At the beginning of September, three Kent State fashion students got to live every fashion gal’s dream. Erica Rosa, Haley Begg and Faye Kropf attended the Sherri Hill New York Fashion Week SS 2026 show that took place at Cipriani on 42nd Street. How the heck did they get to go to such an event?
Rosa has been working for One Enchanted Evening, a bridal shop in the Pittsburgh area, for a little over seven years. She has earned the owner’s respect and trust throughout the years, even going on business trips to the Atlanta Market with the store several times in the past. At one of these trips, the owner mentioned to Rosa that OEE has been invited to Sherri Hill’s NYFW show multiple times in the past, but sadly, everyone at the store is always too busy to make it.
“I told my manager that I would love to go if she needed me to,” Rosa said. “That’s when she said that if I wanted, I could have the tickets and bring a couple of friends with me.”
The proposal stayed in the air until only a couple weeks before the show when Rosa followed up with her boss regarding her attendance.
“[One Enchanted Evening] had known that they had tickets for the show, they just didn’t know if Erica was serious about going when they brought it up,” Begg said. “I think it wasn’t until Erica reached back out to them that it was all set into motion.”
Rosa invited fashion merchandising student Begg and fashion design student Kropf as her plus ones on this trip. According to Rosa, the hotel stay, show tickets and plane ticket were all paid for, while her guests only had to pay for their own flight.
“I didn’t mind paying for my flight. I would’ve paid far more for such an experience. Honestly, I’m just so grateful I got to go.” Begg said.
At the show and glamorous after party, where hors d’oeuvres were served on silver platers, they spotted many celebrities and influencers they look up to, including Riley Saurage, Brooke Barry, Emma Grace, Natalie King and of course, Sherri Hill.
“We didn’t get to really talk fashion with them, it was mostly informal stuff, but I’ve met Sherri Hill a few times before at the Atlanta Market and we’ve talked about bringing back their Austin [Texas] internship,” Rosa said. “She’s such a great role model.”
The three of them love her work and were in awe of the runway.
“I noticed just how sleek the designs were and how the lighting hit the dresses. It was beautiful. It looked angelic,” Kropf said. “After watching the show and how magnificent it all was, Sherri Hill definitely sparked an interest in me in designing gowns later on.”
Some of the styles that caught the students’ eyes the most were the lace and polka dot ones, which they expected to see after learning about the upcoming 2025 trends during one of their fashion classes last year.
“It was really cool to see how I forecasted polka dots in the classroom and then saw them firsthand on the runway,” Rosa said.
“Sherri Hill is very bold, but also youthful. It draws a younger crowd and that’s the kind of [demographics] I would like to work in,” Kropf said.
The girls left the show feeling inspired and excited to one day form part of such a big fashion show, like Sherri Hill’s, either as buyers, designers, stylists or marketers.
This experience shows how well connected and driven the Kent State fashion students are, and the three students serve as an inspiration to others in Kent to pursue their interests.
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