SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts announces inaugural fashion show in New York City May 13; will present Icon of Style award to Emme ’85

Erica Bluste
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Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) will present its inaugural fashion show in New York City on Tuesday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. at JPMorgan Chase, One Chase Manhattan Plaza, 60th floor, Manhattan. The show is free and open to the public.

The show will feature a juried selection of 18 collections by senior fashion design students in the college’s School of Art and Design. CVPA will also present the Icon of Style award to alumna Emme ’85, a well-known model, author, lecturer, clothing designer and women’s advocate. The award recognizes Emme’s contributions to fashion and beauty and her beliefs that more than one ideal of beauty exists in the world.

CVPA’s fashion design program has presented an annual fashion show on the SU campus for more than 20 years. The idea to take a juried collection to Manhattan stemmed from a desire to expose the high quality of design and craftsmanship created at SU to designers and the media in New York City. The show was juried by a select group of fashion professionals composed of buyers, stylists and academics.

Emme graduated from CVPA with a bachelor of science degree in speech communication. She was inducted into SU’s Orange Plus Hall of Fame in 1994 for her significant contribution to women’s athletics and the sport of rowing. A vocal advocate for people of all ages to be fit and to live a healthy lifestyle, Emme became the first full-figured model ever to land a spokesperson’s contract with a cosmetics company when she signed with Revlon. She currently brings her love of clothing to QVC with “me by emme™,” her signature line of comfortable, trend-forward sportswear separates in sizes 2-26.

A best-selling author, Emme wrote “Life’s Little Emergencies” (St. Martin’s Press, 2003) and “True Beauty” (Putnam/Perigee, 1997). And she collaborated with her husband, Phillip Aronson, on “Morning Has Broken: A Couple’s Journey Through Depression” (NAL, 2006) and the children’s book “What Are You Hungry For?” (Harper Collins, 2007). Emme also posts on her “Simply Green with Emme” blog on http://www.ivillage.com.

Emme is the chair ambassador of the National Eating Disorders Association and an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She is also on the advisory boards of Ophelia’s Place, Syracuse’s eating disorder resource; Hearts of Gold, which enhances the lives of New York City’s homeless women and children; Safe Horizon Champions for Children, which moves victims of violence from crisis to confidence; and Ethosquare, a new online media environment. For more information about Emme, visit http://www.emmestyle.com.