by Izzy Mignardi ‘27 on October 1, 2026
News - Campus
Last Monday, Sept. 21, Providence College Fashion Society and the American Marketing Association co-hosted a PC alumna, Stephanie Iaonnone ’17, as a guest speaker. Iannone talked about her experiences as a senior manager of store initiatives at Ralph Lauren.
Iannone studied business management at PC. Outside of her course studies, she was involved in PC Lifestyle & Fashion and was an Intern Queen representative. Throughout her time at college, she was a public relations intern at Jimmy Choo, a production intern at Oscar de la Renta, and an events intern at Dolce & Gabbana. When the time came to apply for a full-time job after graduation, she credits the Chirico Career Center with polishing her resume and helping her prepare for interviews, work on writing samples, and negotiate offers. After this, she received two job offers, accepting a position at 42 West as a publicity assistant, a role she referred to as her dream job.
Her responsibilities included managing publicity schedules, requests, and logistics for clients like the Kardashian family, Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet, and more. This allowed her to build great relationships and realize what was important to her in a work environment. It helped her focus on goals in an industry that she wanted to work in. But it was not quite the right fit for her, so she made the transition to a public relations assistant at Christian Louboutin. She used her skills from her previous job to succeed there and was promoted to a public relations coordinator. She continued to build her network and friendships, but wanted to be somewhere with more room for growth.
That led her to where she is now: Ralph Lauren. Starting as a retail communications manager, she built and launched an internal communication platform for 8,000+ employees. She managed all communication for more than 250 retail stores in North America. This was a significant change from the type of work she had been doing, but the lessons she learned were invaluable. She developed new perspectives while working side by side with retailers and learned how to work internally across stakeholders. These skills are essential for her current position as a senior manager of store initiatives, where she manages 360° alignment and execution initiatives for all new store openings, renovations, and projects.
All of her experiences taught her that career moves are not always straightforward or predictable. Because of this, it is crucial to develop skills that can be transferred across a variety of positions.
Leah Welshman ’27, president of Providence College Fashion Society, said having guest speakers share their stories “really lights up the faces of our members.” Students can discover potential careers that they never thought possible and have the chance to explore these careers after connecting with Friar alumni.