Submitted by Laura Schwegel on the 2018 winter session study abroad program in France sponsored by the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies…
By the third week of my trip, I had really begun to feel comfortable in France and with the culture here. We had a solid routine; even though each day brought a new adventure, we always woke up and walked to the boulangerie for a croissant or pain au chocolat! However, this is the week that everything began to get crazy!
Starting on Wednesday, we began working men’s fashion week. I was able to work at two different fashion shows: Icosae and Sean Suen. Both proved to be very exciting experiences!
Icosae was most definitely my favorite. The setting of the show was in an old church, which provided a very interesting juxtaposition to the clothing from the collection, which was heavily athletic-wear inspired. The looks were completed with Louboutin sneakers with their signature red bottoms. Our models only had one look each, so it was a fairly stress-free entry into fashion week.
My model, Luc, was the closing look. He told me about his experiences with many designers, from Louis Vuitton to Calvin Klein, and it was so interesting to hear all of his stories!
The Sean Suen show was also very exciting; my model had a quick change that proved to be stressful, but we pulled it off and the show was a success!
The end of the week was when the real fun began: my showroom internship with Elie Saab! I knew going into the internship that it would be intensely difficult as well as intensely rewarding, and the first day was great. I can’t wait to see what next week brings with this amazing opportunity.
