Residents of Columbia come from all over: small towns, the suburbs, big cities. To some people, Columbia might be huge, while to others, it feels overwhelmingly small. No matter where you come from, being in a new place requires adjustments. Some hard and some easy, but adjustments nonetheless.
I try to stay trendy. For my 16th birthday, I got a subscription to _Vogue_. Moving to Columbia from just outside of Dallas, I was concerned with the lack of shopping choices. I’m a big-city girl and shopping is most definitely a part of any big city. I wasn’t sure that I could adjust to life without a Nordstrom.
Regardless of where I live, I always stay up to the latest fashion trends. What better way to do that than to watch New York Fashion Week? I watched runway shows, followed designers on Instagram and read the breakdown of the shows on blogs.
For those of you who don’t follow it like I do, during just one week in the fall, New York Fashion Week presents the trends for the upcoming spring and summer seasons. In the weeks following, you can catch similar shows in Milan, Paris and London, each showcasing some of the world’s most famous clothing designers.
New York Fashion Week isn’t just a big deal for designers, though. Celebrities hope to be invited to the best shows, models dream of walking for designers like Alexander Wang and young fashionistas hope to get a glimpse of the upcoming season’s trends. New York Fashion Week sends ripples across the rest of the country’s fashion scene as well.
Take a look at someone like Jeremy Scott. Starting out in the fashion world, the Missouri native struggled immensely. He worked odd fashion jobs, none of them living up to his aspirations. After barely being able to feed himself, Scott decided the only way he could be authentic and successful was by starting his own brand. Today, he and his brand Moschino have become one of the most recognizable clothing lines for all ages. Having dressed people like Madonna for events as glamorous as the Met Gala, Scott has become known for his eccentric style.
Taking a key spot on the lineup this year, Scott’s fashion show included some of the most famous models like Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss. His show was dominated by vibrant greens, reds and yellows, metallic shades and camo, giving us a window into the trends for spring/summer 2018.
Columbia-based business owner Nickie Davis tries to reflect the trends of New York Fashion Week through her fashion-buying choices.
At her boutique, Muse Clothing, on Ninth Street, Davis spends her days helping customers. While the store sells clothes from retailers, it also sells unique, vintage pieces, some reclaimed by Davis and others original. Davis is not only the owner of Muse Clothing, but she also acts as its buyer. She is tasked with deciding what clothes to sell in the store.
Columbia might not have the same everyday style as New York City, but Davis still looks to the fashion shows as inspiration for purchasing. She watches the shows and stays up to date while respecting Columbia’s unique fashion scene.
“You have to have stuff people are wearing, and you have to make sure you have stuff for smaller people, [bigger people], for sorority girls, but then we also like to have the bigger city, more urban street vibe,” Davis said.
Before owning her own store, Davis ran several small businesses as well as corporate businesses, all surrounding fashion. It seems that through her years of experience, working for other fashion-related businesses and now owning her own store, Davis has come to understand her clientele in Columbia.
“[At Muse,] you can always find something unique and different,” Davis said.
New York Fashion Week is a global event attended by celebrities and designers at the front of the fashion world, and its effects can be seen all the way in mid-Missouri.
_Edited by Claire Colby | ccolby@themaneater.com_
