By Cary Shuman
Jillian Rodriguez, a graduate of KIPP Academy and Eleny Rossi, a graduate of Pope John XXIII High School, made an auspicious debut as event planners, packing the Lynn Museum for a showcase of fashion, music, dancing, and poetry.
The two Lynn residents co-founded Regal Collaborations in July, and the “Fashion Showcase” event Saturday night was their first effort.
“We’ve known each other for about ten years,” said Rossi. “We met when we were students at UMass/Amherst. We had gone to a high-energy fashion show in Lawrence last year, and we thought, how great would it be to have an event like this in Lynn where we could showcase different forms of creativity and talent and bring the Lynn community together.”
The atmosphere inside the venue was electric and co-hosts Bright Osajie and Angelica Castillo opened the program.
With the assistance of Regal Collaborations’ Fashion Showcase model coordinator Adesuwa Usuanlele, the two leaders of Regal Collaborations invited several models to walk the runaway in fashions, ranging from streetwear to luxury, and featuring eight different designers. One of the models for Daumos was Everett native and popular food show host Victoria Fabbo.
Business owners as well
Rossi, 29, who holds a degree from UMass Amherst in Hospitality and Tourism Management, is also the owner of El’s Flour Garden, which bakes cakes and other goods for birthdays and special occasions through the region.
Rodriguez, 27, who holds a degree from UMass Amherst in Public Health, recently left the field of higher education “to shift and focus on my creative avenue right now.”
Rodriguez has started her own crochet line for apparel and handbags called Let’s Be Knotty.
At UMass, the two women were involved in the Latinos Unidos group. “That’s what really sparked my interest in event planning since we did a lot of events at college,” related Rossi.
Rossi said she is “very excited” about the response to her first event-planning venture.
“It was very heartwarming to see the community come out and fill the seats,” said Rossi. “We had to take out more chairs than we anticipated, so that was a pleasant experience.”
“Our emphasis is to bring communities together,” said Rodriguez. “Our whole mission is yes, we want to plan fun events, but we want to showcase local businesses, local talent, local artists and bring people together.”
Rossi said she and Rodriguez are planning their next event. “We’re think of doing paint nights, open microphone nights, and other fun events,” said Rossi.
Rossi played four years of varsity volleyball at Pope John XXIII High School, where she was an outstanding student. Reflecting on her high school career, our Rossi offered, “I loved Pope John. It was a tight-knit community where everyone knew each other. There were people from difference cities, and it was nice to be there and just learn from each other.”
Rodriguez attended North Shore Christian School before enrolling at KIPP Academy in ninth grade.
“I really loved how close the community was at KIPP,” said Rodriguez. “I feel their emphasis on being able to network and make connections and the professional development that they instilled in me at an early age really helped me to develop relationships with the community now. My positive experience at KIPP set the foundation for graduating college, having a good career, and now starting Regal Collaborations with Eleny. All those skills that I learned at KIPP have definitely helped in my life’s goals.”