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Volunteering for the 7th on Sixth Fashion Shows

Republished with permission from DFR Daily Fashion Report
Sunday, December 24, 2006

Patty Hughes, the volunteer coordinator for 7th on Sixth

Patty Hughes, the volunteer coordinator for 7th on Sixth for the past twelve years, was a volunteer when she first came to the Bryant Park shows. Her energetic demeanor is almost infectious, and she is entrusted each season with recruiting and managing approximately 450 workers whose performance is crucial to Fashion Week.

A native of Buffalo, Hughes began her tenure with 7th on Sixth shortly after arriving in New York City. She had previously been the host of a late night television program in Buffalo called “Off Beat Cinema”. Ironically, she had no experience to speak of in the fashion industry. “I kept watching the Isaac Mizrahi movie Unzipped and I knew that I was interested in getting involved in fashion and this seemed like a good way to get to know New York.” At the end of Ms. Hughes first season as a volunteer, the job of coordinator became available, she interviewed with Seventh on Sixth’s Fern Mallis and the position was hers.

After several years as an integral part of New York’s fashion week, Patty Hughes has developed a sixth sense for identifying and training a crew of volunteers who work with nearly perfect synergy. Each season, about one third of the volunteers are new recruits. “I train them for fashion shows with a sense of urgency. You have to get it done and it has to be accurate,” observes Ms. Hughes.

During the off-season, Ms Hughes frequently uses her volunteer staff for other events. “I like to build a relationship with my volunteers. The shows provide valuable work experience and the more dedicated the volunteers are the more they get out of it. I get calls for personnel from companies like The North Face and Glamour Magazine. I tell them (the volunteers) to look beyond Fashion Week.”

There are a handful of ground rules that Patty Hughes insists her volunteers adhere to: no pictures, no autographs, no food or drinking, no taking anything not offered, no networking, no leaving with a model, and be courteous at all times. “I tell them you are here for the designer,” she says. Her favorite moments are those when the designers reach out to the volunteers. “Gianni Versace was extremely generous. He hugged the volunteers and thanked them.” Ms. Hughes has also learned to spot the occasional photographer who attempts to gain access to the shows as a volunteer when a request for press credentials is denied. “They ask too many questions about which celebrities will be attending and it becomes obvious why they want to be there,” Ms. Hughes says with a laugh. Each season only about one recruit simply doesn’t work out and has to be let go.

Patty Hughes most recent project is a website called CurvyGirlStyle.com. The site has caught the attention of talk show host Rachael Ray and Ms. Hughes will be featured in recurring segments on the Rachael Ray show, focusing on trends for the curvy girl. Also in the works are more Learning Annex seminars for volunteers. For those of you who want more information you can email IMG on volunteer opportunities at IMGNY_volunteers@imgworld.com.

— Rhonda Erb