Teen takes fashion week in NYC

Fashion week is a time where designers, writers, bloggers, and editors from all over the world come to together to watch future season’s trends come to light.

Designers work for months on their collections to prepare for fashion week, which brings $547 million to New York City each year, according to the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Nearly half a million visitors flock to the Big Apple to be apart of this experience, one of those being Decatur’s own, senior, Sophie Mumper.

Mumper saw Stella Nolasco at pier 59 studios in Chelsea, NY (as seen in the photo on the right).

“I got my prom dress from her when I went to Puerto Rico in February.” she said. “While we were at the shop my mom happened to sign up for the email list. August of this year my mom got an email that said ‘you’re invited to the 2015 show’.”

After putting the spanish email in translate, Mumper realized she had received an invite to Stella Nolasco’s show in New York.

“The redeeming part [of the invitation] was hard,” she said. “I had to call them and it turns out they

don’t teach how to accept fashion week invitations in spanish class.”

After calling multiple times, Mumper gave up and emailed the Stella Nolasco company explaining her situation. In response to her email, Mumper received a personal email from Nolasco herself reassuring her of her RSVP to the show.

“It was really lucky because I was planning to go there to look at colleges during fashion week,” Mumper said. “I did have to move around a couple college tours, but it was definitely worth it.”

Mumper and her dad took the subway to the show.

“It was kind of funny getting dropped off at a fashion week show with your father.” she said.

Mumper wore a pair of flared jeans from Bloomingdale’s on clearance, a shirt she scored for a dollar

“Turns out there aren’t a lot of google results for what should i wear to New York fashion week 2015,” she said.

Pier 59 studios, parallel to the Hudson river, is a pier full of warehouses in Chelsea that are available to rent out. Many have been used for fashion shows and TV shows like Law and Order.

As Mumper walked into the venue she asked for a quick point in the right direction from people standing out front. She noticed their slightly confused looks towards her as she
“looked like a high schooler”.

“A lot of people were wearing stella’s stuff and if I wore the one piece of Stella Nolasco clothing I had I would have looked like a crazy person beca
use it’s a really formal gown.”

Others were dressed formally, semi formally but very few were dressed casually.

After waiting in line to get her seat assignment, she was told she wasn’t on the the list of attendees. This was quickly resolved as she showed the receptionists a copy of her personal emailed invitation.

“Since they didn’t have my name I didn’t get a seat.” Mumper said. “Or they didn’t think they could provide one for me so I just got a little note card that just said stand.”

As she was waiting for the show to start, Mumper talked with others around her.

“The woman next to me asked me what I did, I was like, um, I go to high school in Georgia,” she said. “She was there for the Zac Posen show, I talked to her for a while.”

Latino stars, photographers and bloggers filed into their seats after 15 minutes. Mumper was given a second row seat instead of the standing note card she was handed at first.

“It’s cool seeing how although I’m still early in school, even in New York I can still be a part of this industry,” she said.

Mumper plans on working in the fashion industry in the future, specifically in fashion business management.

Photos Courtesy of Sophie Mumper