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Students in UTampa’s Sports Business Networking Society lent a hand to several different pockets of the Luxe Fashion Fest last Saturday at Red Door No. 5, an eclectic event venue in Tampa Heights that used to be a fire station.

The runway event was hosted by two-time Super Bowl champion and fashion designer Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who is from St. Petersburg and played football at University of South Florida. SIK Selection, Valdes-Scantling's fashion line, was the featured brand of the night and debuted a new collection of original, handmade pieces.

 As guests trickled in, hip-hop music filled the air, along with the voice of YesJulz, a Miami-based influencer and talent manager who was the emcee of the event. While guests came to the occasion with fashion in mind, there was range of entertainment, like casino tables, a photo booth and tattoo artist Ashley Byrd, who was giving tattoos on-site.

This was the third year that UTampa students volunteered to staff this event, which benefits Valdes-Scantling's nonprofit, the St. Petersburg-based Humble Beginnings, which serves underprivileged youth and the homeless population. This year, though, an additional portion of proceeds will go toward a scholarship for a UTampa student pursuing fashion, sport management, entertainment, marketing, production or an adjacent creative field.

Students performed a variety of jobs, including media production, backstage support, hospitality and event production assistance.

Senior Tiffany Chen attended as a content creator intern for Moshika Beauty, a local beauty brand that was a vendor at the event and has been featured in Tampa news outlets along with ELLE Magazine and British Vogue. Chen was able to get creative in how she captured the brand’s glam station at the event, which included a vanity table with self-adhesive lashes.

Sophomores Mallory Rosen and Luca Rius got to walk the runway as models for the SIK Selection. Many of the looks were made of denim and complemented by dark colors, including Ruis’ two-toned denim collared shirt and matching patchwork jeans.

It was Rius’ first fashion show, and he said he was curious about what it would be like. After participating, he learned how important connections are for getting opportunities like these.

Rosen, who had modeled before, said she had been excited since auditioning over a month ago, but was also nervous. She was dressed in an all-black two-piece set with a cropped black blazer, skirt and boots.

“As a business student, understanding and seeing it through an actual real-life application was a huge takeaway,” Rosen said.

Sydney Lepselter, manager of the event, said Valdes-Scantling wanted to give Tampa a nod when it comes to fashion.

“Luxe encompasses, I think, Marquez' vision for Tampa as a fashion hub,” said Lepselter. “We wanted to really make it feel high-end and high fashion.”

Other UTampa volunteers helped before the day of the event. Nicholas Picard, a junior and president of the Sports Business Networking Society, helped coordinate volunteers for the event and helped set up the day before. During the event, he assisted where needed, including capturing content for VIP guests and helping with backstage operations.

Leading up to the event, first-year Gracie Funk helped with finding donations from the sponsors for the event. One of those products, Rap Snacks chips, was found backstage.

A variety of high-profile figures came to the event, like professional athlete Kendrick Bourne, who recently signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a wide receiver, and content creator Melissa Laboriel, a podcast host and event manager.

At the end of the night, the UTampa volunteers took a photo with Valdes-Scantling, and he asked different students about what they learned. Students left with an admiration for the production scale along with appreciation for the hands-on experience.