Beach Volleyball's VB Trost Hits the Big Apple for NY Fashion Week

South Carolina beach volleyball junior VB Trost got out of the sand and hit the “Big Apple” recently to take part in the annual New York Fashion Week. Operated by IMG, New York Fashion Week provides an opportunity for a few dozen students from around the country who aspire to work in the industry to network and get a behind-the-scenes look at the business.

“My ultimate dream is to open my own health and wellness brand, and I’d like to tie medical aesthetics to that, nutrition, and also the fashion aspect,” said Trost, who is a marketing major with a minor in Spanish. “The ultimate goal is for whomever comes in to feel like the best version of themselves and be comfortable with themselves.”

The unique program gives future fashion leaders a look at the industry from the inside as students have opportunities to attend a runway show, meet with industry executives, and enjoy panel discussions. After an initial welcome dinner and opportunity to meet with the other college students from around the country, Trost said it was a whirlwind week of events.

“We did a photoshoot in Times Square, which was super-fun,” Trost said. “School spirit was awesome that night. On Friday, we had a panel for Amazon Fashion, and that was one of my favorite experiences. Talking with the panelists and hearing how they planned to integrate sports into fashion really stood out to me. I networked with someone after that panel about their Amazon influencer program and having a storefront. That was just one opportunity right off the bat that New York Fashion Week provided for me to help enhance my sports brand, which I can’t wait to start.

“Hearing about how they are expanding their merchandising and marketing, and when to market and post something was eye-opening.”

The students later went to the Champion store where they could design and customize their own sweatshirts.

“That was a fun way to tap into our creativity and design our own piece of gear,” Trost said.

After that, Trost and her colleagues had some time to get out and explore New York with some free time before a full day on Saturday filled with photoshoots and fashion shows for different brands and designers.

“It was great to see all the different styles, back-to-back,” Trost said. “It was a cool atmosphere with the music and the lights. We had a panel in between the two shows. That was interesting to see the ins and outs of how they put on the shows and the whole operations behind it. I loved seeing their drive and passion for what they do in life. It was really inspiring to me. I learned how they have such great problem-solving skills when something comes up.”

With so many experiences in a short time, Trost said there were a number of events that stood out.

“The fashion shows were so much fun,” Trost said. “I loved seeing all the creativity in the minds of these designers come out into real art. I also loved the business side of Amazon and seeing how a huge corporation has grown so quickly, especially on their e-commerce because I’m more of a business major, so that was very eye-opening for me as well. Seeing how hard they worked on launching times and who they were launching to with their marketing towards specific groups was something I really enjoyed.”

In addition to having a lot of fun in the city that never sleeps, Trost hopes this experience will help her get started with a business of her own in the future.

“I think the Amazon connections are going to help me the most,” Trost said. “Learning how to market to people and having connections for merchandising is definitely going to help me in my career. It was great to see what goes into these operations and how they work as a team. I loved that they all seemed very close and willing to help one another. I see teamwork all the time on the court, but it was really cool to see that applied in business.

“I was so grateful to be selected to go to New York Fashion Week. It was phenomenal. My next step is to start talking to these people one on one.”