Jan. 23, 2020
By Caila Barreiros
Staff Writer
Have you ever considered a career in fashion? Do you feel overwhelmed by all the job options within the industry? Well, look no further. This month, The Lighthouse caught up with four women who each share some information about their journey in the fashion world.
Stacie Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald is a businesswoman who started her own company called East Coast Starz. She now organizes runway show and advocates for young models. Her career has brought her to cities and countries she never would have dreamed of such as Tokyo, Japan. East Coast is a modeling brand that holds annual pageants, shows and team runway competitions.
Q: Did you always know fashion was the right industry for you?
A: “I started styling my kids because they were models and always needed updated photoshoots, and you need a great photo to book a job. I then just started working with all different photographers and I would bring the clothes and start styling.”
Q: Who or what were some of your biggest influences?
A: “I’m more into the children’s look, and I had three boys before I got to have Paige. I always dressed them up, and I loved the shopping…. I guess in a sense, the kids influenced me to become a little obsessed with fashion.”
Nicole Plonski
Plonski is an LHS Class of 2016 graduate who is currently a senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. In May, she will be graduating with an associates degree in communication design, a bachelors degree in fabric styling, and a minor in art history. Once the co-editor-in-chief of The Lighthouse, Nicole is now editor-in-chief of her college magazine Blush.
Q: What is your ultimate career goal?
A: “My career goal is to become the editor-in-chief of Vogue. My ultimate career goal is to be happy.”
Q: Why did you choose a career in fashion?
A: “I chose a career in fashion because it is ever-changing, all-embracing and will never go out of style. A particular fashion trend might be boring, but fashion itself never is.”
Q: When did you know fashion journalism was the place for you?
A: “I knew fashion journalism was a direction I wanted to go in after being a part of The Lighthouse for four years as a student at Lyndhurst High School. Having always loved fashion, I left my position of co-editor-in-chief of the newspaper with a newfound love of journalism and decided to somehow combine both passions in my career.”
Mrs. Schiraldi
Schiraldi is a history teacher here at LHS. However, before she became an educator, she had an extensive career in fashion. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York where she majored in fashion buying and merchandising. At first she was a sales representative for Revlon. She then went on to become key account sales representative.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in fashion?
A: “My mom used to dress me as a very young girl, and whenever I had an outfit, I had a matching pocketbook in the color. I would [also] have matching shoes.”
Q: What do you think is the most challenging part of working in this industry?
A: “There are a lot of challenges in the industry, the hours alone can be challenging. One of the biggest challenges in this field, I was in sales, is that you only as good as your last quarter, so you do kind of get burned out.”
Q: Who were some of your biggest influences?
A: “One of my biggest influences that I absolutely loved and followed was Coco Chanel. She was one of the first working women. She created her line, she started out in millinery, which is [making] hats, and she took her lines to amazing heights, especially for a woman in that time period.”
Vanessa Wynn
Along with Fitzgerald, Wynn has a major role in the East Coast Modeling brand. However, before taking that step, she was a retail manager for Coach leatherware. She stopped working there when she became a parent.
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Q: Did you always know fashion was the right path for you?
A: “I had these paper dolls that you would trace out and design clothes for them. I think it’s always been engraved in me.”
Q: Who or what were some of your biggest influences?
A: “Definitely my mother carved that out for me. She was always into fashion, and she went to FIT. [She] had her own lines and makeup, so I think this love was just born into me.”
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