Werk It, Twerk It: Holiday Chic Peek

Having the privilege to attend New York Fashion Week every six months or so is one of the highlights of my year. Dressing with a purpose, checking in at Lincoln Center or braving the streets / subways / cabs to try and find offsite shows and finally see what will be lining store shelves and influencing what everyone is wearing is an amazing and fantastic experience that words cannot capture.

I reached junior status fall 2012 and while I was bouncing around New York attending shows, Teen Vogue Fashion U and exploring the streets just for the heck of it, I was also planning a fashion show of my own.

I am not a fashion design student; I'm a communications major. I design page layouts, write articles and (as of this fall) learned public relations. I thought that it would be appropriate to combine all these skills and my love of clothing for my on-campus internship and host a runway and trunk show -- I called it the Holiday Chic Peek.

By far the easiest and most fun part of my experience was styling outfits. From Freedlove in Scranton (a happy hipster-esk hotspot next to my favorite coffeehouse in the entire world [Northern Light]), to Buka (a California casual favorite of Dallas natives) the options were endless and the outfit possibilities were thrilling.

Once we got past the planning, press and styling all we had to do was get the models glammed and fill the seats. Two of my wonderful models, Gia Mazur and Becca Faganano, graciously volunteered to lend their talents and play make-up artists for the morning. They successfully transformed ten college girls into models with make-up inspiration taken from Style.com/Print spring 2013 cover girl Cara Delevingne, winged eye liner and a bright lip.

As the seats filled, the girls got changed and I slipped into my dress. I was thrilled that during a fitting at Shooze a beautiful Eva Franco found it's way into my dressing room and Joann, the owner, thought it would be best worn by the show host -- me. Paired with a arm party's worth of bangles and black Stuart Weitzman pumps, I was ready to get a fashion show started.

Walking a runway with hundreds watching was a thrilling experience. Microphone in hand, I introduced my event and then our first vendor.

I was lucky enough to have 15 vendors participating in the trunk show portion of the event and nine in the runway show. Nine holiday looks showcasing every trend from the past season. Dazzle put Ashley in a sparkly dress, Love, Want, Wear had Elizabeth in a stunning black lace number and Freedlove put Gia in a killer black leather mini. Anyone who had ever thought there was no style in the valley has no ground to stand on no, these nine stores proved that little stores have big style.

Thumping beats and bright lights set the scene and as the models strutted their stuff it became apparent that this fashion show would be a success.

By the time that Jay McCarroll, our special guest vendor, runway show participant and 'Project Runway' season one winner, took the mic the crowd was ready and loving every word.

Maddie killed it with quirk in Jay's all printed outfit and after her double take walk (she actually had to go twice, long story) attendees were ready to get their shop on.

Through the course of the event, we raised close to $1,000 to benefit The First Lady's Outdoor Beautification Project at Misericordia University. Those who gave their donation at the door left with fresh concepts for what to wear this holiday season and most made more than one purchase, making the event a success on all fronts and a wonderful experience for an up-and-coming fashion PR / editor person.

Most importantly -- it earned me an A and honestly, how often can someone say that one of their finals was a fashion show?! 

All photos: Mary Bove Photography