IU students work NYC Fashion Week

Extravagant fashion shows, the season’s newest lines, some of the biggest designer names and the hottest celebrities could all be found in New York City during Fashion Week. Attending Fashion Week is a dream to anyone with an interest in fashion.

For 11 current IU students and four graduates, this dream became reality as they found themselves dressing models for Jose Ramon Reyes’ 2009 spring line.

Deborah Christiansen, IU professor of apparel merchandising and interior design,  asked her students if they would be interested in helping out with Fashion Week after former IU fashion design student Tevlyn Schwerd contacted her about the opportunity. Schwerd graduated in 2003 and is now the assistant production manager for Reyes.
The job was theirs as long as they paid their own expenses.

“When an opportunity like this comes, you just don’t let it pass,” said Dana Brej, a junior majoring in apparel merchandising with a certificate in fashion.

After arriving in New York, three to four students helped out in the showroom. The students did some last-minute stitching, Christiansen said. 

“We sewed on hooks and eyes and pressed things,” said senior Mary Hogue, who is earning her fashion design degree through the individualized major program.

Hogue compared the feeling of working in the showroom to what is portrayed on the show “Project Runway,” though it was a bit calmer.

Later, the entire IU group met at the gallery to help backstage with Reyes’ line. Each student was assigned a model and was responsible for learning the model’s individual looks, ranging from two to four.

Everyone was given a dresser kit and taught the best way to dress and undress their models.

“The models were so skinny,” Brej said. “I expected them to be that skinny, but it is shocking to see them in person.”

Houge explained what a drastic difference there is between a real model and an average person who looks like she could be one.

“They are probably two feet too short and three sizes too big,” she said.

Perhaps an even bigger shock to the girls was the fact that both Brej and Hogue saw some familiar faces from Elle, Vogue, Tenn Vogue and Australia’s Next Top Model.
As if this was not enough excitement, Brej said she also got to walk down the runway with all the lights and music going for a test run.

Hogue walked down the runway as well. She laughed and said she had to move a lot faster than the models actually do to keep up with the pacing, because the models have much longer legs in comparison to hers.

However, not everything ran smoothly. Models were late when previous shows were delayed and because their custom-made Manolo Blahnik shoes did not fit.

“We were shoving the models’ feet into the shoes,” Brej said.

With the show starting at 4:30 p.m., and the models only arriving at 4:15 p.m., most things were done in an organized rush.

“Everything is extremely fast-paced,” Hogue said. “That’s what makes it exciting.”
By 4:45 p.m., the show was already over. Within 10 minutes, Reyes’ collection was showcased, and everyone’s hard work paid off.

“There is a pure excitement for the 10 minutes of actual show time,” Christiansen said.
A lot of the excitement was generated by the fact that the fashion show was held in New York.

“The energy that New York has just fuels you,” Brej said. “I understand how people can be so driven, because everything is so inspiring.”

Christiansen thought letting her students go to New York to experience Fashion Week and the city itself would not only be a great resume builder, but also an important step toward a fashion career.

“If you are in another field, this would be almost like an audition,” she said. “The root of American design is in New York. There is no better place to see all the cultures go together and everything that designers get inspiration from. It is a diverse and vibrant city.”