Fashion show stylishly sinful

Katie Deray is on a mission. Armed with platform heels, vintage belts and a keen sense of style, she plans to help the world one fashionable girl at a time.

Of course, this plan doesn’t come without effort. As the Editor at Large of Athens’ student-run fashion magazine, The Little Red Book, and an active member of the Student Merchandising Association, Deray has devoted her life to fashion.

Deray, the co-director of this year’s Student Merchandising Association’s fashion show, spent months preparing for the April 4 event that was held at Ciné.

The theme for this year’s show was “Confessions: What is your Sin,” a play on the Seven Deadly Sins. Deray recalls Liz Felter, the show’s other co-director, calling her at 2 a.m. with the idea to use clothing to interpret sloth, wrath, greed, gluttony, envy, lust and pride.

Deray said that “it was really fun to work on the show this year, because the theme was more conceptual than in the past.”

SMA borrows clothing and accessories from local Athens boutiques for the annual event. This year’s show featured outfits from Heery’s, Flirt, Agora, Flaunt, Dynamite and Blonde, where Deray currently works as a sales associate and mannequin dresser.

The borrowed items were carefully put together and styled by SMA members to create outfit concepts that personified the Seven Deadly Sins.

Styling is not the only aspect of the fashion show, however. SMA members had to choose models, organize catering, order tickets and programs and run the lights and music for the event.

“The best part about the show is that people can figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are,” said Deray. “It allows [students] to find their niche in the fashion industry.”

So what is Deray’s niche? She has always loved putting together looks, and she hopes to continue styling girls and mannequins post-graduation. While her dream job is to work as a stylist on a TV or film set, she plans to move to New York after graduating and seeing where life takes her. “I’ll just be another girl running around the city looking for a job.”

No matter where Deray ends up, one thing seems likely: she will take the fashion world by storm.