Meaghan Byrne ’10’s Clothing Company Makes Reunions Dreams Come True

From the eating clubs on Prospect Street to picture-perfect Nassau Hall, Princeton Reunions transforms campus into a black-and-orange Fashion Week of its own. Turning paths into runways, tigers across generations show class pride through timeless class jackets, vintage merch, and their own original designs. Yet amid the spectacle, it’s easy to overlook the detailed work behind these looks.

That’s where Meaghan Byrne ’10 comes in. As the owner of Reunion Outfitters, Byrne works to bring to life the whims and wishes of her fellow tigers. Her company has overseen numerous commissions from Princeton alumni, ranging from sequined blazers to class jackets to custom cards. “When you’re working on one of these committees, you’re seeing all the nuts and bolts that go into producing Reunions every year,” she says. While the company has long focused on commissions from her fellow alumni at Princeton, Byrne has her sights set on expanding retail beyond the University.

Byrne’s journey didn’t begin with the glitz and glam of her current work, but at her fifth reunion in 2015. “I was volunteering and working on our costumes with a classmate and working with a vendor to produce and execute them. That experience … led me to thinking about how you could improve both the quality of apparel that’s available as well as just the experience,” she says. She joined Reunion Outfitters in 2020 to work under Jim Steiner, an alumnus of Brown University who started the company in 1972.

Two years later, Byrne moved from her role as an operations manager to head producer after buying the company from Steiner. At the time, Reunion Outfitters was focused on sweaters and tailored blazers, managed through an outdated system. “There were these custom forms that went out very early in the year [to alumni]. They were like paper forms, writing back in their size and what they would want to order,” Byrne says.

Since taking over, Byrne and the company have expanded both the process and the product. “I have produced pretty much anything. I like the idea that you can bring a lot of things to life if you find the right partners,” she says.

From the start, most designs have been pitched by class members, with light-handed guidance from Byrne. “I think of myself more as a producer. I do some design, but I’m ultimately producing alongside and very collaboratively with the classes as a partner in trying to bring their ideas to life,” she says.

In offering advice on designs and execution, she aims to keep making wishes come true, with her own system of checks and balances. “Sometimes I will push back. I’ll be like ‘Hey, I think you should cut your T-shirt for a nicer hat,’” she says. Central to the process is what Byrne calls the “human element,” supporting and spotlighting her customers and classmates.

She says this ethos is reflected in the final products, seen along the runway of Elm Drive each spring. From the Class of 2014’s viral Pink Malibu matching set worn during 2024 Reunions to the Class of 2018’s standout black-and-orange tiger-striped sequin blazers worn during 2023 Reunions, her work pushes beyond the traditional Princeton black look.

While garments are her most common form of commissioned works, on a previous project, Byrne worked on custom cards for the Class of 2021. “When you open these custom cards, it says who the artwork is by because it’s from a fellow classmate. I think it’s important to emphasize the human element of the artwork, particularly because AI is so prevalent,” she says.

That philosophy extended to the Class of 2026 jacket that Reunion Outfitters served as the vendor for, where the tag says, “Designed by Humans in New Jersey.”

Hundreds of tigers across class years now wear Byrne’s designs, and some even gain popularity beyond the scope of their intended class. “We did these really fun sequin cardigans, and they popped up all over my Instagram feed,” she says. “People were at Ivy dancing in them! I think there was a professor in one, and I’m just like ‘How did this happen?’”