Living the New York fashion dream

IT sounds like the plot of a Hollywood movie. A young girl moves from a small town to the bright lights of New York City where, after a disastrous first day, she goes on to work at one of the most prestigious fashion shows in the world. However, this isn’t some fictitious film but the real-life experience of young up-and-coming fashion designer, Karly Hodge.
Now in her final year of study at the Limerick School of Art and Design, Karly from Shannon is currently working on her degree show designs. However, last summer she had the experience of a lifetime working for well-known fashion label, Proenza Schouler and she managed to gain backstage access to New York Fashion Week, something most fashionistas can only dream of.
Karly moved to New York for work experience with the designers as part of her course at LSAD, whose fashion design course is well respected in the fashion world. That was certainly a big step for somebody who had never lived away from home before, let alone lived abroad.
She says, “I’d been to New York before for a couple of days on a stopover to a family holiday but it was certainly a big change for me. It was kind of daunting and definitely different from Shannon. It was a big jump but I’m really glad I did it. My family were very supportive because they knew it was something that I wanted to do. I was definitely a bit nervous about going. I wasn’t too bad until I was going and then it was like ‘oh my God, I really am going’. I was lucky though because two other girls from the course were also going to New York so I wasn’t completely by myself.”
“It was a disaster of a first day,” she smiles. “There were issues with immigration and I didn’t think I was going to get in. Then I lost my phone in the taxi but after that, I was fine. Once you get used to the subway system and where you’re going, after a while you just get into it. Everyone in work was so helpful. To go from living at home to living in New York was just amazing and it really helped me with my confidence,” Karly said.
Working for the Soho-based label, Karly got to experience many different sides to the fashion world from the manic rush of a fashion show to the more mundane task of running errands.
“When you start off, a lot of it is running errands. Obviously, they don’t know you yet so they have to build trust in you but later on, I began helping the design team before the shows, helping with sales during marketing week and photoshoots. I got to help on their very first ad campaign, which was really cool because I’d never been on a photoshoot before,” she recalls.
However, it was working at New York Fashion Week that was her highlight. The Proenza Schouler catwalk show was attended by the fashion elite, including the legendary Anna Wintour.
“It was just so amazing to be backstage. There were girls trying to get their hair done and make-up and having run-throughs. It was just hectic. The show is so built up and then it’s like 10 minutes long where everybody is so stressed but it’s such a rush and when it’s finished you just feel amazing. I just loved it,” she says.
The show was well received by the fashion elite. However, backstage everything didn’t run quite as smoothly, she reveals. “They had these really ridiculous boots that were laced up to the knee and there was a whole tutorial on how to lace up these boots. Then one of the dressers ended up pulling out too many laces and there was a big disaster where they were running out after the model as she was going out,” she laughs.
“Backstage was just great to see, with the hair and the make-up, the dressers and the designers giving their talk. I would certainly have never experienced anything like that before. I was only supposed to be there for three months but I’m glad I stayed on for fashion week. I got to see everything and it was just amazing.”
The designer’s after-show party featured a host of celebrities. However, the life of an intern isn’t all glitz and glamour. “I missed half of the celebrities because I was the one packing up everything after the show,” she smiles.
Living in New York, it isn’t uncommon to bump into a few famous faces, she says. “You spot them around different places, it’s kind of weird seeing them randomly walking around because it’s like ‘I’ve watched you on TV’.”
She has nothing but praise for the designers at Proenza Schouler. “They’re just amazing guys. They’re so down to earth. They’re not the kind of designers who won’t pay attention to their interns, they really value them. They weren’t completely shut off in their office. The designs are their vision and it was good to see them involved.”
Karly was just back home when she had to launch into her final year at LSAD, where she is currently working on her degree show designs. She is hoping to incorporate a little bit of her transatlantic experience into her collection, which will be showcased in May.
“The work I did over there will really help me with my collection. I want to try and bring some New York into it. My experience there has already helped me in college and with my confidence in college,” she says.
Karly is hoping to return to New York to continue her career in fashion design once she graduates. “I definitely want to go back to New York, I really enjoyed it. I made a lot of friends and the work was amazing. I’ll have to save a bit of money first but I’m definitely hoping to go back,” she concludes.