New York Fashion Week is considered to be one of the most prestigious events in the fashion world. Designers and celebs from all over the world attend NYC to see and show off the latest trends. Here at SMU, sometimes it feels like walking down the boulevard is like walking down a catwalk. As the fashion community in Dallas and on campus continues to grow, students are finding new ways to express themselves through fashion on campus. The next big thing in fashion coming to campus is our own Fashion Week, which will be held March 26-30 next semester. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to get the scoop about SMU’s Fashion Week with the girl behind it all, Grace Davis.
Emily Sims:Why did you decide to bring Fashion Week to SMU?
Grace Davis:This event came from the Fashion Week that is held at the University of Pennsylvania. My brother goes there and I found out about it this past spring on Twitter when they had Vera Wang come speak. I thought it would be a wonderful event to bring to SMU because Dallas has such a strong fashion community. During the summer, I pitched my idea to Prof. Camille Kraeplin, the Fashion Media Minor Department Chair, and Shelby Foster, the President of Retail Club at the time, and it has grown from there.
ES:Who is the team behind Fashion Week that is helping this event come together?
GD:Fashion Week is hosted by the SMU Fashion Media Program and the SMU Retail Club. Prof. Camille Kraeplin is the faculty advisor and the executive board of Retail Club (Rebecca Marin (President), Shelby Foster (Vice President) and Julia Eggleston (Design) Meg Jones (Event Chair)) are on the executive board. We also currently have four committees-PR, Community Involvement Design and Video that are made up of SMU students. Also SMU Style is a sponsor of the event and Meg Jones, Campus Editor, is involved from that perspective as well.
ES:What events do you have planned during Fashion Week?
GD:We have nightly panels (around 5-7) planned for Monday through Thursday. Monday night will focus on the importance of fashion, Tuesday will be about journalism and blogging, Wednesday will be about retail and fashion businesses, and Thursday will involve other jobs in fashion such as styling, PR, and curating. Friday will be the annual Retail Club fashion show. Throughout the week, we will have trunk shows and other fun events during the day. All the events will be on SMU’s campus and will be free to students.
ES:What do you hope the outcome of SMU’s Fashion Week will be?
GD:I want this to be a fun event for SMU students and the Dallas community to celebrate the strong fashion presence in Dallas and the Fashion Media minor. I want students to be able to see how much they can do with fashion-career wise and be able to learn from the panels. I hope this event becomes an annual tradition that students look forward to each year!
ES:How can the rest of the student body become involved with Fashion Week?
GD:Students can join a committee to help plan the event, like our Facebook page , follow our Twitter, or even just plan to attend the event this spring!
Collegiettes, now that you have the low down on the trendiest event of the next season, do your part to make our fashion week the best it can be!