3 minute read
THE NEW YORK (STUDENT) FASHION SHOWS
By Lauren Hudson (Advertising, Marketing and Communications, ‘22)
New York Fashion Week. The most renowned and exciting event on the fashion calendar. Beautiful models in designer garments walking down exquisite runways. It is every fashion lover’s dream to attend, or better yet work, New York Fashion Week. But what it’s missing? Real opportunities for the creatives who need it most - students. Student designers, models, photographers, and more. This is where the New York (Student) Fashion Show comes in.
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Conceptualized, founded, and produced by ONE Management in collaboration with On The Wall and Spring Studios, NY(S)FS is the first professional fashion show to be focused entirely on students. It is a celebration of diversity, inclusion, and new ideas, and features students throughout the entire process from the designers, models, photographers, and the backstage volunteers. “We saw that there wasn’t really a platform for students within New York Fashion Week, and we wanted to create a space for them,” said Jawahar Chirimar, chairman of ONE Management and producer of the New York (Student) Fashion Shows. The designers showcased include Alice Wang, Aviya Seligman and Elad Danon, Guvanch, Haixi Ren, Joyce Bao, and Xiaowu Zheng.
The New York (Student) Fashion Shows premiered on Friday, February 12, and is available to watch on Youtube and through the link in @the.nysfs bio on Instagram. This collection of shows is filled with such creativity and expression, and allowed these student fashion designers to share untold stories through their work. So many powerful and passionate messages were unfolded, and these student designers and models were able to gain professional experience and exposure. “It was honestly one of the best modeling experiences I have had to date,” said Samantha Espinol, NY(S)FS model and student at FIT. “The stylists, designers, models, makeup artists, production team, and everyone involved made the experience a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life,” she continued. Students are the future of the fashion industry and the world, and it is so important for us to be able to gain these memorable experiences to prepare us for that future.
Alice Wang’s show shot by Boyang Hu (@boyang_h)
In addition to models, designers, and photographers, New York (Student) Fashion Shows also provided the opportunity for students to volunteer backstage while filming, and the opportunity to serve on their Student Advisory Board. This board was made up of representatives from schools with fashion show programs or organizations, including students from Harvard, Brown, Parson’s, NYU, and myself representing the Fashion Institute of Technology. I am president of Runway27 here at FIT, and I hope to pursue a career in the production of fashion shows, and experiences like this really solidify that dream for me. It was amazing to see the creative process, meet like-minded individuals and get real exposure to the world of fashion show production. The backstage volunteers got a similar peek into this world. “I was in awe of the set, makeup, garments, and it was amazing to just be in Spring Studios” said Aline McEntee, N(Y)SFS volunteer and FIT student.
The makeup artists were made up of students from L’oreal Professionnel Education, and their talents and creativity brought the designers’ looks to life as they got the models ready to be filmed. Student photographers from schools including FIT and NYU captured these backstage and behind the scene moments. Each designer’s show was filmed at Spring Studios, with no audience. All stylists, makeup artists, photographers, and everyone backstage wore masks and had to test negative for COVD-19 prior to attending. Navigating fashion show productions while being safe and adhering to guidelines has been difficult for everyone in the industry, and the New York (Student) Fashion Shows did it seamlessly and safely.
FIT was strongly represented at the New York (Student) Fashion Shows, including the talented designers Alice Wang and Haixi Ren, lead photographer and manager of the @the.nysfs Instagram Siqiao Meng, volunteers including Aline Mcentee, Sophia Scanelli, Seth Corcuera, and Brielle Italiano, model Samantha Espinol, and myself, Lauren Hudson on the Student Advisory Board. ONE Management hopes that NY(S)FS will be a new Fashion Week tradition, and is looking to create further iterations of this show in the future, including more and more students from universities and colleges including individuals from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Haixi Ren’s show shot by Boyang Hu (@boyang_h)
