Wharton Women’s 2025 Dressing for Success Event

This fall, Wharton Women welcomes all to join in on a celebration of fashion, women, business, and philanthropy on one memorable evening. Dressing for Success aims to support local non-profit organization The Wardrobe through an incredible night, featuring a live student-modelled runway, a Q&A with keynote speaker Kate Bartlett, a performance by acappella group Off The Beat, catered food, and much more. Find tickets here for the Dressing for Success event on Wednesday, November 12th, at 6:15 pm in Tangen Hall!

Wharton Women’s Dressing for Success event has become an annual tradition for the club, supporting The Wardrobe, empowering women in business, and highlighting student talent and organizations on Penn’s campus. Amelie Zhang, Co-VP of Philantropy Consulting, explains that while the club overall always seeks to explore the role of women in the business world, this event focuses on the specific realm of fashion and business. She emphasizes that the event highlights intersectionality and that fashion, business, and charities are not necessarily always distinct but can come together to create community and conversation. Amelie further mentions that Wharton Women has had a longstanding relationship with The Wardrobe, a local nonprofit in the Philadelphia community, for which the event aims to raise money. The Wardrobe offers business professional clothes to anyone who can’t afford brand-new ones, supporting those trying to re-enter the workforce. We also asked Suzie Kim, Co-VP of Dressing for Success and Philanthropy Community, how the event has evolved over the years. She explained that the VPs for the event strive to innovate every year and credited last year’s VP, Alejandra Lozada, as the driving force behind expanding sponsorships and outreach for the event.

This year's dress code, "Black and White Chic," and the runway concept, "Great Gatsby Goes Corporate," were inspired by keynote speaker Kate Bartlett's own social media presence and fashion style. Kate's style often features sleek and clean silhouettes, with her Instagram feed predominantly featuring a cohesive and effortless black-and-white theme. Shreya Tandon, Speaker Chair for Dressing for Success, provided us with some insight into how this year's speaker was selected. She mentions that Kate was an ideal choice when considering people who have played a role in empowering women while still active in the fashion scene. Furthermore, Kate is currently pursuing an MBA at Stern's School of Business and has made numerous appearances at speaker events, making her the perfect fit for an event that ties in women, fashion, and business. As many of the event's attendees are Wharton Women's own members, Kate's insights on thriving in the industry and her hands-on business knowledge, including acquiring sponsorships, are a great source of advice. During the speaker session and following the Q&A, attendees will gain insight into her personal and professional journey in content creation, her pursuit of further education in business, and a glimpse into her personal aesthetic.

As Amelie previously mentioned, the Dressing for Success would not be possible without the strength that comes from collaboration in the Penn community and showcasing multiple talents. The live runway portion of the event will feature student models and looks curated by The WALK’s creative team alongside two featured dresses donated by Coco Wang’s label Version Up. These dresses will also be part of the donations made to The Wardrobe. Next, the main attraction, Kate Bartlett’s appearance as the keynote speaker, is not to miss as she inspires young women to explore nontraditional paths and careers in fashion, business, and more through her own journey. The event will also feature catered food and an a acapella performance from Penn’s very own Off The Beat. Lastly, the dedicated outreach chairs of Wharton Women's have worked hard to acquire a diverse set of products through sponsorships, including Olaplex, Good Molecules, MAC, Kite, Version Up, and Beauty of Imagination. Just as the event aims to accentuate the intersection of perspectives and passions, the sponsorships were intended to reflect this diversity, ranging from Olaplex hair products to Good Molecules skincare and MAC makeup. While the event’s primary mission is to support The Wardrobe and their efforts, the outreach chairs’ excellent work with sponsorships keeps the event fun for attendees!