So, how do you make it in the fashion industry?

Ever been curious about how, exactly, you become a runway show producer or stylist? Start taking notes -- you're in luck. In honor of King of Prussia Fashion's Night Out, the evening's runway show producer, Kathie Young, was generous enough to take the time to answer a couple of questions for me.

Kathie has worked for Vogue, W, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks, among about a million others. So if anyone knows how to break into the fashion world, she does.
She teamed up with the Reinhard Modeling Agency, stylist Artur Kirsh, and (of course) the marketing team over at KOP to put together the runway show. If you're in town, the show starts at 7 p.m. in the Bloomingdale's court. See ya there!


And now, onto career talk with Kathie:

How did you first get into fashion on a professional scale?

As a child fighting with my mother about what I would wear to kindergarten, there was never a question in my mind that I would either be a designer or a model. I always knew I would go into fashion in some format. I started sewing in third grade and started "designing" my own outfits in the fifth grade.
Somewhere in the middle of a theatre major in college I realized I'd rather pursue modeling than design. Not tall enough for fashion, I ended up having a successful career as a "parts" model and part time fashion show commentator and coordinator. At that time, shows were seasonal -- two months in spring and fall. All shows were commentated, and you pulled your own show. Being a theatre major, I was a good public speaker, and knew fashion lingo.
One thing lead to another: many contacts later and with the creation of "Seventh on Sixth" Bryant Park fashion week, I segued from part time show stylist/producer to full time.

Do you have any advice for young women who want to pursue a similar career path?

Try it out first. I always warn people that the job is not what you think it is... it's 90 percent schlep and 10 percent glamour. It's a physically hard and demanding job and the time line is more that of live theatre, as opposed to a photo shoot or video. As you know, "the show must go on" whether you are ready or not.
I love my job and wouldn't do anything else, but it takes a specific type of personality. I always recommend a trial run first. Get involved, volunteer to work on many fashion shows, and put in as many hours as you can to see if it's for you. If you can handle the schlep and the hours, you are home free.

What is your favorite part of your job? Least favorite?
I love the creative outlet it offers me, creating a visual image from scratch, working with existing materials.
Least favorite is the budgeting process and the logistical elements -- booking trucks/deliveries/catering, etc.

Shopping always a gamble

I’m standing in the three-way mirror of Banana Republic, and it is not my finest hour. My dressing room is a veritable graveyard of black-suiting separates. This room, my friends, is where pencil skirts and slim-cut trousers came to die.

“I have my first real job interview on Thursday, so I’m, like, stressing, you know?” I whimper to the sales associate. “Everything has to be perfect.”

I have her cut pocket threads and bring me different blazers as I rotate in front of the mirror, smoothing seams and deciding which one makes me look the most employable.

I try on the same suit at least three times before I ask to put it on hold so I can look in other stores. I avoid glimpsing at anything that isn’t black wool, despite the fact that spring florals are far more fun to shop for.

“Your interview is on Thursday? Kind of late notice,” the lady at J. Crew mumbles to me. Note to everyone: Don’t wait until the week of your first important interview to find the ideal suit.

An hour later, I’ve found nothing better. I return to Banana Republic, pick up the suit I left on hold and wince as I swipe my check card. Fashion Catch-22: Suits are expensive. You need a job to pay for these suits. You need these suits to get a job. Someone should start a revolution where tunics and leggings are appropriate business attire.

As I walk back out to Walnut Street, I keep thinking about what that J. Crew associate said to me. “Your interview is on Thursday? Kind of late notice” rings over and over in my head. Was I wrong to wait until I actually needed a suit to bother buying one? Suddenly, I find my sartorial carpe diem — “Don’t buy what you don’t absolutely love or need” — severely challenged.

In recent years, I have been openly self-congratulating about my will power for saving my dollars for the clothes I really want. I do not have drawer upon drawer of things I don’t wear. My wardrobe might not have substantial variety, but I’m also not calling my mother once a month to ask for more money because I couldn’t resist scooping up H&M’s sale rack every weekend.

My mother, also a fashion lover, grilled the “buy what you can’t live without, leave the rest” mentality into my malleable brain at a young age. She taught me to choose quality over quantity.

There were a few years, admittedly, that I ignored her advice. Upon getting my first job (I worked at a sporting goods store. I know. The irony that I once knew how to fit people for shin guards is not lost on me.) and subsequently my first income, I spent an unreasonable amount of money on crap at the King of Prussia Mall. Once I realized what a pain it was to dig through piles of ugly retail mistakes, I vowed to keep my pennies until I decided what they were worth spending on.

Another lesson that my mother has continually tried to teach me — which I am just now realizing I should follow — is that it is always worth spending money on the perfect classics when you find them.

Many people insist, my mother included, that it is worth buying things like evening gowns when the deal — rather than the occasion – strikes. The likelihood of stumbling upon the perfect dress when a black tie event pops up out of nowhere is slim to none. Plan ahead and peruse the racks every now and then until you find something you love and you’ll likely be the best-dressed attendee.

But where do you draw the line between purchasing something “because it’s a steal and you’ll need it in the future” and buying something “because it’s a steal and you only think you’ll need it in the future?” “I’ll wear this all the time” is the mantra of the over-indulgent.

That isn’t to say there aren’t some occasions that are worth shopping for in advance — job interviews obviously being one of them. I also would have appreciated buying some summer clothes before the weather suddenly became unbearably hot a few weeks ago. I was completely unprepared to switch out my winter staples.

Shopping is, essentially, a gamble. The only advice I can offer is buckle down, calculate your odds and be as honest as possible with yourself when you ask, “Will I really wear this?”

Words of Wisdom

" I’ve always been opportunistic. I say that with a straight face because New York is the only place in the world where the word “opportunistic” doesn’t have such a negative connotation. When you’re young and trying to get noticed, you have to hustle. Put your best foot forward and always be ready for whatever opportunities may come. If you don’t, you’re wasting your time overpaying your landlord, and you might as well move to southern California and get a nice tan."

-Photographer Dan Martensen to Fashionista for their spectacularly helpful post on how to make it in the fashion industry.