The 2024 Cornell Fashion Collective Runway Show featured Ryan Lombardi, vice president for student and campus life, sporting Cardinal Robinson’s ’24 design as part of his “Cities Unseen” collection.
“It’s my final show. It’s my senior thesis. I wanted to come out, go out with a splash to some degree.” Robinson said. “Who could be like the biggest Cornell celebrity that I could dress? … The immediate thought is Lombardi — everybody loves him. He’s by the students for the students. He’s really a man of the people.”
Robinson convinced Lombardi to model for him in the show when he found him eating his daily burrito at Terrace.
“He walks by, and I’m like, ‘wow, his walk is great, he could really be a model’ … so I ran after him,” Robinson said. “I was like, ‘would you consider modeling for me in the fashion show,’ and truthfully, he really didn’t seem that interested when I first brought it up. But he was open to it.”
Robinson’s “Cities Unseen” collection was inspired by his experience growing up outside Boston. Lombardi sported a look that featured front draping with an overdyed silk piano shawl and a flatbed strap pulled from the Zakim Bridge in Boston.
In the collection, Robinson imagined New York City in 2050, and he instructed models to reflect their outfits in how they walk the runway. Lombardi donned a dystopian-inspired, military-style politician jacket. Because of his stature, age and position as the final model of the show, Lombardi acted as king of Cardinal’s futuristic city, with additional overdyed drapery to display his royalty.
“All credit goes to Cardinal for a great process. When we initially met, he explained to me how he develops a concept and the process for that becoming a tangible design and product,” wrote Lombardi in a statement to The Sun. “He brought samples, and we did a couple of fittings over several weeks leading up to the event to make sure he was happy with how it was all coming together.”
Lombardi joined student models who spent weeks attending “model bootcamp,” where they practiced their posture, gait and overall presentation on the runway.
“It was nice to see him interact with the [other] models — he seemed like he really cared about the actual [process of putting on the show], every individual’s lives and trying to bring a positive light to this campus,” Robinson said. “I think he and I both saw the fashion show in this event, sort of as a means of him being able to achieve this … especially when things on campus are so tense right now, to sort of bring a level of levity and like entertainment.”
As Lombardi fully immersed himself into the process, nerves surrounding modeling followed.
“It was a really interesting position to be in to see your VP be nervous about something like walking, which I’ve done for Cardinal since sophomore year,” said Adam Sharifi ’24, another model that walked for Robinson. “He was also really interested in how to do it properly. He wanted the show to go as smoothly as possible for Cardinal and everyone else.”
Other models did not recognize Lombardi as vice president until he was asked for pictures.
“I thought he was just someone who was related to Cardinal because he didn’t look like a student,” said Neba Neba ’26, another one of Robinson’s models. “I got to know he was vice president because people kept coming up to ask for pictures. He had a lot of questions to ask everyone came to him — you got the sense that he was really interested in student affairs.”
Students left the experience feeling as if they were able to connect with Lombardi as a peer and not just a superior.
“We talked about him, his wife, his children. He told me about his interests [outside] of academia — he plays saxophone, … he can sing.” Neba said.
Fellow models shared similar experiences with Lombardi, appreciating the care he showed for students.
“He was really interested in what we are doing as students and the kinds of backgrounds that we’re coming from,” said Sharifi. “And he is going about it the right way by integrating himself into it by participating in these events and talking to students on a more personal level. We don’t see Martha Pollack walking around campus and participating in fashion shows and events, right?”
Lombardi enjoyed the opportunity to work with students in a new context.
“It was wonderful to interact with students in this capacity,” Lombardi wrote. “I try as much as possible to engage with students informally around their events and activities, so this fits that aspiration perfectly.”
Models typically have four to five fitting sessions prior to the show — however, Robinson could fit Lombardi in only two 15-minute sessions due to Lombardi’s busy schedule.
“This may have been a one-time experience, not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because I’m not sure that I have much of a future in modeling,” Lombardi wrote to The Sun.
The March 2 show marked the first time that faculty or staff has taken part in one of CFC’s annual shows. Cardinal hoped to bring more attention to the fashion community from everyone on campus, and Lombardi was no exception.
“I was exceedingly impressed with the creativity and effort that goes into developing a piece/collection and also the overall production of the entire show,” Lombardi wrote. “It is really co-curricular learning at its finest — students bringing their work to the broader community through such a fun, inspiring and engaging event. I will forever be a fan of CFC and this event.”