Behind the Scenes at petitePARADE/Vogue bambini NY Kids Fashion Week 2013

Early in my fashion career, I spent a good amount of time working on fashion shows and showroom events.  You would be amazed as to how much work goes into making a 10- to 15-minute presentation look chic and completely effortless.

To give you some perspective:

Many weeks and many hours of physical and emotional labor.  As the youngest on the PR staff (early in my career) at a well-known American fashion label, my role consisted of mainly pulling key looks from the showroom closets – which is actually a lot harder than you think: first I had to convince my friends in the sales department that I needed the clothing samples for a very important runway show, then hunt down the key to the closet, and then stuff the equivalent of my body weight in Spring apparel into five or six garment bags, log them on a sign out sheet, and then steam each and every garment before presenting them over to the Fashion Office in the Creative Resources department, who expertly styled the looks with appropriate shoes and accessories and hired the models, photographers, hair/makeup teams to make it all happen.

Done, right?  Not quite…

Then, my team and I had to get people to our show.  This required lots of calling/emailing, following up with our fashion editor friends.  And then making the arrangements for tasteful and appropriate food/drink as well as a really amazing  goodie bag. Along with a host of other key logistics.

Lastly, we had to physically make the show happen.  Making sure models arrived on time, were properly outfitted and made up as previously planned and staged accordingly to ensure our show went off without missing a beat.  It’s a team effort with lots of moving parts, lots of creative energy and lots of emotion.

These days, my role has shifted a bit — sitting alongside the runway and no longer behind the scenes putting the show together.  But golly, do I have an appreciation for all that goes into making these fabulous presentations happen.

So when I was once again invited to Kids Fashion Week in NYC by petitePARADE and Stride Rite last weekend, I was, of course, delighted to attend.  And even brought my son and husband with me to experience the fun at Industria Studios in the West Village.

First show of the weekend was Target’s Runway Showcase featuring looks by Cherokee, Circo, D’Signed by Disney, GK (Genuine Kids by Osh Kosh), Shaun White and Xhilaration.

To give you a sense of the vibe and show experience, here’s a little snippet:

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My son LOVED munching on treats from Georgetown Cupcake and was marveled by the little Bullseye stuffed doggie that he got to take home. He was also cautiously excited about having his photo taken with the REAL LIFE Target mascot, Bullseye, the Bull Terrier (photo avail on mom a la mode Facebook Fan Page.)

Meanwhile, Mike got a kick of the celebrity sightings and convinced stylist June Ambrose to take a picture with him:

In addition to seeing the adorable Spring/Summer presentation by Target, it was so fun running into blogger friends like Monica (and her sweet daughter!) of Marino Bambinos:

Next up was Stride Rite Children’s Group Runway Showcase that featured popular shoe brands like Keds Kids, Saucony Kids, Sperry Top-sider Kids and their eponymous line.  Below is a glimpse of some of the hot styles you’ll find in-store for Fall 2013:

Am a big fan of the Sperry Top-Sider for my toddler son, and think they’ll make the perfect addition to his “Back to Pre-School” wardrobe in September!

oxox

-mom a la mode

{I was not compensated for this post.  I was invited by Stride Rite and petitePARADE to check out the shows and received goodie bags with press information and product samples for review purposes.  All opinions expressed here are solely mine.}