All the hard WERK has come to a close for New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week for 2012, but for one special group of youngsters from New York City, Fashion Week has provided a unique opportunity for them to explore new possibilities in careers in the glamorous world of high fashion. As a civic “give-back” for the week’s activities, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week producer IMG Fashion and the Lincoln Center partnered with the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to host 265 public high school students for the third annual “Life in Fashion Forum”. Upcoming fashionista’s and fashionisto’s, 75 of whom were from NYCHA public housing communities, took part in this exceptional chance to learn about careers in fashion from top designers and industry leaders.
Fashion luminaries such as Betsey Johnson, fashion designer; Malcolm Carfrae, Executive Vice President of Global Communications at Calvin Klein; Leandra Medine, founder and editor of the blog, “The Man Repeller”; and Derek Warburton, stylist, all participated in this year’s panel events to share some of the in’s and out’s of what it really means to ‘werk’ in the industry behind the scenes (click here to read more). You can also click here to see more, great pictures from the 2012 event on NYCHA’s stream on Flickr.
Hats and heels off to the fashion industry for partnering with NYC to sponsor this inspiring event. Given the financial base and clout of the fashion industry, let’s hope this community ‘give-back’ blossoms into tangible internships and paying jobs for struggling NYC kids, many of whom[ in spirit] have given given denizens of popular designers considerable inspiration for styles and designs that drive what’s seen on those fabulous catwalks.
Thanks for the note, Megan – hope the project goes well!
