By Jessica Andriani
Staff Reporter
Have you ever dreamt about having the opportunity to join in on all the action and work during Fashion Week? For Sacred Heart University seniors, Chelsea Montani and Marissa Torsiello, this dream became a reality.
Each year, there is a chance for fashion industry students and interns to get real world, hands-on experience during this week.
Montani worked as a staff manager for the Platinum VIP members during fashion week. Torsiello, an intern for “The Impression” magazine, was in charge of placing the magazines at all the show locations, along with handing them out to the people who were invited to see the runway.
Fashion Week happens twice a year in New York, London, Milan, and Paris- all major fashion cities. So it’s no surprise that each year fashion gurus, celebrities and more look forward to this week.
This year’s New York Fashion Week was held from Sept. 7 to Sept. 15.
The excitement hits full stride as designers have their models strut down the runway, showing their new top designs for the seasons ahead. An average of 30 to 40 looks walk down the runway during fashion week.
This sparks new ideas for magazine editors. It helps designers get ideas for the next six months and aids store buyers to see what the upcoming season offers.
Working behind the scenes of fashion week was eye-opening for intern Torsiello.
“It’s not really as glamorous as people may think,” said Torsiello. “There’s a lot of hard work that gets put into creating these amazing shows and is most definitely not all fun and games.”
While working with VIP guests at the shows, Montani also said how she learned to solve problems on the spot if an issue were to arise.
“Overall, the experience felt like a dream come true. I have always wanted to work fashion week and I can’t believe I finally had the opportunity,” said Montani. “Although the fashion shows can be chaotic at times, seeing the end result of the show makes everything worth it.”
Torsiello had a similar viewpoint on her fashion week experience.
“My overall experience was exciting,” said Torsiello. “I loved to see all the new fashion trends, even if they’re a little different than the usual jeans and t-shirt. I like to be able to have an insight to what I’ll be wearing in a few months from now.”
Thanks to the guidance and support of Adjunct Instructor David Bloom, Sacred Heart students in the Fashion program and Fashion Club get the opportunity to work fashion week.
“I would totally recommend my experience to other fashion students,” said Torsiello. “It’s so cool to be able to have that behind-the-scenes opportunity and to witness how all the aspects of fashion are put into one magnificent week.”
Montani also recommended the Fashion Club for any interested students.
“I would definitely recommend that any student interested in fashion to work fashion week at least once because you can really start to find out your likes and dislikes of the industry,” said Montani. “You find out a little more about yourself with every experience.”
