Some would say that a successful fashion show is one where every seat in the venue is occupied. Others might say it is one where people are lined up out the door waiting to get in. And still others might base it on the number of people standing around the runway, craning their heads to get a good look.

For the Marie Claire Front Row Challenge fashion show, all of the above applied. The event, organized by UT biochemistry and chemical engineering major and personal style blogger Diya Liu, took place last night, Nov. 17, at The Mohawk.

The doors to the venue opened at 6:45 p.m., and guests continued to stream in at a steady pace. The number of attendees largely outnumbered what the event planners had originally expected according to Christi Williams, a Public Relations intern for the LA-based company Caravents that was hired to produce the show.

People quickly filled the approximately 120 seats that had been set up, and began filing in to stand crowded behind them. It seems unsurprising that there were over 100 people standing around the outskirts of the relatively small outdoor rooftop of the concert venue, said Williams, considering that nearly 400 RSVP’s for the show had been sent in before noon Thursday.

The event kicked off with a keynote speech from the Senior Fashion Editor of Marie Claire, Zanna Roberts Rassi. She explained to guests that this pioneer Front Row Challenge competition offers four university student finalists the chance to win a summer internship with Marie Claire, LOFT and Rimmel London in New York City during summer 2012 for whichever show the judging panel believed was best produced.

As one of the judges of the competition, she introduced Abby Gardner, Site Director of Marie Claire online, and Alia Ahmed-Yahia, Fashion Director of LOFT, as the other two judges. A short video was then aired, showing guests a condensed view of Liu’s journey to the runway, before Liu herself stepped out to make a last final introduction to the show.

The dimmed lights came back on, illuminating the area, and models began to filter out one-by-one. They slowly sauntered down the runway dressed in looks styled by Liu from LOFT’s holiday collection. There were festive sequins, glamorous furs, cozy knits, mixed textures and plenty of layers.

“For inspiration I kind of wanted to showcase the versatility of the pieces, that you don’t just wear it one way,” explained Liu about her styling choices. “Something that you can wear to the office can be layered to be something that you wear on a night out with your friends later.”

In drawing inspiration for the outfits, she also relied on her own tried-and-true source of fashion inspiration: street style blogs. As a style blogger herself, Liu gets a lot of fresh ideas from observing other people’s fashion on these websites. A few of her favorite trends currently include jewel tones and a reintroduction of femininity, after seasons of grunge.

Her styling vision was well-received by the audience, judging from the captivated faces watching the models sway by and their gushing compliments following the show. “I loved the show,” said Rassi, Marie Claire editor and competition judge, enthusiastically. “I was super impressed about the way all the parts came together, the hair, the makeup, the models, to the styling of the looks. She executed her vision very well.”

The judges have each witnessed all four of the fashion shows put on at different campuses around the country for the Challenge.

“It’s really interesting because it’s very cool to see how each campus, the vibe of that city kind of reflects itself in each girls’ way that she styled the collection,” said Gardner. “So I think here there was definitely an ease, like a very cool groovy aspect to the styling, but none of it felt fussy. It all felt really cool and wearable which seems like Austin to me.”

As the show concluded, Liu encouraged attendees to stick around to mingle at the reception on the ground floor of the venue, ending her speech with a fervent “go Longhorns!” Guests slowly filtered off of the rooftop and downstairs to chat, take photos and munch on cookies.

Catching up with Liu following a series of interviews and photos, she was pleased that all of her hard work and coordination had come together as cohesively as she had hoped. “I think in the end it went really well,” she expressed. “I didn’t mess up too badly with what I was supposed to say, and I didn’t trip and fall, and that’s all I was really worried about.”

It’s very easy when looking at a polished finished production like this one to forget the sweat and hours of work behind it. Liu was truly able to get a crash course in fashion show production through the Front Row Challenge.

She had her hands in nearly every aspect of the planning, from coordinating the looks to selecting the music to choosing the venue. She largely pulled in local talents to volunteer their skills for the show, including Liz Nevin and her team of hair stylists, Laura Martinez and her team for makeup and Waytao Shing for photography. Her personal photographer for her blog, Tim Inman, was also present.

“There should be more of a showcase of local talent,” said Shing about Liu’s efforts to keep it local. “There isn’t enough of it, and I think she really set the bar. She showed you can do a lot with the local talent here.”

Perhaps key to the success and the promotion of the event was Liu’s blog, along with the University Fashion group and social media outlets. Her blog In Her Stilettos began as a personal creative outlet in Jan. 2010. She explains that after spending a lot of time reading other people’s websites, her own artistic nature encouraged her to start one.

“I felt there was a void for people who weren’t headed in the fashion direction or in the creative industry already, but still enjoyed dressing up,” she elaborates. “I feel like everyone that did have a fashion website was either already a stylist or a model or an art major or a musician, everyone creative. And I feel like that’s a little misrepresentative, because it’s kind of giving off this image that people in other industries, like science for example, industries outside the creative world, should not dress up or should not express themselves through personal style”

Liu’s creative outlet soon grew into something much more, though. Two months into running her blog, she was contacted by Glamour and ModCloth, and since then it has taken off. She has also been featured by the likes of Teen Vogue, MTV and Forever 21.

“I’ve been more shocked I guess than anything else,” she said, “just because for me, it was not my original intent to have anyone outside ten people read my blog.”

This attitude is something that she strongly encourages aspiring fashion bloggers to follow, advising that you have to be passionate about what you are doing and not start a blog to get famous and take advantage of the perceived glamour. Blogging is a huge time commitment according to Liu, who spends 10-15 hours per week just maintaining hers.

In the end it has paid off though, with opportunities knocking at her door. So what’s next for this ambitious fashionista?

With the Front Row Challenge all wrapped up, the winner is set to be officially announced Dec. 1, according to Gardner. But aside from the potential NYC summer internship, Liu graduates this December.

Surprisingly, though, she doesn’t plan to pursue a career directly in fashion as one might expect after this experience. She has sent in applications for law schools and says that she is interested in a career in Intellectual Property law, which does have a fashion branch that she could see herself working under.

For those of you following her website, she does plan to keep it up and running. And who knows, she isn’t closed to future fashion opportunities that may arise from it. Either way, it seems safe to say that this won’t be the last we see of Liu making an impact in fashion.


Story image courtesy of Hananexposures