chose a particular student?
In such a case? What was itabout McKenzie, you're like, we
got to get her on this show, andobviously get more involved in
the fashion show.
Unknown (06:28):
Well, I think even what McKenzie said, really stepping
up to the level of gettingthings done. And because I have
deadlines, and she was the typeof person who needed that. And
she did and she stepped up withit. And it turned out that not
just that she met deadlines, butthe quality of her work was
really amazing. And she workedvery hard. She was very
(06:51):
dedicated. So when I noticedthat, you know, when I spoke to
her about it, I encouraged herto push further. And so is of
course, time constraints withthat. But she finished in the
fashion during class withamazingly beautiful
illustrations. We work withbringing out diversity in all
(07:16):
people sizes, color, everything.And I think Mackenzie's project
really embraced that probablystronger than the rest. And we
kind of fell in love the thedepartment the other instructors
fell in love with her work. Andwe all kind of said, Hey, this
is the one we've got to go with.In fact, when I showed Lisa from
(07:40):
Cherry Hill Mall, Lisa W. LisaW. Wanted to. And I said this is
the artwork that we're we chose,we want to make sure you know
that you feel comfortable withit, because then we're gonna be
doing huge marketing campaignsas well. And Lisa was right
away. She's like, we love it.She showed it to her people, her
team, and they all loved it. Soit was it was really easy for me
(08:04):
to to do that. And then in thefashion collection class, the
students, I want them to reallyfind their own theme, I push
them for that, because a lot oftimes the students just kind of
like, I don't know what I wantto do, I don't know what I want
to do. And that's when thedeadlines come in. Okay. And I
(08:25):
always found for me working inthe fashion industry, deadlines
are incredibly intense. If youmiss it, you know, I worked on
my own business. So if youmissed it, you didn't get paid,
period, you lost the job. AndI've experienced that and I
didn't like it. So they come upwith ideas and I got to see I
(08:47):
know Mackenzie she's been inother classes, I've seen the
quality of her work. And I knewshe was taking on something big
sometimes it scares me when theytake on something because I say
to them, could you do this?Could you handle this? Could you
pattern make it well, you know,you know, we have other you
know, instructors that can youknow offer suggestions and stuff
like that and that's what I'mthere for like cinch it in make
(09:10):
it shorter make it bigger, youknow, that doesn't you know, is
that the best choice? Could youjust try you to other choices
and see and Mackenzie is thetype of person that you don't
even have to say that to hershe's gonna do it on her own or
maybe she learned from it it'squite possible she learned from
all the tricks all the meantricks around
Jason Varga (09:32):
now is the illustration is this what's on
the back of the handbag rightthere. On the program flyer it's
gonna be all the posters andstuff that's that's McKenzie
Unknown (09:40):
work right this is the black and white version she's
got the it's all in color andthe backer she did everything it
was just so easy. Anyone
Jason Varga (09:49):
listening right now obviously we don't have the
pictures kind of going alongwith it. Maybe I'll post it
along with the with the podcastand obviously the flyer itself
when we go there, see theposters and the social media
marketing and stuff thatillustration again is I'm going
to be the brainstorm child ofMcKenzie. But I promise Lisa W
we will bring you into theprogram and we would be hyping
(10:09):
up and talking about all things,the fashion show but as we tried
to, you know, take emphasis ofthe fashion program here at rcbc
and stuff. I just want to painta picture for you know, a new
statement. So maybe someone likeMcKenzie is coming out, you
know, getting ready to go torcbc Looking into the fashion
design fad as the cool kid said,Right, right. Right. So so what
else you teaching? You knowwhat, and you want to touch base
(10:29):
on this whole this new fashionmedia and merchandising section?
Unknown (10:32):
Very excited. We just got it approved by I see. So
starting in September, itsfashion, what was fashion
product merchandising is nowbecome fashion media marketing.
It's a huge trend in thatdirection. What is that?
Exactly. So it's really going tobe more of social media and
communication, some of the morebusiness classes have been
eliminated. Retail has justchanged. And it's all on social
(10:57):
media. And we want to embracethat this is what, not just that
the students like it. But theseare careers now,
Jason Varga (11:06):
outside of change from before, like, well, you're
gonna find a new person comingin softball type questions,
write on the new trend to get
Unknown (11:15):
a lot more math and accounting. And you would go in
and become a buyer. And you'rethinking about becoming a buyer
or just product development,which is still a great area to
go into both of them are. Butnow with, with the media,
there's more options, and itwill so a lot of our students
want to be entrepreneurial, theywant to work on their own. And
(11:39):
what better way to experiencehands on projects. I always say
if you do the project, right?Don't don't think it's just a
short gray. Think of it for yournext, your next step. And your
next step is either go tocollege, or to have clients or
to apply for a position. Youcan't just apply for positions
anymore without showing a bodyof work. Portfolios are huge.
(12:02):
Yeah, so. So we have a newsocial media course. And don't
hold me to it because it's sofresh off the press. But we have
that and we also made somechanges in fashion design, we
now are going to have a digitalpattern making class, which
Mackenzie's not going to get.Because she's leaving, she puts
(12:22):
on a sad face. Maybe she has tocome back for that. When we when
we run it. So we like to stay upwith all the technology, what's
going on? I kind of hear what'shappening in the fashion
industry, like find out what'sgoing on with the four year
schools and we really want tostay on top of that. And that's
where the changes come in.
Jason Varga (12:41):
It's funny cuz I look at my little notes as I
tried to be the nerd out inscript. And it's like, What's
the hardest part about keepingup with fashion trends? Because
it's almost like that? Everyright? I feel like that fashion
is constantly changingcurriculum to stay on top of.
Unknown (12:56):
Yeah, McKinsey. Like how often is it's hard
because I feel like before therewas trends would like they would
come and go. But now becauseeverything has been recycled so
many times. It's almost likeeverything is trending all at
once. And you can't not betrendy because everything's an
(13:17):
aesthetic.
Jason Varga (13:17):
Yeah, I feel like almost as soon as like a lot
more than 90s stuff kind ofcoming back or they're seen as
stonewash I'm starting to noticesome of the girls are wearing
like, they're not bell bottoms.But they're like blue jeans with
like,
Unknown (13:27):
late 80s. Yeah. And then just as we go to bell
bottoms, we're like, oh, we'rewe're already going high
waisted, right, Lisa? W. Everyday in the mall, but it was
literally high waisted bellbottoms. And now, I asked my
students I'm like, Okay, it'shigh waisted out and they're
(13:49):
like, yep, like, oh, no, like,okay, that's kind of good. But
yeah, it goes that fast.
Jason Varga (13:56):
Okay, so now we've right before I bring in Lisa w i
promise you are right on thenext question. She gives me the
thumbs up though. Are you readyfor the fashion show coming up
on May 12 at the Cherry HillMall?
Unknown (14:07):
I'm gonna ask Mackenzie.
Jason Varga (14:10):
She's ready. This is how they're in years past
though, right?
Unknown (14:15):
Yeah. We're never ready at this moment. And I don't want
to look at Lisa W and even saythat to her because I will just
look at her and say yeah, we'reready. We're ready. We're
totally together. But Mackenzieis gonna be the best one to
answer that right now. I'm juststressed that's
Jason Varga (14:33):
Kenzie. We'll come back that's pretty much let's
bring in Lisa W. Because youknow, we've been making you wait
so patiently so again, thanksfor coming on the show. So at
least it won't be false numberagain, Senior Marketing Director
of Terry Hall. Can you tell us alittle about yourself your
background how you got theCherry Hill Mall and you know
(14:54):
some of your day to day duties?
Unknown (14:55):
Sure. I actually was started out thinking I was going
to be a buyer, because I'm amajor in retail merchandising
and marketing. And when Igraduated from college, my very
first job full, full time job Igot was in the shopping center
industry working in marketing.And 37 years later, I am still
(15:19):
doing that. I've been at variousdifferent malls in the region
and landed at Cherry Hill Mallabout 19 years ago, and have
been there ever since.
Jason Varga (15:28):
So you're back at Cherry Hill Mall? And how does
rcbc come into the picture for,you know, getting the fashion
show back there.
Unknown (15:37):
So I was challenged by my vice president of marketing
last year to come up with asignature fashion, large scale
program. And I remembered that15 years ago, I did a
partnership with BurlingtonCounty College with their
students and bring a fashionshow to the mall that
highlighted this studentdesigns. And I thought, wow,
(15:58):
wouldn't that be great to bringback. So I did my research and
landed with Lisa. And we had awonderful zoom, Carl, and we
connected and, you know, she wasright on board right away. She
kind of remembered the show from15 years ago, even though she
wasn't there at the time, butshe heard about it, which was
(16:21):
great. And so we just connectedand said, This is going to be
just a wonderful opportunityfor, you know, cheering him on
to partner with a great localcollege and feature, you know,
local students were thecommunity hub of the region. And
then bringing something backthat was so successful from the
(16:43):
past, and I think is a greatopportunity for students who I
think the fashion show isusually at this college. So
bringing it into a public venue.We're more than just college
students and family and friendsare seeing their designs, but
it's really going to be in anatmosphere where you're going to
showcase it to a lot ofdifferent people. That was
exciting. Yeah. So
Jason Varga (17:04):
for both leases, right? So the floor is yours
now, right? Let's talk aboutthis fashion show. You know,
what can people expect whereit's going to be at? First of
all, actually, how long doesthis even take to get into the
works? And off and running? Thisisn't something that you just
you just start and put up in?Like?
Unknown (17:21):
We talked I think last October,
I think we started in October.And then I remember by January
1, we went into full full mode.Sure. And we usually don't
announce it to the studentsuntil we were 100%. Sure. And
once we got the Okay, from theschool, it was 100% Sure we
(17:42):
started to let the studentsknow. And they their eyes just
lit up, right. I mean, it's veryexciting. They did their eyes
lit up. And it just was a gamechanger. And, you know, you
mentioned just the idea of itbeing in a retail environment,
taking it out of the school,going into a retail environment
is huge. Absolutely. Especiallyfor community college. You know,
(18:07):
the big, I always say the bigfours for your schools. They
they get a lot of support. Andthey do them in these lofts and
all these places and so forth.But community, community college
level, we're at the second year.And you know, we don't always
have that opportunity. Plusthose students, they're usually
seeing, you know, four years ofwork or in their fourth year.
(18:31):
So, this is such a greatopportunity for our students.
And when Lisa reached out to me,I'm just so excited about it.
Having that opportunity. Yeah,
yeah, we're excited. I'm excitedto bring it back. It was a great
program that we did, you know,all those years ago. We did it
(18:53):
for a couple of years, and thenwe kind of walked away from it.
So I'm excited to make this youknow, maybe an annual kind of
program and I think it's greatthat we're gonna highlight up
and coming designers. I mean,who knows maybe one of these
designers it's in our show todayis gonna maybe have their own
store someday at the mall, likeyou know, Michael Kors, or mark
(19:14):
cane like and I think, if Iremember in the past designs the
student came up with they wereall beautiful, they're all
fantastic. And I think thatwe're looking forward to seeing
a wonderful show.
Well, I've seen alreadyeverything and sketches in in
muslins, which are just thesamples unfinished samples. And
(19:36):
I'm blown away already. And, youknow, Mackenzie, her collection,
she's about three quartersthrough with sampling it and
we're already getting started.We're just three weeks away now.
So they actually do all the soat the very tail end of it, but
it's going to be an amazingshow. We're expecting anywhere
(19:57):
from about 92 95 garments on therunway. And yeah, so
Jason Varga (20:08):
where's this going to be a material? Well,
Unknown (20:10):
it's in what we call grand court. So it's right by
where Nordstroms is. And we havea wonderful, it's just a great
venue. It's a beautiful setting.And Lisa and I, mostly Lisa has
come up with a wonderful gameplan of how they're going to
walk the runway and how we'regoing to set it up in the grand
(20:32):
court. And I think it's gonna begreat.
Yeah. And Lisa has been sohelpful with staging
arrangements, providing DJs andour beautiful swag bags that
Mackenzie's artwork is on. Andjust the a lot of extra things
(20:52):
that, you know, wood becomes aburden to small community
college in a small department,so forth. So we are very, very
grateful for all of that. Andjust the space itself. It's
Jason Varga (21:06):
so yeah, you're definitely going from the
Student Success Center to theCherry Hill Mall. And it's a
wonderful contribution from theCherry Hill Mall. And, you know,
to bring everybody in the workssuch as McKinsey and obviously
showcasing rcbc Fashion DesignDepartment. So what time is
Should people be showing up?Like, what is this event? Start?
i There's a seating time, right?
Unknown (21:25):
Yes. So we called it for 6pm. And that's when seating
will take place. So we ask thatanyone that received a digital
invitation, and they've beensent out and they're also on the
rcbc website, it's under, youknow, calendar of events. It's
also on the fashion websites aswell, or they can reach out to
(21:45):
me. And we can give the emailafter. And I could send them an
invitation they it's free event.But please, digitally RSVP could
bring friends and your family,anyone you want to. And 6pm is
going to be seating and 630. Weare going to be ready to start.
(22:07):
We'll have a few announcements.And we have amazing music that
we're working on right now. Andyeah,
Jason Varga (22:17):
see the smiles right there?
Unknown (22:18):
Yeah, I think it's gonna be great. Well, and the
thing I'm most excited about, Ihave to say is Mackenzie's
artwork, being on the bag andbeing on all of the advertising
materials you're going to see atthe mall. I think it's super
exciting that we arehighlighting a student designer,
and especially one as talentedas McKenzie.
Jason Varga (22:36):
How's that make you feel Mackenzie?
Unknown (22:38):
Honestly, I'm so shocked and like, just
overwhelmed by everything that'sbeen going on. I never in a
million years thought this wouldhave happened to me like I
before this class. I've neverdrawn a full body like I don't
take people's faces.
Jason Varga (22:51):
I would not see that from that drawing right
there.
Unknown (22:54):
Before I just, I want to say that I watched her
progress. And she did she I sawlike I said a lot of it was
dedication. Sure. Mackenzie isnot wanting to give out. Like I
said, you know, hey, she made athought it was tough. And I hope
you like me now. I do alwaysfeel that way. But she did she
(23:17):
she wasn't like she was just Igot this down. She worked at it.
She really worked out. If youlook at the work from the very
beginning to mid term to lateron. It was all there. Yeah. And
that's what I do. I spot it. Icould spot it. In my own
background as an artist andfashion designer, I went to
(23:38):
Pratt Institute, and I taught atPratt for many years. And I just
You sense it, you see it, andthen you push it out? Sometimes
the students can't see it yet.And I think that's why McKenzie
is in awe of going Is this mine?Did I really do this? And she's
so humble about it, which is afantastic thing also. So we you
(24:00):
know, her professors all loveheart, you know, because she's
the kind of student who is like,is this really good? Is it okay,
should I do more? You know, andthen at the same time, she also
has a lot of confidence in heras well, where she's like, I
really feel this this right. AndI want to mention one other
thing that I usually say whenthe students are doing something
(24:23):
and they're, and I'm like, Hmm,maybe we could try this or that.
And I'm like, Well, what do youthink? And I like them to step
up at that point. And if they'relike, I really liked this for
this reason, I back awayimmediately. I tell them I'm
like I'm gonna take over yourdesign. If you don't, if you
stay wishy washy throughout thewhole thing. I'm coming in and
I'm taking it over because I'mexcited to get wrapped right
(24:45):
around all of their designs, youknow, I'll just take it I don't
want to and I let them knowright away. You got to stand up
if you feel really sure aboutsomething and you're really
loving it. I just had a studentlast night sent me an email. And
she said one of the pieces she'sworking on she goes, I don't
(25:06):
think it's my best not. And itlooked great, by the way, and I
okayed it. And she said, Ireally want to come up with
something else. Can I just havea few more days? And I'll
present it to you? And I said,Absolutely. And she said, if
it's not right, at the end, I'llgo back to the one I have. And
even though Yeah, what happenssometimes is when it gets down
(25:26):
to that last three weeks, that'swhen they get most creative.
That's when it's right. Theprocrastination is like it
finally ended and boom, we'relike going full speed.
Jason Varga (25:36):
That's how I work sometimes best under deadline,
you know, you get like awriter's block, or you're like,
I don't have time to have ablock anymore.
Unknown (25:43):
I don't have that time. Yeah.
Jason Varga (25:45):
So Lisa, W, I, you know, you're talking about
obviously, hoping to have thisas an annual Spring Fashion
Show, in the meantime, is willthe work remain at Terry hall
after the event, or it's justone of those, we're doing
everything, and you obviouslygot to be there for the event to
kind of like see it.
Unknown (26:00):
So we're gonna put the advertising and collateral
materials up as soon as Ireceived them from the printer.
So there'll be up for the nextthree weeks until the show. And
then obviously, if Mackenziewould like to take one of the
standees signs home with her,we'll be happy to give her one.
It's right out. It's on ourwebsite now. So people can go to
the website, Cherry Hillmall.com and see her color
(26:24):
version of her models on thewebsite. But yeah, so there'll
be up on MOF starting very soonthrough the Bastion show.
Jason Varga (26:33):
It's crunch time.
Unknown (26:34):
Yeah, we're gonna have, once the show is over, like
everything else is kind of good.We take everything apart, and
it's all gone. We will havemannequins and some dress forms
there. But that's just going tobe on display possibly a week
before. We spoke about that. Butthen after fashion show, it all
goes bye bye until next year.
(26:55):
See, like she said, until nextyear,
Jason Varga (26:59):
I could see it, you know, especially here and just
from McKenzie, it's just greatfor the students because he said
being in that real retail world.And they get that kind of like
that reaction, but it's just adifferent stimulation
environment. And they kind ofvisualize themselves within
those retailers, I would thinkagain, just outside the fashion
world, but kind of coming intoit but still sounds like an
amazing event. And I'm reallyexcited for all three of you.
(27:21):
Surrounding the art, you know,the rcbc Fashion Design students
in the community. But before wewrap up, I told you a little bit
before we started recording, Ihave new bits have been working
into this, this program potbecause this is my radio
background, right? This is inradio yet to have bits whether
they work or they don't. Butthis is me being me. I've been
waiting for it. Yes. And becauseI recently became a dad, I have
(27:41):
my awful dad jokes to try towork out that I kind of do
themed around this time, it'd befashion and design. So these are
going fail. And if they fail, itstill makes it even better for
me. But just kind of a littlebreak up from some of I mean,
this has actually beenoutstanding. Podcasts itself
talking about the fashion showsometimes, you know, talking
about education kind of run alittle dry at times, but that's
(28:03):
fine. You know, break it up alittle bit, and we'll see how
this goes. So why can't fashiondesigners play Uno? No. Looking
at my sheet when you do. Whycan't fashion designers play
Uno?
Unknown (28:15):
Are we supposed to Yeah,
Jason Varga (28:16):
well, if you can't,
Unknown (28:16):
I've never played Uno.
Jason Varga (28:18):
Well, you're out. Because they always draw a card
again. You guys get it? Yeah.You can play you know. Sympathy
laughs are cool, too. I get it.It's okay. How did the farmer
mend his pants? Yours
Unknown (28:42):
would be a test.
Jason Varga (28:44):
Yes, it's on your final you can't graduate unless
you get this answer. Right. Withwith cabbage patches. Oh. And
last but not least, what do youcall a jacket that's on fire?
Unknown (29:01):
Or your coat?
Jason Varga (29:04):
My intern actually in the office sometimes I test
them out on my interns and sheactually got it. Oh, so what do
you call a jacket that's onfire? A blazer
Unknown (29:20):
I think you should start your speech with that. I'm
going to
Jason Varga (29:24):
go soundtracks and all So anyway,
Unknown (29:27):
I'm gonna use that one. J Okay. You
Jason Varga (29:29):
still that's what I do. I actually had a great one
for philosophy, I think it wasand they were off and running.
So it's like stealing from theinternet so you can steal him
from me lasers. There we go. SoI did good, then.
Unknown (29:43):
One out of three. All right. That's fine.
Jason Varga (29:45):
That's that's all it matters. So you know, it is
just time to shut this down alittle bit. But just wanna
remind everyone for the upcomingfashion show taking place
Friday, May 12 at the CherryHill Mall. Like we said, you
don't have to RSVP but youprefer
Unknown (29:57):
no, you have to RSVP Oh, I'm not for all the fashion
community just for a seat. Sootherwise, we know we we don't
know we've got a lot already andwe have a lot of our designers
that have guests. So we ask thatyou please RSVP. It's free. You
can invite as many guests as youwant. But it will allow us to
(30:18):
know how many seats to set up.
Jason Varga (30:20):
Absolutely. I again, we can RSVP where? Well,
you can go to elf,
Unknown (30:24):
l Steinberg. Ste i n b e r g@rcbc.edu. That's my email.
You can go to the Fashion Designwebsite.
Jason Varga (30:35):
Yep. Was rcbc.edu. Right. Right. Well, I
Unknown (30:38):
think
Jason Varga (30:41):
I put on there. Yes. So
Unknown (30:44):
the invitation is up. You can see it click right on.
And it's also in the marketingcalendar. I just saw that. So
you'll see the the actualinvitation. And if anybody's
from the community, it wascirculated under my name. And
you would have received thatabout two weeks ago, one or two
(31:05):
weeks ago. So we're taking thatright up till a couple of days
before the show. And Lisa, oncewe reach our maximum, it's
standing room only. Right?
That's right. You could stillenjoy the show. While Stan it'll
be
great. It'll be great.
Jason Varga (31:23):
Yeah, there's an obviously again, that's the
beautiful thing about the CherryHill Mall, the venue space for
it. So you can have massiveamount of people there and
seeing everyone, I'm onMackenzie's work. So of course
they can everyone can follow uson our social media channels for
rcbc. But this Cherry Hill Mall,have some social media channels.
Do we
Unknown (31:41):
have Cherry Hill mall.com On our website we have
and then we have Instagram,Facebook and Twitter,
Jason Varga (31:49):
looking forward to seeing all that work and
everything else up on there. Butas anything else that you'd like
to promote? Hi, Mom, anythinglike that.
Unknown (31:55):
I just wanted to say one thing. Yeah. Our show runs
on all volunteers and all of ourmodels are from RCBC. And we had
quite an amazing amount ofmodels that were interested in
volunteering, we had actuallyturned away a number of them and
we felt so bad. Some of them areactually going to come out just
(32:17):
to dress and Asha for the show.So I just want to thank the
students of rcbc for Yeah, allright, we could not do it
without the models we can't dowithout the students. We can't
do it without the instructors.And we can't do it without the
beautiful place. So I'm sograteful for everyone.
Jason Varga (32:37):
It's gonna be here soon. Gonna be here. All right,
so coming up again Friday, May12 at the old Cherry Hill Mall,
the return finally rcbc SpringFashion Show. But that's gonna
do it for this episode here onthe program pod. I hope you
enjoyed today's show. I want tothank our guests again today.
Mackenzie Phillips, LisaSteinberg and Lisa Wolstromer.
(33:00):
Bringing us a little moreinsight into our RCBC's fashion
design department and getting usready once again for that 2023
Spring Fashion Show. I'm JayVarga if you want to learn more
about RCBCs programs, visitrcbc.edu and for other RCBC
podcasts we have, including theBaroness podcast highlighting
powerful women of BurlingtonCounty you can visit
rcbc.edu/podcasts Also, be sureto subscribe to the program pod
(33:21):
on any platform. Wherever youget your podcasts. That's Apple,
Spotify, Google, whatever.They're all out there. Till next
time. Thanks for listening.Ladies, thanks for coming on the
show. Thank you. And good luck.All right. All right. Let's see
the show. All right.
Welcome to the program pod a national award
winning program on the RCBCPodcast Network which takes a
deep dive into the programsoffered at rcbc. through
different perspectives ofstudents, faculty and employers.
That's right. National Awardwinning found out taken silver
actually the Paragon awards,talk about that maybe in some
other future programs, but it isJay Varga and during the
(00:24):
conversation today, your hostWell, it's gonna be me. But
again for today's episode, we'retalking fashion design, fashion
media and merchandising andgetting ready for RCB ces 2023
fashion show coming up onFriday, May 12, which is
returning to the Cherry HillMall. Joining me this morning,
Mackenzie Phillips a graduatingrcbc Spring 23 student in
(00:44):
fashion design and currentlyenrolled in fed to to to its
fashion and design, right that'swhat that's for fashion
collection where she's currentlyworking on a four piece called
sacrilegious. We have LisaSteinberg, and a fellow
colleague of mine rcbc programcoordinator for fashion design
and the new fashion media andmerchandising program, and many
other things. And of course,obviously the fashion show
(01:06):
production. And then LisaWolstromer, Senior marketing
director for Cherry Hill Malland key component of having RCBC
Spring Fashion Show returningthere, everybody, welcome to the
program pod is we can say hello.Hi. Hi. Don't be shy. So, as
always, rcbc likes to embrace astudent first philosophy. So
(01:27):
let's start with you. Mackenziesaid okay. All right. Hi. Good.
So are you ready to graduatenext month?
Unknown (01:33):
Yeah, it's really exciting. I mean, I grew up I
was homeschooled in high school,so I've never really graduated
anything before.
Jason Varga (01:39):
Okay, so, big celebration. Alright, so what
brought you to rcbc? Then andyou know, was fashion design
your first choice?
Unknown (01:45):
Absolutely not, it was kind of never sewn before last
year. So it was kind of very, Iwanted to try something new. And
fashion is always something thatmade me really happy. And I the
one thing I could look forwardto in the morning was getting
dressed so.
Jason Varga (01:59):
So how do you become aware of the fashion
design program here at rcbc?
Unknown (02:03):
I think I had to look through almost every single
major and that's the only onethat spoke to me.
Jason Varga (02:09):
Okay. And she was saying you started out during
COVID stuff, too. So how was howwas that experience? Like for
you going from like, you know,from home school, and then you
gotta go online right now tryingto learn a new major. How was
that all that process?
Unknown (02:21):
It was very discouraging. Honestly, I spent
like last six years onlineschool, so like going to college
was something I really lookedforward to like human
interaction. So and makingfriends. I was really excited
about that. So I made it, Ithink two months, and then they
pulled me out. I was like, no.
Jason Varga (02:40):
Well, as Lisa, you know, I know she's a great
professor, and the learning fromhim brings the best out of
everyone. And we'll get to herin just a second. But tell me a
little bit more about this fourpiece collection called
sacrilegious. What's this allabout?
Unknown (02:51):
Honestly, I just I bounced a few ideas. I had a lot
of ideas for this show. And onethat really spoke out to me I've
really been into like the GothicRenaissance era and just like
Catholicism and messing aroundwith that in like fashion,
because there's so manydifferent ways. Like you can go
(03:12):
about it. I think the mat didlike heavenly bodies. And I was
just so inspired by like all thegorgeous metallics and like,
chainmail materials, I just, itsucked me right in.
Jason Varga (03:22):
Awesome. Well, how has Lisa then got Lisa Steinberg
is we're gonna start breakingdown. We said l one L two or
Lisa W. Steinberg. So no one'sgetting confused. That's
listening right there. But LisaSteinberg, again, our rcbc
program chair and Coordinatorhere at fashion design. How was
it like, you know, are theinspiration she brought along to
you? She's tough. I don't getthat you'd like to talk to I
(03:43):
don't get there.
Unknown (03:43):
Oh, yeah, She's tough. She's not she's not let anyone
go below their potential. Ithink she saw my potential and
made me pull it out of myself.Because I don't think I saw my
own confidence. But now thatI've gotten older, I see why she
does what she does. And I seewhy she's hard on her students.
And I can sympathize with it.And she does it for good reason,
(04:04):
because everyone that listens toher gets somewhere in life. So
Jason Varga (04:07):
I've had instructors like that when I was
in school, too. I thoughtthey're too tough. And then you
realize they said they're justreally look out for the best
interests you you know, reallyprep you for the real world the
next step and stuff. So what isshe teaching? That's kind of,
you know, getting you ready forthat next step.
Unknown (04:21):
Honestly, time management. I think she's taught
me so much with time management,because I don't think that she's
really tough on her due dates,and she doesn't. She doesn't
give a lot of leeway. So itdefinitely made me step up and
realize like, if I don't do itnow, it's never gonna happen.
And it's made me a lot morepunctual.
Jason Varga (04:42):
So what's next? You're going to be graduating
next month. what's your what'syour next step, your next
chapter.
Unknown (04:47):
That's the scary thing. I had plans to get fit, but I've
had some health concerns. So I'mjust taking a step back and I'm
probably going to do aninternship for a year gain some
experience and just work onmyself and continue to learn. I
think I definitely don't want tostop learning I have so many
(05:08):
things in the fashion realm thatI'm just like so interested in
like tailoring suits and like,soft sculptures, and there's so
many different areas that Icould go into. But I just want
to dabble in a little bit ofeverything. I'm excited.
Jason Varga (05:21):
Okay, well, Lisa, now I can flip the script. Did
you not like her in thebeginning?
Unknown (05:26):
Well, I saw her on Zoom, or WebEx. Or that was it.
So I, it happens, it happens. Iappreciate the the truth with
it. And a lot of the studentswill come to me after and go,
you were so hard. You weretough. And, but thank you. But
Jason Varga (05:47):
that's what that's what that's really up to we
learn the most though, right?Like you push and you push.
Again, when you're younger, youdon't really realize that, you
know,
Unknown (05:55):
I've definitely been good at what it is. And when I
see the potential in thestudents, which I really do see
it in all of the students, theydon't see it in themselves, just
like what McKenzie said, youknow, the lack of confidence, I
would never have known she neversaw before. The you know, from
the quality that I saw, I wouldassume, Oh, she's been sewing
for years. And I would, that'swhy I could push her further.
Jason Varga (06:18):
So and that's where I kind of like to always ask the
faculty members, you know, whyyou chose a particular student?
In such a case? What was itabout McKenzie, you're like, we
got to get her on this show, andobviously get more involved in
the fashion show.
Unknown (06:28):
Well, I think even what McKenzie said, really stepping
up to the level of gettingthings done. And because I have
deadlines, and she was the typeof person who needed that. And
she did and she stepped up withit. And it turned out that not
just that she met deadlines, butthe quality of her work was
really amazing. And she workedvery hard. She was very
(06:51):
dedicated. So when I noticedthat, you know, when I spoke to
her about it, I encouraged herto push further. And so is of
course, time constraints withthat. But she finished in the
fashion during class withamazingly beautiful
illustrations. We work withbringing out diversity in all
(07:16):
people sizes, color, everything.And I think Mackenzie's project
really embraced that probablystronger than the rest. And we
kind of fell in love the thedepartment the other instructors
fell in love with her work. Andwe all kind of said, Hey, this
is the one we've got to go with.In fact, when I showed Lisa from
(07:40):
Cherry Hill Mall, Lisa W. LisaW. Wanted to. And I said this is
the artwork that we're we chose,we want to make sure you know
that you feel comfortable withit, because then we're gonna be
doing huge marketing campaignsas well. And Lisa was right
away. She's like, we love it.She showed it to her people, her
team, and they all loved it. Soit was it was really easy for me
(08:04):
to to do that. And then in thefashion collection class, the
students, I want them to reallyfind their own theme, I push
them for that, because a lot oftimes the students just kind of
like, I don't know what I wantto do, I don't know what I want
to do. And that's when thedeadlines come in. Okay. And I
(08:25):
always found for me working inthe fashion industry, deadlines
are incredibly intense. If youmiss it, you know, I worked on
my own business. So if youmissed it, you didn't get paid,
period, you lost the job. AndI've experienced that and I
didn't like it. So they come upwith ideas and I got to see I
(08:47):
know Mackenzie she's been inother classes, I've seen the
quality of her work. And I knewshe was taking on something big
sometimes it scares me when theytake on something because I say
to them, could you do this?Could you handle this? Could you
pattern make it well, you know,you know, we have other you
know, instructors that can youknow offer suggestions and stuff
like that and that's what I'mthere for like cinch it in make
(09:10):
it shorter make it bigger, youknow, that doesn't you know, is
that the best choice? Could youjust try you to other choices
and see and Mackenzie is thetype of person that you don't
even have to say that to hershe's gonna do it on her own or
maybe she learned from it it'squite possible she learned from
all the tricks all the meantricks around
Jason Varga (09:32):
now is the illustration is this what's on
the back of the handbag rightthere. On the program flyer it's
gonna be all the posters andstuff that's that's McKenzie
Unknown (09:40):
work right this is the black and white version she's
got the it's all in color andthe backer she did everything it
was just so easy. Anyone
Jason Varga (09:49):
listening right now obviously we don't have the
pictures kind of going alongwith it. Maybe I'll post it
along with the with the podcastand obviously the flyer itself
when we go there, see theposters and the social media
marketing and stuff thatillustration again is I'm going
to be the brainstorm child ofMcKenzie. But I promise Lisa W
we will bring you into theprogram and we would be hyping
(10:09):
up and talking about all things,the fashion show but as we tried
to, you know, take emphasis ofthe fashion program here at rcbc
and stuff. I just want to painta picture for you know, a new
statement. So maybe someone likeMcKenzie is coming out, you
know, getting ready to go torcbc Looking into the fashion
design fad as the cool kid said,Right, right. Right. So so what
else you teaching? You knowwhat, and you want to touch base
(10:29):
on this whole this new fashionmedia and merchandising section?
Unknown (10:32):
Very excited. We just got it approved by I see. So
starting in September, itsfashion, what was fashion
product merchandising is nowbecome fashion media marketing.
It's a huge trend in thatdirection. What is that?
Exactly. So it's really going tobe more of social media and
communication, some of the morebusiness classes have been
eliminated. Retail has justchanged. And it's all on social
(10:57):
media. And we want to embracethat this is what, not just that
the students like it. But theseare careers now,
Jason Varga (11:06):
outside of change from before, like, well, you're
gonna find a new person comingin softball type questions,
write on the new trend to get
Unknown (11:15):
a lot more math and accounting. And you would go in
and become a buyer. And you'rethinking about becoming a buyer
or just product development,which is still a great area to
go into both of them are. Butnow with, with the media,
there's more options, and itwill so a lot of our students
want to be entrepreneurial, theywant to work on their own. And
(11:39):
what better way to experiencehands on projects. I always say
if you do the project, right?Don't don't think it's just a
short gray. Think of it for yournext, your next step. And your
next step is either go tocollege, or to have clients or
to apply for a position. Youcan't just apply for positions
anymore without showing a bodyof work. Portfolios are huge.
(12:02):
Yeah, so. So we have a newsocial media course. And don't
hold me to it because it's sofresh off the press. But we have
that and we also made somechanges in fashion design, we
now are going to have a digitalpattern making class, which
Mackenzie's not going to get.Because she's leaving, she puts
(12:22):
on a sad face. Maybe she has tocome back for that. When we when
we run it. So we like to stay upwith all the technology, what's
going on? I kind of hear what'shappening in the fashion
industry, like find out what'sgoing on with the four year
schools and we really want tostay on top of that. And that's
where the changes come in.
Jason Varga (12:41):
It's funny cuz I look at my little notes as I
tried to be the nerd out inscript. And it's like, What's
the hardest part about keepingup with fashion trends? Because
it's almost like that? Everyright? I feel like that fashion
is constantly changingcurriculum to stay on top of.
Unknown (12:56):
Yeah, McKinsey. Like how often is it's hard
because I feel like before therewas trends would like they would
come and go. But now becauseeverything has been recycled so
many times. It's almost likeeverything is trending all at
once. And you can't not betrendy because everything's an
(13:17):
aesthetic.
Jason Varga (13:17):
Yeah, I feel like almost as soon as like a lot
more than 90s stuff kind ofcoming back or they're seen as
stonewash I'm starting to noticesome of the girls are wearing
like, they're not bell bottoms.But they're like blue jeans with
like,
Unknown (13:27):
late 80s. Yeah. And then just as we go to bell
bottoms, we're like, oh, we'rewe're already going high
waisted, right, Lisa? W. Everyday in the mall, but it was
literally high waisted bellbottoms. And now, I asked my
students I'm like, Okay, it'shigh waisted out and they're
(13:49):
like, yep, like, oh, no, like,okay, that's kind of good. But
yeah, it goes that fast.
Jason Varga (13:56):
Okay, so now we've right before I bring in Lisa w i
promise you are right on thenext question. She gives me the
thumbs up though. Are you readyfor the fashion show coming up
on May 12 at the Cherry HillMall?
Unknown (14:07):
I'm gonna ask Mackenzie.
Jason Varga (14:10):
She's ready. This is how they're in years past
though, right?
Unknown (14:15):
Yeah. We're never ready at this moment. And I don't want
to look at Lisa W and even saythat to her because I will just
look at her and say yeah, we'reready. We're ready. We're
totally together. But Mackenzieis gonna be the best one to
answer that right now. I'm juststressed that's
Jason Varga (14:33):
Kenzie. We'll come back that's pretty much let's
bring in Lisa W. Because youknow, we've been making you wait
so patiently so again, thanksfor coming on the show. So at
least it won't be false numberagain, Senior Marketing Director
of Terry Hall. Can you tell us alittle about yourself your
background how you got theCherry Hill Mall and you know
(14:54):
some of your day to day duties?
Unknown (14:55):
Sure. I actually was started out thinking I was going
to be a buyer, because I'm amajor in retail merchandising
and marketing. And when Igraduated from college, my very
first job full, full time job Igot was in the shopping center
industry working in marketing.And 37 years later, I am still
(15:19):
doing that. I've been at variousdifferent malls in the region
and landed at Cherry Hill Mallabout 19 years ago, and have
been there ever since.
Jason Varga (15:28):
So you're back at Cherry Hill Mall? And how does
rcbc come into the picture for,you know, getting the fashion
show back there.
Unknown (15:37):
So I was challenged by my vice president of marketing
last year to come up with asignature fashion, large scale
program. And I remembered that15 years ago, I did a
partnership with BurlingtonCounty College with their
students and bring a fashionshow to the mall that
highlighted this studentdesigns. And I thought, wow,
(15:58):
wouldn't that be great to bringback. So I did my research and
landed with Lisa. And we had awonderful zoom, Carl, and we
connected and, you know, she wasright on board right away. She
kind of remembered the show from15 years ago, even though she
wasn't there at the time, butshe heard about it, which was
(16:21):
great. And so we just connectedand said, This is going to be
just a wonderful opportunityfor, you know, cheering him on
to partner with a great localcollege and feature, you know,
local students were thecommunity hub of the region. And
then bringing something backthat was so successful from the
(16:43):
past, and I think is a greatopportunity for students who I
think the fashion show isusually at this college. So
bringing it into a public venue.We're more than just college
students and family and friendsare seeing their designs, but
it's really going to be in anatmosphere where you're going to
showcase it to a lot ofdifferent people. That was
exciting. Yeah. So
Jason Varga (17:04):
for both leases, right? So the floor is yours
now, right? Let's talk aboutthis fashion show. You know,
what can people expect whereit's going to be at? First of
all, actually, how long doesthis even take to get into the
works? And off and running? Thisisn't something that you just
you just start and put up in?Like?
Unknown (17:21):
We talked I think last October,
I think we started in October.And then I remember by January
1, we went into full full mode.Sure. And we usually don't
announce it to the studentsuntil we were 100%. Sure. And
once we got the Okay, from theschool, it was 100% Sure we
(17:42):
started to let the studentsknow. And they their eyes just
lit up, right. I mean, it's veryexciting. They did their eyes
lit up. And it just was a gamechanger. And, you know, you
mentioned just the idea of itbeing in a retail environment,
taking it out of the school,going into a retail environment
is huge. Absolutely. Especiallyfor community college. You know,
(18:07):
the big, I always say the bigfours for your schools. They
they get a lot of support. Andthey do them in these lofts and
all these places and so forth.But community, community college
level, we're at the second year.And you know, we don't always
have that opportunity. Plusthose students, they're usually
seeing, you know, four years ofwork or in their fourth year.
(18:31):
So, this is such a greatopportunity for our students.
And when Lisa reached out to me,I'm just so excited about it.
Having that opportunity. Yeah,
yeah, we're excited. I'm excitedto bring it back. It was a great
program that we did, you know,all those years ago. We did it
(18:53):
for a couple of years, and thenwe kind of walked away from it.
So I'm excited to make this youknow, maybe an annual kind of
program and I think it's greatthat we're gonna highlight up
and coming designers. I mean,who knows maybe one of these
designers it's in our show todayis gonna maybe have their own
store someday at the mall, likeyou know, Michael Kors, or mark
(19:14):
cane like and I think, if Iremember in the past designs the
student came up with they wereall beautiful, they're all
fantastic. And I think thatwe're looking forward to seeing
a wonderful show.
Well, I've seen alreadyeverything and sketches in in
muslins, which are just thesamples unfinished samples. And
(19:36):
I'm blown away already. And, youknow, Mackenzie, her collection,
she's about three quartersthrough with sampling it and
we're already getting started.We're just three weeks away now.
So they actually do all the soat the very tail end of it, but
it's going to be an amazingshow. We're expecting anywhere
(19:57):
from about 92 95 garments on therunway. And yeah, so
Jason Varga (20:08):
where's this going to be a material? Well,
Unknown (20:10):
it's in what we call grand court. So it's right by
where Nordstroms is. And we havea wonderful, it's just a great
venue. It's a beautiful setting.And Lisa and I, mostly Lisa has
come up with a wonderful gameplan of how they're going to
walk the runway and how we'regoing to set it up in the grand
(20:32):
court. And I think it's gonna begreat.
Yeah. And Lisa has been sohelpful with staging
arrangements, providing DJs andour beautiful swag bags that
Mackenzie's artwork is on. Andjust the a lot of extra things
(20:52):
that, you know, wood becomes aburden to small community
college in a small department,so forth. So we are very, very
grateful for all of that. Andjust the space itself. It's
Jason Varga (21:06):
so yeah, you're definitely going from the
Student Success Center to theCherry Hill Mall. And it's a
wonderful contribution from theCherry Hill Mall. And, you know,
to bring everybody in the workssuch as McKinsey and obviously
showcasing rcbc Fashion DesignDepartment. So what time is
Should people be showing up?Like, what is this event? Start?
i There's a seating time, right?
Unknown (21:25):
Yes. So we called it for 6pm. And that's when seating
will take place. So we ask thatanyone that received a digital
invitation, and they've beensent out and they're also on the
rcbc website, it's under, youknow, calendar of events. It's
also on the fashion websites aswell, or they can reach out to
(21:45):
me. And we can give the emailafter. And I could send them an
invitation they it's free event.But please, digitally RSVP could
bring friends and your family,anyone you want to. And 6pm is
going to be seating and 630. Weare going to be ready to start.
(22:07):
We'll have a few announcements.And we have amazing music that
we're working on right now. Andyeah,
Jason Varga (22:17):
see the smiles right there?
Unknown (22:18):
Yeah, I think it's gonna be great. Well, and the
thing I'm most excited about, Ihave to say is Mackenzie's
artwork, being on the bag andbeing on all of the advertising
materials you're going to see atthe mall. I think it's super
exciting that we arehighlighting a student designer,
and especially one as talentedas McKenzie.
Jason Varga (22:36):
How's that make you feel Mackenzie?
Unknown (22:38):
Honestly, I'm so shocked and like, just
overwhelmed by everything that'sbeen going on. I never in a
million years thought this wouldhave happened to me like I
before this class. I've neverdrawn a full body like I don't
take people's faces.
Jason Varga (22:51):
I would not see that from that drawing right
there.
Unknown (22:54):
Before I just, I want to say that I watched her
progress. And she did she I sawlike I said a lot of it was
dedication. Sure. Mackenzie isnot wanting to give out. Like I
said, you know, hey, she made athought it was tough. And I hope
you like me now. I do alwaysfeel that way. But she did she
(23:17):
she wasn't like she was just Igot this down. She worked at it.
She really worked out. If youlook at the work from the very
beginning to mid term to lateron. It was all there. Yeah. And
that's what I do. I spot it. Icould spot it. In my own
background as an artist andfashion designer, I went to
(23:38):
Pratt Institute, and I taught atPratt for many years. And I just
You sense it, you see it, andthen you push it out? Sometimes
the students can't see it yet.And I think that's why McKenzie
is in awe of going Is this mine?Did I really do this? And she's
so humble about it, which is afantastic thing also. So we you
(24:00):
know, her professors all loveheart, you know, because she's
the kind of student who is like,is this really good? Is it okay,
should I do more? You know, andthen at the same time, she also
has a lot of confidence in heras well, where she's like, I
really feel this this right. AndI want to mention one other
thing that I usually say whenthe students are doing something
(24:23):
and they're, and I'm like, Hmm,maybe we could try this or that.
And I'm like, Well, what do youthink? And I like them to step
up at that point. And if they'relike, I really liked this for
this reason, I back awayimmediately. I tell them I'm
like I'm gonna take over yourdesign. If you don't, if you
stay wishy washy throughout thewhole thing. I'm coming in and
I'm taking it over because I'mexcited to get wrapped right
(24:45):
around all of their designs, youknow, I'll just take it I don't
want to and I let them knowright away. You got to stand up
if you feel really sure aboutsomething and you're really
loving it. I just had a studentlast night sent me an email. And
she said one of the pieces she'sworking on she goes, I don't
(25:06):
think it's my best not. And itlooked great, by the way, and I
okayed it. And she said, Ireally want to come up with
something else. Can I just havea few more days? And I'll
present it to you? And I said,Absolutely. And she said, if
it's not right, at the end, I'llgo back to the one I have. And
even though Yeah, what happenssometimes is when it gets down
(25:26):
to that last three weeks, that'swhen they get most creative.
That's when it's right. Theprocrastination is like it
finally ended and boom, we'relike going full speed.
Jason Varga (25:36):
That's how I work sometimes best under deadline,
you know, you get like awriter's block, or you're like,
I don't have time to have ablock anymore.
Unknown (25:43):
I don't have that time. Yeah.
Jason Varga (25:45):
So Lisa, W, I, you know, you're talking about
obviously, hoping to have thisas an annual Spring Fashion
Show, in the meantime, is willthe work remain at Terry hall
after the event, or it's justone of those, we're doing
everything, and you obviouslygot to be there for the event to
kind of like see it.
Unknown (26:00):
So we're gonna put the advertising and collateral
materials up as soon as Ireceived them from the printer.
So there'll be up for the nextthree weeks until the show. And
then obviously, if Mackenziewould like to take one of the
standees signs home with her,we'll be happy to give her one.
It's right out. It's on ourwebsite now. So people can go to
the website, Cherry Hillmall.com and see her color
(26:24):
version of her models on thewebsite. But yeah, so there'll
be up on MOF starting very soonthrough the Bastion show.
Jason Varga (26:33):
It's crunch time.
Unknown (26:34):
Yeah, we're gonna have, once the show is over, like
everything else is kind of good.We take everything apart, and
it's all gone. We will havemannequins and some dress forms
there. But that's just going tobe on display possibly a week
before. We spoke about that. Butthen after fashion show, it all
goes bye bye until next year.
(26:55):
See, like she said, until nextyear,
Jason Varga (26:59):
I could see it, you know, especially here and just
from McKenzie, it's just greatfor the students because he said
being in that real retail world.And they get that kind of like
that reaction, but it's just adifferent stimulation
environment. And they kind ofvisualize themselves within
those retailers, I would thinkagain, just outside the fashion
world, but kind of coming intoit but still sounds like an
amazing event. And I'm reallyexcited for all three of you.
(27:21):
Surrounding the art, you know,the rcbc Fashion Design students
in the community. But before wewrap up, I told you a little bit
before we started recording, Ihave new bits have been working
into this, this program potbecause this is my radio
background, right? This is inradio yet to have bits whether
they work or they don't. Butthis is me being me. I've been
waiting for it. Yes. And becauseI recently became a dad, I have
(27:41):
my awful dad jokes to try towork out that I kind of do
themed around this time, it'd befashion and design. So these are
going fail. And if they fail, itstill makes it even better for
me. But just kind of a littlebreak up from some of I mean,
this has actually beenoutstanding. Podcasts itself
talking about the fashion showsometimes, you know, talking
about education kind of run alittle dry at times, but that's
(28:03):
fine. You know, break it up alittle bit, and we'll see how
this goes. So why can't fashiondesigners play Uno? No. Looking
at my sheet when you do. Whycan't fashion designers play
Uno?
Unknown (28:15):
Are we supposed to Yeah,
Jason Varga (28:16):
well, if you can't,
Unknown (28:16):
I've never played Uno.
Jason Varga (28:18):
Well, you're out. Because they always draw a card
again. You guys get it? Yeah.You can play you know. Sympathy
laughs are cool, too. I get it.It's okay. How did the farmer
mend his pants? Yours
Unknown (28:42):
would be a test.
Jason Varga (28:44):
Yes, it's on your final you can't graduate unless
you get this answer. Right. Withwith cabbage patches. Oh. And
last but not least, what do youcall a jacket that's on fire?
Unknown (29:01):
Or your coat?
Jason Varga (29:04):
My intern actually in the office sometimes I test
them out on my interns and sheactually got it. Oh, so what do
you call a jacket that's onfire? A blazer
Unknown (29:20):
I think you should start your speech with that. I'm
going to
Jason Varga (29:24):
go soundtracks and all So anyway,
Unknown (29:27):
I'm gonna use that one. J Okay. You
Jason Varga (29:29):
still that's what I do. I actually had a great one
for philosophy, I think it wasand they were off and running.
So it's like stealing from theinternet so you can steal him
from me lasers. There we go. SoI did good, then.
Unknown (29:43):
One out of three. All right. That's fine.
Jason Varga (29:45):
That's that's all it matters. So you know, it is
just time to shut this down alittle bit. But just wanna
remind everyone for the upcomingfashion show taking place
Friday, May 12 at the CherryHill Mall. Like we said, you
don't have to RSVP but youprefer
Unknown (29:57):
no, you have to RSVP Oh, I'm not for all the fashion
community just for a seat. Sootherwise, we know we we don't
know we've got a lot already andwe have a lot of our designers
that have guests. So we ask thatyou please RSVP. It's free. You
can invite as many guests as youwant. But it will allow us to
(30:18):
know how many seats to set up.
Jason Varga (30:20):
Absolutely. I again, we can RSVP where? Well,
you can go to elf,
Unknown (30:24):
l Steinberg. Ste i n b e r g@rcbc.edu. That's my email.
You can go to the Fashion Designwebsite.
Jason Varga (30:35):
Yep. Was rcbc.edu. Right. Right. Well, I
Unknown (30:38):
think
Jason Varga (30:41):
I put on there. Yes. So
Unknown (30:44):
the invitation is up. You can see it click right on.
And it's also in the marketingcalendar. I just saw that. So
you'll see the the actualinvitation. And if anybody's
from the community, it wascirculated under my name. And
you would have received thatabout two weeks ago, one or two
(31:05):
weeks ago. So we're taking thatright up till a couple of days
before the show. And Lisa, oncewe reach our maximum, it's
standing room only. Right?
That's right. You could stillenjoy the show. While Stan it'll
be
great. It'll be great.
Jason Varga (31:23):
Yeah, there's an obviously again, that's the
beautiful thing about the CherryHill Mall, the venue space for
it. So you can have massiveamount of people there and
seeing everyone, I'm onMackenzie's work. So of course
they can everyone can follow uson our social media channels for
rcbc. But this Cherry Hill Mall,have some social media channels.
Do we
Unknown (31:41):
have Cherry Hill mall.com On our website we have
and then we have Instagram,Facebook and Twitter,
Jason Varga (31:49):
looking forward to seeing all that work and
everything else up on there. Butas anything else that you'd like
to promote? Hi, Mom, anythinglike that.
Unknown (31:55):
I just wanted to say one thing. Yeah. Our show runs
on all volunteers and all of ourmodels are from RCBC. And we had
quite an amazing amount ofmodels that were interested in
volunteering, we had actuallyturned away a number of them and
we felt so bad. Some of them areactually going to come out just
(32:17):
to dress and Asha for the show.So I just want to thank the
students of rcbc for Yeah, allright, we could not do it
without the models we can't dowithout the students. We can't
do it without the instructors.And we can't do it without the
beautiful place. So I'm sograteful for everyone.
Jason Varga (32:37):
It's gonna be here soon. Gonna be here. All right,
so coming up again Friday, May12 at the old Cherry Hill Mall,
the return finally rcbc SpringFashion Show. But that's gonna
do it for this episode here onthe program pod. I hope you
enjoyed today's show. I want tothank our guests again today.
Mackenzie Phillips, LisaSteinberg and Lisa Wolstromer.
(33:00):
Bringing us a little moreinsight into our RCBC's fashion
design department and getting usready once again for that 2023
Spring Fashion Show. I'm JayVarga if you want to learn more
about RCBCs programs, visitrcbc.edu and for other RCBC
podcasts we have, including theBaroness podcast highlighting
powerful women of BurlingtonCounty you can visit
rcbc.edu/podcasts Also, be sureto subscribe to the program pod
(33:21):
on any platform. Wherever youget your podcasts. That's Apple,
Spotify, Google, whatever.They're all out there. Till next
time. Thanks for listening.Ladies, thanks for coming on the
show. Thank you. And good luck.All right. All right. Let's see
the show. All right.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.