By Tali Haller
Following her ‘passion for fashion,’ Olympia High School student Lily Marra applied and got accepted to be on Nordstrom’s Junior Department Fashion Board. As part of the Fashion Board, Marra, along with other trendsetting teens, will have many opportunities to get the inside scoop on today’s fashion industry and participate in a variety of projects.
Previous Fashion Board members have had the opportunity to submit shoe designs for TOMS, review the holiday trend report, and dress mannequins in the season’s latest styles, said Nordstrom’s Fashion Public Relations Specialist Jessica Canfield.
“I’m so excited to meet fashion insiders from Nordstrom and other people who share my love of clothes, accessories, and beautiful outfits,” said Marra. Nordstrom Fashion Board members are also brand ambassadors who get to share their style tips, trends and insights through the Fashion Board blog.
Marra said there’s a big learning component to being on the Board, “We attend monthly meetings and seminars designed to teach us about the history of fashion and design, the ins and outs of trend forecasting, careers in buying, advertising/marketing, styling, and how Nordstrom develops its own labels and merchandise.” According to Canfield, the Fashion Board receives a lot of applicants and selects approximately 3,000 members nationwide annually.
While Marra has always loved fashion, this is her first big step in venturing into the fashion world other than designing outfits and “watching the red carpet religiously.”
“Up until now, I’ve focused on my athletic side, but in my last year of high school I want to pursue things that really excite me,” she said.
Apparently, watching the red carpet and the Oscars struck a nerve in Marra, “I saw their glamour, their beauty, the amazing way their clothes swayed and I just fell in love.” Since then, Marra has found a lot of inspiration in the fashion world and worked hard to transform what she wears into a representation of who she is and what she stands for.
“The right clothes just make me happy,” she said.
“There’s so much in the fashion world that inspires me, especially women in the 60’s like Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe,” Marra said. She also loves out-of-the box, cutting edge fashion icons like Tavi Gevinson, an American writer, magazine editor, actress and singer, who has a “very retro, 90’s style,” said Marra.
Last summer, Marra got to meet Gevinson at a promotional event. “It was amazing to come face-to-face with my style icon. She complimented me on my shirt (a “Live Through This” shirt which is an emblem of the culture Gevinson’s created around her brand) and we shared our aspirations,” she said.
In fact, Marra learned about the Nordstrom’s fashion board from Gevinson and soon after decided to apply. “It was a spur of the moment decision that just felt right,” said Marra.
To apply you had to have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5, be a high school student in the upcoming year (2013/2014), and have an interest in fashion. Applicants also had to create a fashion project, something that creatively highlighted the looks and trends they liked.
Marra created a scrapbook, “I got super excited about the project: I took tons of photos of myself in my favorite outfits, drew sketches of things that inspire me -from accessories, to hairstyles, to men that would go with my outfits (Hello, Leonardo DiCaprio). I added glitter, ribbon, pipe cleaner, and fake flowers to accentuate the themes of each page and create vibrancy.” She also took pictures of her room, showing off the James Dean photographs and Lana Del Ray quotes covering the walls.
“My favorite piece of clothing is this authentic, beautiful 1948 Letterman jacket that I got at an antique store downtown,” said Marra. “I love it because it’s original and I made sure to highlight it in my project.”
Friends of Marra are quick to acknowledge her daring individuality, “Lily has always had brilliant style. She’s so unique – sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but rest assured it will be original,” said one of Marra’s friends’ Catherine Zhang.
Indeed, Marra said she strives to be original. “When I go shopping, I disregard comfort. I’m all about the aesthetic appeal. If it looks good, I have to have it,” she said. Marra also likes to find things that other people won’t have.
“You’ll often find me in an antique store downtown sorting through clothes,” she said.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Nordstrom Fashion Board Junior Department can apply next year in April for the 2014/2015 school year.
