Charlotte, Vermont - March 11, 2010
In the basement of his house in Charlotte 18-year-old James Neiley works a bit frantically to finish the top half of a dress before his model arrives for a fitting. It is just two days before his first ever runway show.
"I've gone between like really excited, really inspired, to like really upset, angry, nervous," says James.
James' passion for fashion started a few years ago when he would draw figures. Then he started picking out outfits for his friends to wear.
"I don't know, I love the movement in fashion and then I started reading Vogue and I decided I wanted to create my own sort of, my own looks," he explains.
His fashion show this weekend includes about a dozen looks that he pieced together from thrift stores and his friends' closets. It also has three looks that he designed and created, with a bit of help from his friend Marie.
"I call it my fall preview collection because there's only three," says James.
In addition to being a venue for James to show off his styling and designing skills the runway show is also fundraiser. The goal is to raise $2,000 for a local group that sends money to Cambodian villages in need.
"I think it's important to recognize places that are in need and have been in need for a long time," James says of his efforts.
James has enlisted his friends and classmates as models and they too are excited to be a part of what could be the start of a promising fashion career.
"I think it's great and James has such a vision and he's making it happen," says friend and model Lauren Shapiro, as James fits her with the top he was working to finish.
James will graduate from Champlain Valley Union High School in the summer then head to college just outside of New York City where he will seek inspiration to launch his own line, become a fashion writer, or maybe a stylist to the stars.
Fashion Show
Saturday, March 13
7:30 p.m.
CVU High School
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