Client: 2020 was the 62nd annual Herndon Woman’s Club Fashion Show. This is normally a Saturday luncheon at in a hotel ballroom and includes a silent auction, raffle prizes, and, of course, an actual runway fashion show.
Problem: Even though this event was scheduled for November, the organizers knew that they would not be able to hold a live event in 2020. They reached out to me in June to see if there was “any way we could take it virtual”.
“By June it was a reality that the show would have to become virtual or it was not going to happen but how were we going to deal with the technology?” recalled event co-chair Susan Anselene.
The important thing to know about the Herndon Woman’s Club is that this is its biggest fundraiser and the funds raised go to help many worthy causes including service projects and other nonprofits in the area. So taking this virtual to have a fashion show was not the focus. Taking it virtual to allow for a fundraising event where many others had already been cancelled in 2020 including a Labor Day Wine and Beer Festival was very important to this service organization.
Solution: I asked them to give me a week to think about it because I was deep into planning for what I thought was a still live Friday Night Live!. After a lot of thought, I came up with a vision for the Fashion Show. At this point I thought I was just advising them on the project but it became clear as we moved forward that I would be integrally involved and ultimately served as Executive Producer and Director for a live stream portion along with a professionally edited fashion show.
Result: a successful event in that every Woman’s Club member was involved which raised 30% more money than any past Fashion Show!!!
The key to success for this event was the tireless efforts of so many of the organization’s members on the many different aspects of the event but from the production side, the key was sticking to the original vision and working with professionals to ensure the best quality production.
What They Said: Laura “gave us the vision, the insight, the talent, the time, and the tenacity for today’s fashion show to happen,” said Anselene.
This is a promotional video I created for the event to be used on social media.
Read about other client events we took virtual in 2020: