{"id":48765,"date":"2023-04-14T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T13:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=48765"},"modified":"2023-05-01T15:16:13","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T19:16:13","slug":"nc-state-students-experience-new-york-fashion-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/nc-state-students-experience-new-york-fashion-week\/","title":{"rendered":"NC State Students Experience New York Fashion Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Sarah Stone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twice a year, New York City becomes the fashion capital of the world as it welcomes designers, models, buyers and more for New York Fashion Week (NYFW). This semester, more than half a dozen students at the Wilson College of Textiles had the opportunity to experience one of the industry\u2019s most important events in-person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From interning to student programming and even designing, see how these students returned to Raleigh with valuable lessons and connections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven students complete runway production internships <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This spring marked Riley Warpula\u2019s second NYFW. The brand management and marketing senior earned a production assistant internship at a NYFW venue called TheLab. This year, she got promoted to a team leader position, which meant the opportunity to build her own team; she brought six other Wilson College students along with her to New York City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve learned a lot about myself, my leadership style and my work ethic,\u201d Warpula says. \u201cI’ve learned that I don’t want to work in a tense, cutthroat environment like NYFW day in and day out, but I\u2019ve enjoyed the times that I\u2019ve done it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Warpula (third from left, back row) and Parsons (middle, front row) with other Wilson College of Textiles students who worked at TheLab during NYFW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During her internship, Warpula managed her team and also coordinated with models, designers and behind the scenes scheduling. The production assistants she oversaw did a little bit of everything, from dressing models and ensuring they walked down the runway in the right order and at the right time to setting up the venue for the next show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s so much that goes into the whole production of every aspect of New York Fashion Week,\u201d Alix Parsons, a senior in brand management and marketing<\/a>, says. \u201cIf you’re in the audience or if you’re watching a fashion show, you’re looking at models and they look incredible, but you’re not thinking about everything that goes on behind the scenes. That\u2019s something I really wouldn\u2019t have thought about before I had this experience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meredith Howell: Growing her business <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Senior Meredith Howell\u2019s designs sold at two different pop up shops during NYFW this spring. Howell, who is studying fashion development and product management<\/a>, designed a set of bucket hats for A. Kings in her signature tapestry style. She designed a similar set for Hip Hop group EarthGang<\/a> last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Howell also developed a new line of t-shirts to sell in a separate pop up shop that she co-hosted with J. Reid. She found out about the opportunity last minute, and credits the Wilson College\u2019s labs and Professor Andre West<\/a> for helping her make it happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI usually screen print my t-shirts by hand, but by the time I got the t-shirts back from the manufacturer, I was only going to have a week to get them all printed, so it just wasn\u2019t feasible for me to do it all myself,\u201d she says. \u201cI contacted Dr. West because he taught one of my first-year courses. I asked him if there was anything they could help us out with, and he was just so nice and so open to helping us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Howell’s puffer jackets on display in the J. Reid showcase. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, West used the digital printing lab to get Howell\u2019s t-shirts ready for NYFW in just a few days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says the opportunity with J. Reid also gave her real-world experience handling larger pop ups and selling to clients who are less familiar with her work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the main thing that I learned was how to work with others so that you\u2019re both making the most out of your skill set,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause I was one of the youngest people participating in most of the events, I had to learn to take myself seriously and also to not take it personally if I don\u2019t make a sale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n