The Future Looks Bright After Sunniefest 2025
Images via Être and Sunnie
The enormous yellow letters spelling SUNNIE were visible from the street.
Life-sized orange statues of female role models lined the path like seniors nodding hi in a high school hallway.
And multicolor messages up the huge stairway welcomed the next gen in a red-carpet style that felt entirely of-the-moment.
Sunniefest, the first-ever IRL event by Hello Sunshine's new sister brand Sunnie hit Dallas last week - and Gen Z will never be the same.
I've joyfully written about Sunnie in the past when Être's partnership with Hello Sunshine was first announced and co-branded research alongside an extraordinary teen Advisory Board entered the chat, and it was seeing some of these Board members take the Sunniefest stage that thrilled me the most.
From cheering as Harvard senior, founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks, author and speaker Marley Dias emceed the event alongside actor and author Raegan Revord to listening as Duke sophomore, AI ethicist, author and innovator Neha Shukla engaged in deep conversation with Purdue's Kasie Roberson, Ph.D. to dancing in our seats as high school senior Francesca Tarantino closed out the event with a musical performance that included original numbers the Sunnie Board's impact was felt throughout the day.
In fact, their fingerprints were on Sunniefest even before the doors opened. Earlier in the week in honor of National Kindness Day, Sunnie teen Board member and founder of Stick2Kindness, Brooklynn Riley, led a Kindness Crawl throughout downtown Dallas, and then joined more Board members at two high school pop-ups courtesy of another partnering organization IF/THEN. Board members like middle schooler Grayson Sethi and Vanderbilt student Lexi Anand flew in from NYC and Nashville, respectively, and more Être BFFs like EduHer teen founder Aadya Anand and From We Can't To We Can founder Trinity Jagdeo landed in Dallas to join the fun.
Who else graced the stage? Think singer Pressley opening the event with epic energy, Sophie Flay and Kiernan Shipka talking about ambition, cast mates from the upcoming Legally Blonde prequel Elle Chandler Kinney, Gabrielle Policano and Lexi Minetree discussing legacy with Dai Time, and Sloane Weinstein, Ashton Lansdell and Brooke Johnson breaking down what winning means.
All of this happened for one reason: Hello Sunshine and the partners they amassed listened with thoughtful intentionality to Gen Z girls - gathering the speakers and activity sessions they crave today. From carefully curated caboodles from E.L.F. BEAUTY to bespoke bookmarks created before our eyes by Coach or a product-packed claw machine filled by VS PINK, Sunniefest attendees loved every on-trend aspect of the partner activations and moved non-stop from one to the next.
Because there were more! The team from Invisalign Orthodontist US snapped professional headshots, Purdue University helped STEMinists send postcards across the world, Michaels Stores brought crafts for a creative-core break with Jacey Adler, IF/THEN dove headfirst and hands-on into the science of fragrance, and Dunkin' offered a literal wall of donuts to keep us all running. Sunnie's partners did them proud and girls noticed every detail.
What's next for Sunnie? Keep following them here to find out. Meanwhile, Gen Z will be scrolling through pics, sifting through the biggest-ever gift bag and connecting with every inspiring fellow attendee they met.
With huge thanks to Sunnie and their stellar team, not only for inviting the next gen to Sunniefest, but for listening from the start to ensure that this brand is - truly - built by and for today's girls.
Looking forward,
Illana
