Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve dreamed about having a career in fashion. I could always picture myself jet-setting to the fashion capitals of the world, schmoozing with models, and attending fierce fashion shows. Recently, a little piece of that dream came true. Through HerCampus, I was able to cover one of Charleston’s fabulous nights of fashion week! While I was incredibly nervous, even more than that I was excited. I had no idea what to expect, but it didn’t disappoint.
The DJ and I spending some quality time together
The week leading up to fashion week was long and annoying, and my Wednesday show could not come soon enough. The e-mail I received from the woman organizing media personnel told me to be there at five. I learned my first lesson then – five was far too early. As I strutted up to Marion Square park, I quickly realized I was the only one there and proceeded to walk around in the King Street Walgreens for an hour. After a while, some people finally started to show up, and I took the plunge into the white tents dotting the park. Before the show was slated to start, guests were invited to a huge tent with a DJ (seen above), Charleston clothing vendors, drinks, and even stations to get your hair and nails done. Although it was a chilly March night, the luxurious tent felt absolutely cozy and inviting.
After my time in the tent, all the guests were soon corralled into another massive tent for the fashion show. Kicking off the show were Charleston-based boutiques M. Dumas and Ro Sham Beaux. Both shops showed off clothing with Charleston vibes and a high-end twist. Following the Charleston designers were four emerging designers from around the country: Patresea Peppers, Tierra Macon, Patrick Tai & Terrence Henderson, and Emilie Schroeder. All of the emerging designers were incredibly talented and offered original and exciting designs. My favorite of the night was the work by Patrick Tai and Terrence Henderson (pictured below). Before their collection showed, each designer had a video that played describing their inspiration and thought process for the collection. Tai and Henderson showed images of men with beards, wearing makeup, with flowers in their hair and explained that they were inspired by androgyny and a male-female dichotomy. Their models had blocky blue eye makeup reminiscent of David Bowie, one of the first gender benders, and contrasted it with delicate yet structural clothing.
Overall, my first fashion week was everything I could have hoped for it to be. Even though I went alone, I had a great time truly soaking up the experience, admiring some street style, and viewing the beautiful clothing of hard-working designers. If fashion week is always like this, I think I would be fine doing this for the rest of my life! I loved seeing the passion from the designers and thrived off the bustling energy of trying to capture outfits in a photograph and yelling over the eternally loud music. Now I just have to figure out a way to get back next year ;)
All photos courtesy of Zoë Murrie.