Runway Ready, page 6
“Now those gloves I like,” Olive said. “They’d go well with my jacket.”
Mickey’s favorite look by far was a dove-gray ball gown with delicate beading at the bodice and miles of ruffled tiers. It floated down the runway, and the color was very gentle and unexpected: a modern twist on a traditional “princessy” gown.
As Victoria came out at the end of the show, the crowd rose to their feet and applauded wildly. Walking at her side was Cordy—and she was wearing the dress Mickey had made for her!
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” JC almost fell out of his chair. “Mick, that’s your dress on the runway at New York Fashion Week!”
Mickey could hardly believe her eyes, and she didn’t know what to do when Cordy suddenly jumped off the stage and grabbed her from the audience.
“Come!” she insisted, dragging her back up with her. There Mickey stood, holding Cordy’s hand on one side and Victoria’s on the other as they bowed together.
“That’s my girl!” Olive sobbed. Mr. Kaye offered her his handkerchief, and she blew her nose in it loudly.
Mickey’s mom stood up on her chair and whistled through her teeth. “Go, Mickey!” she yelled, and Mickey’s classmates all joined in.
Mickey hoped her enthusiastic friends and family wouldn’t upset Victoria. It was, after all, her show. Instead, the designer insisted she step forward with Cordy and take her own bow.
“Please give a hand for the real Youthful Exuberance,” Victoria said, pointing to them.
Mickey had never felt so proud and so alive.
When Mr. Kaye walked in the classroom the next day, it was business as usual. “Take out your sketchbooks,” he said, not even pausing to drop his jacket or bag on his chair.
He grabbed a marker and wrote a number six on the SMART Board. “Toughest assignment of the year,” he warned them. “I hope you’ll all ready.”
South raised her hand. “Tougher than No Sew and Cordy Vanderweil’s party dress? I doubt it,” she said.
“That was child’s play,” Mr. Kaye insisted. “You’ve all experienced New York Fashion Week, so it’s time to step up your game.”
He tapped a key on the board, and a slide of one of Victoria’s collection appeared on the screen.
“You’ll be playing fashion critic,” he said. “I want your opinion on what you saw—what was good, what was bad, what you would change. A thousand-word report on my desk by Friday.”
“You want us to critique Victoria Vanderweil’s fall-winter collection?” Gabriel gasped. “And one thousand words? Does ‘a’ count as a word?”
“If there are nine hundred ninety-nine other words beside it,” Mr. Kaye said. “And this assignment comes from Victoria herself. She wants to read every single one of your reports.”
Gabriel banged his head on his desk. “This just keeps getting worse!”
Mr. Kaye flipped through the slides. “Choose three you want to critique, and one that you would like to reinvent. Use it to inspire your own personal design.”
“What’s the budget?” Mars asked.
“As usual, twenty dollars and feel free to choose scraps from the fabric bin.”
“Are there any guidelines?” South asked.
“For once, there are none,” Mr. Kaye said. “Use your imagination and make it your own.” He flipped to a picture of Cordy and Mickey taking a bow. “The sky’s the limit.”
But Mickey didn’t even notice he was showing her picture to the class. She was already buried in her sketchbook, dreaming up her next design.
Obviously, I am a HUGE Project Runway fan—and season eleven’s winner, Michelle Lesniak, is one of my fave designers. She recently rocked the runway on Project Runway All Stars, making it all the way to the final four. Her clothes have an effortlessly cool vibe to them, and I love how they move. Michelle was nice enough to answer all my questions. Check out her line at michellelesniak.com!
Carrie: When did you know you were going to be a designer?
Michelle: I’ve always designed. I don’t think it’s about it becoming your career; it’s part of who you are. Even if I don’t design to pay my bills, I’ll always be a designer!
Carrie: Who taught you to sew and how old were you?
Michelle: My mother and grandmother taught me to sew. I probably picked up my first needle when I was five or six.
Carrie: What is the best part of being a fashion designer? What is the hardest part?
Michelle: I don’t know if it’s necessarily being a designer, but any career you do out of love is really great. Whether it’s designing clothing, being an interior designer, or being a chef: following your dreams and doing what you love to do is the best part.
The hardest part about being a fashion designer is that it’s a tough industry. Getting people to realize the value of a garment in this day of throwaway fashion is really difficult. It can be challenging to pay your bills.
Carrie: How would you describe your design aesthetic?
Michelle: Emotional, layered, romantic, fairy tale–like, whimsical in some aspects, sometimes a little dark.
Carrie: What designers do you idolize?
Michelle: Designers that can bounce back from financial failure or troubles. Jil Sander is one. Designers that can transform the marketplace: Bottega Veneta. And designers who wear their hearts on their sleeves.
Carrie: What was it like being on Project Runway twice? And winning?
Michelle: It was incredibly difficult both times, but not an experience I would trade in for the world. I’ve met some of the closest friends I’ve ever had as well as really honed my designs and aesthetic.
Carrie: What advice do you have for kids who want to grow up and follow in your footsteps?
Michelle: There are so many different careers in the fashion industry. Don’t become frustrated if you’re not good at drawing or sewing, because you can still find a career even though you may have weaknesses in some areas.
Many thanks to all our friends and family: Daddy, Maddie, The Kahns, Berks, and Saps: love you to the moon and back!
A big thanks to the inspiring Michelle Lesniak of Project Runway for her interview. Mickey wishes she can be you when she grows up!
To all our great friends at Vital Theatre for the AMAZING musical adaptation of Fashion Academy—thank you all for bringing the characters to life. Steve, Sam, Jaimie, Kyle, Julz, Michael, Shani, Annjolyn…couldn’t have asked for a better team. To our brilliant cast, you brought such joy to the stage with your talent and heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and bravo!
And last but not least, a ginormous thank-you and shout-out to the gifted Sabrina Chap for the endless hours, endless laughs, and your brilliant music, lyrics, and partnership on the script.
Girl, you rocked it!
To Katherine Latshaw at Folio—always our cheerleader; to the gang at Sourcebooks: Steve, Kate, Alex, Elizabeth. We are so happy and proud to be with you!
“Ooh, la la!” JC exclaimed as Mickey walked into the hallway of FAB wearing an Eiffel Tower print T-shirt, a can-can inspired tiered ruffle skirt, and a purple studded beret.
“You like?” she said, giving her ensemble a twirl. She’d paired it with a mismatched pair of combat boots—one purple, one pink.
“It’s certainly very Parisian,” JC said. “All you need is a croissant-shaped purse to go with it.”
Mickey pulled a long gold tube-shaped bag out of her backpack. “Baguette,” she said. “I’m one step ahead of you.”
“So what’s with all the French-ness?” her friend asked.
“Didn’t you hear about the international student runway competition?” she replied. “Mr. Stitchman insists someone from FAB win—or else.”
JC raised an eyebrow. “Win what?”
Mickey closed her eyes and sighed. “Only a trip to Paris Fashion Week—and the opportunity to present your designs at a FIFI gala.”
“FIFI?” JC gasped. “As in the French Institute of Fashion Industries?”
Mickey nodded. “Amazing right?”
“Amazing—and near to impossible. Every fashion student in the world is probably competing.”
“I know,” Mickey said. “Which is why I need your help. I’ve never been anywhere out of the country, and I don’t know anything about Paris—except for what I’m wearing. Oh, and those colorful little sandwich cookies.”
“Macarons,” JC corrected her. “I have visited Laudere in France several times…”
“You did mention that…several times,” Mickey chuckled. “Something about staying with your cousin Angelique? Eating crepes and shopping on the Champs-Élysées?”
JC nodded. “My cuz moved to France a few years ago. She’s very cool—and very fashionable.”
Mickey sighed. “Do I have to beg?”
JC’s Chihuahua Madonna made a whimpering noise from inside her dog bag.
“Can you top that?” JC snickered.
“JC…”
“Fine. No begging necessary.”
“There’s just one little thing, before you agree,” Mickey added.
JC raised his hand to silence her. “Don’t tell me. Does it wear a tiara and a bad attitude?”
Mickey nodded. “Jade is determined to win. She and Jake are partnering up as usual.”
“And you think I’m afraid of the tantrum twins?” JC asked. “Pullease. You shouldn’t be either. You can’t cover up boring with bling. And you…well, you’re one of a kind, Mick.”
Mickey blushed. “You really think so? How many times has Jade beat me on fashion challenges? And how many times has she gotten us in trouble with Mr. Stitchman?”
“Too many. Which means she’s running out of options. Besides, I bet you’ve already been working up ideas while Jade was out getting her mani and pedi.”
“Well, I was thinking of doing a mini collection that draws from the iconic architecture of Paris. The Eiffel Tower, the Arch de Triomphe…”
“Love!” JC cheered. “Tell me more!”
Mickey pulled her sketchbook out of her bag. “Maybe colors that are muted, like grays and blues and charcoal to match the structures. Metallic silver and bronze, studding that looks like rivets. And the shape of this skirt—“
She showed him a dramatic A-line gown with a corseted back. “This mimics the lines of the tower.”
“It’s amazing,” JC said breathlessly. “C’est magnifique.”
“Is that good?” Mickey asked. “I don’t speak any French.”
“Oui! Oui!” JC added. “Translation: we’ve got this!”
“So it’s a yes?” Mickey asked.
JC smiled slyly. “Madonna? What do you say to joining Team Mickey?”
Madonna yapped happily.
“That’s a yes for both of us,” JC said. “Paris Fashion Week, here we come.”
Sheryl Berk has written about fashion for more than twenty years, first as a contributor to InStyle magazine and later as the founding editor in chief of Life & Style Weekly. She has written dozens of books with celebrities including Britney Spears, Jenna Ushkowitz, Whitney Port, and Zendaya—and the #1 New York Times bestseller (turned movie) Soul Surfer with Bethany Hamilton. Her daughter, Carrie Berk, is a renowned cupcake connoisseur and blogger (www.facebook.com/PLCCupcakeClub; https://carriescupcakecritique.shutterfly.com) with more than 101,000 followers at the tender age of twelve! Carrie is a fountain of fabulous ideas for book series—she came up with Fashion Academy in the fifth grade. Carrie learned to sew from her grandma “Gaga” and has outfitted many an American Girl doll in original fashions. The Berks also write the deliciously popular series The Cupcake Club.
Check out Carrie’s new fashion blog: fashionacademybook.com and Instagram: @fashionacademybook.
Sheryl Berk, Runway Ready
