He’s a fashion expert. A reality TV star. A business executive. He’s coming to MU.
As New York Fashion Week comes to a close, fashion guru Tim Gunn will speak at MU for the [Delta Gamma Foundation Lectureship in Values and Ethics](http://www.facebook.com/Mu-chapters-delta-gamma-foundation-lectureship-in-values-and-ethics-124662844253017/timeline) on 7 p.m. Sept. 24 in Jesse Auditorium.
The foundation chose Tim Gunn as a speaker because he reflected Delta Gamma’s ethical base.
Senior Taylor Morales is the Delta Gamma MU Chapter Lectureship Foundation in Values and Ethics Liaison and is the director of the Tim Gunn lectureship event. Delta Gamma chooses their speakers while working in conjunction with the Missouri Students Association. Both organizations spent months making sure every part of the lecture will go as planned.
“Tim Gunn was chosen for this Lectureship because we believe that he will give students and community members a personal pep talk that is representative of both Delta Gamma’s and the University of Missouri’s values,” Morales said in an email.
Gunn has starred as a mentor on Bravo’s [“Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style,”](http://www.bravotv.com/tim-gunns-guide-to-style) Lifetime’s [“Under the Gunn”](http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/under-the-gunn) and Emmy-winning [“Project Runway”](http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway) as well as starring as himself on various shows such as “Gossip Girl” and “Ugly Betty.” Before becoming a reality TV guru, he also worked at Parsons School of Design for 25 years, after which he became the Chief Creative Officer of Liz Claiborne.
Freshman Tyler Parton, a fan of “Project Runway,” said he believes seeing Tim Gunn at the Delta Gamma event could inspire the student body.
“One of my friends told me about him and so I started watching Project Runway and now I think it’s really interesting and also his different outlook on life is really inspirational to people,” Parton said. “Just from watching the show I think he offers a lot of not only advice for fashion, but advice for keeping true to yourself.”
To get in contact with Gunn for the event, Delta Gamma had to reach out to his management to ask if he would be interested in becoming a speaker. Gunn is known for often speaking at events for the Stuttering Foundation for America and the It Gets Better Project.
Delta Gamma hopes to sell out Jesse Hall for this event, Morales said.
“My favorite part of these events is the ability a speaker has to reach a multitude of diverse students and community members with their positive, impactful and uplifting message,” Morales said. “It is truly an honor to spread values to the student body and surrounding community that are representative of the University of Missouri’s values of respect, responsibility, discovery and excellence and the values of Delta Gamma.”
Freshman Michaela Flores, an avid fan of “Project Runway,” plans to attend the lectureship. She deems Gunn her “favorite person ever,” and said his speech could show people more about fashion and the reasons it’s important.
“He’s so smart, he dresses amazingly every day, every moment of his life,” Flores said. “I’ve never seen him wear anything that wasn’t amazing and like a million dollars. I like Project Runway because they have the coolest designs. All their designs are not stuff you usually see. Like on runways and fashion shows, they’re always so innovative and new, and all the people are super cool.”
Gunn has given speeches previously on college campuses such as his 2009 Commencement Speech at Corcoran College of Art and Design and his January 2015 speech at Pennsylvania State University’s Web Conference.
“I would recommend people to go to this event because besides being him one of the best fashion advice people ever, he genuinely gives good advice about life,” Flores said. “Like on the show, when people are sad or crying or miss their family he doesn’t even talk about fashion. He actually has really good life advice. He’s like a counselor with really good style.”