Fashion on the Ave Red Carpet Runway Slides Further Down Greenwich Ave

Fashion on the Ave kick-off outside Greenwich Arts Council

Greenwich Arts Council director Paul Master-Karnik, Catherine Connell, Grace Connell, Geri Corrigan of NaveaStyle Communications, Mark McMillen of First Bank, Arts Council president Emily Ragsdale, First Bank of Greenwich President Frank Gaudio, Kelvin McGregor from K.P. Events and Julia Chiappetta of First Bank. Credit: Leslie Yager

Change is afoot for this year’s Fashion on the Ave. In fact, Geri Corrigan’s red carpet runway will slide a block further down Greenwich Avenue so that it stretches from the top of Greenwich Common to the intersection with Havemeyer and Arch Street.

The September 10th live runway show, smack dab in the middle of Greenwich Ave will mark the fifth year of the popular event that mixes professional models with Greenwich residents in a night of good fun.

This year Corrigan has joined forces with Paul Master-Karnik and Emily Ragsdale of Greenwich Arts Council, headquartered at 299 Greenwich Ave. The Arts Council was eager to host the fashion show outside their headquarters, and Corrigan will announce the models and their designers outside the charming historic building.

“I like to utilize every square inch of our property,” Master-Karnik said. “There is a real rapport between art and fashion design.”

Master-Karnik mentioned that his sister Lynn Chu taught at Fashion Institute of Technology and later became the head of Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, which was founded in 1848, and is the first and only visual arts college for women in the US.

In addition to forging a partnership with Greenwich Arts Council for Fashion on the Avenue, Corrigan was excited about making the event more family oriented.

“This year the event will have food trucks, a car show and live music,” Corrigan said. Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei will once again serve as the honorary chairperson
of the event.

Fashion on the Ave kick off event outside Greenwich Arts Council

Julia Chiappetta and Frank Gaudio of First Bank of Greenwich with Emily Ragsdale of Greenwich Arts Council at the Fashion on the Ave kick-off event Wednesday morning. This marks the third year that First Bank of Greenwich will sponsor the event. Credit: Leslie Yager

Of the relocation of the red carpet, Corrigan described the move as a no-brainer. “There is tons of space in front of the Greenwich Arts Council. And the parking lot at the Havemeyer building is right there,” she said pointing across the street to the Board of Ed building with its rolling lawns and adjacent parking lot where food trucks were busy setting up for the lunch rush.

Another asset to the lower section of the Avenue is that the Town’s Greenwich Common revamp is nearly complete, adding to the overall amount of adjacent green space for the fashion show.

Katie Fong who has a passion for the simply beautiful… joined Geri Corrigan at Fashion on the Ave in 2014. Credit: Leslie Yager

Corrigan, who created Fashion on the Ave back when she handled marketing for Saks Fifth Ave, now runs her own company, NaveaStyle Communications, a full-service marketing and events agency based here in Greenwich. Next week Corrigan is on the agenda of the Board of Selectmen meeting to formally request a road closure for the September 10 Fashion on the Ave event.