Frosh Wins New York Fashion Show Shot
March 3, 2017
While New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is a far-off dream for many models, Angelina Louie, a freshman with no modeling experience, walked the NYFW runway on February 13.
Louie’s unique experience all started with a contest.
Clothing store PromGirl/PromGuy offered novices an opportunity to strut along side fashion professionals. “They were allowing real kids to do the runway,” explained Louie. “We just kind of took these head shots but also full body pictures, and we sent them in,” she said.
The announcement of 4 winners came with little time left to prepare for the trip. “They announced to us, not a lot of time beforehand, but they had told us via email all the information, and who was going to be there,” Louie said.
The fact that the event was being held on the east coast led some of Louie’s friends to think the possibility of being chosen wasn’t real.
“We didn’t actually think she was going to get it,” explained Aislinn Welch, a friend of Louie’s. “I guess I was pretty surprised,” she said. “I didn’t think they were going to want to fly somebody all the way out from California, because there were apparently a lot of people from New York that tried out, so it would be like a lot more convenient to just have them do it.”
Louie was also surprised. She was the youngest of the 4 winners. “The three other kids that did it with me were all seventeen…”
After receiving the invitation, it was a whirlwind of preparation and travel for Louie. “Right away they told us that we had to book our flights and our hotel room,” she said.
Having never participated in such an event, Louie was uncertain about various procedures. “At first they told us that you had to walk in heels for the girls, and [then] they told me that I was able to wear Converse and that I didn’t have to worry about it,” she said. “They also had clothing, hair, and makeup and shoes and everything over there.”
Pre show lessons included instruction on how to traverse the runways. “Beforehand we had to watch videos on how to walk ‘like a model,'” Louie said. “It’s almost like you have to walk in a specific beat almost, like your arms can’t sway too much, your hips have to be forward, your posture has to be great and uplifted.”
During the show, Louie experience the energy and chaos behind the scenes. “I had two people curling my hair at once, and right before we were about to go onto the runway, we had people literally walking around, and they would powder your face right before you go on,” she said excitedly. “Or they would start hair-spraying your hair.”
Practically every inch of each model’s body was groomed in some way. “There was this lady, and she came up, and would just go to anyone that had arm showing, and she would put lotion, rub lotion on your arms,” said Louie.
As for Louie’s dress, “it was kind of like a cutout thing,” said Louie. “[It was] black and it [had] some floral patterns, and just accent of reds and flowers and there was a train in the back, and there was ruffles and it was big and poofy,” she said.
Outside of school, Louie is interested in acting and performing. “During the summer I do an acting camp, pretty much the entire summer, and I take classes, learning how to make a resume and how to audition,” Louie explained.
According to Louie, walking the runway was similar to performing. “You’re in a dress and you’re walking down, but you’re like, it’s almost like performing in the way that you have to be smiling, the light’s always on you, and everyone’s watching you,” she said.
Louie also had the opportunity to visit the PromGirl office, and meet the staff. “The entire staff is super nice,” she said.
“My experience with PromGirl, it was unbelievable,” said Louie. “It was just a really great experience and I had a lot of fun.”
