Student gets early start on fashion dreams
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers ATTENTION GETTER- Simi Valley High School senior Torrie Brown, center, poses with some of the students/models participating in a fashion show that she coordinated.

Simi Valley High School senior Torrie Brown dreams of one day coordinating fashion shows in New York, London and Paris. But for now, the Pioneers' gymnasium will be the site of her runway.

Torrie helped organize a fashion show- red carpet and all- as part of a school rally that starts today around 9 a.m. A second show will follow at around 9:50 during an assembly honoring academic excellence.

"I wanted to do something like this because I really want to be in the fashion industry- and I like thinking of ideas no one has ever thought of," said Torrie, who hopes to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles next fall.

The 17-year-old selected 24 Simi Valley students as models and convinced six stores in the Simi Valley Town Center to lend their clothes, shoes and hats for a day. Torrie put the entire project together in a little more than a month.

"She pretty much came up with everything on her own; I was just overseeing it," said Debbie Dillon, an English and Renaissance class teacher at Simi High. "She thought of everything and she put in the work."

For the fashion show, the student models will sport trendy digs from the Town Center's Beach Bums, Charlotte Russe, Ellie, Macy's, Vans and Zumiez. They'll strut and stroll on a red carpet donated by Abbey Carpet while techno music blares from loudspeakers- all details thought up by Torrie.

Torrie recorded the shoe, shirt and hat sizes of the two dozen models. The 12 females will have their hair styled courtesy of Euphoria the Salon early in the morning. Senior Megan Greeley will be the makeup artist.

"It's going to be fun getting everyone out there," Megan said. "It's just another way to get involved with school."

In April, Torrie put together a smaller, outdoor fashion show during lunch. This time, she kicked it up a notch.

Although most of the clothes will be geared toward the winter season, Torrie said, the theme of the show is celebrity styles.

"It's going to be like the stuff you see in magazines and the styles that you see on all the celebrities," she said.

Just don't expect Torrie to model.

"It's going to be too hectic getting all the outfits together and making sure everyone walks at the right time," she said. "I'm looking forward to it so much. I'm so excited about it."