Dreaming of A Summer Wonderland

7th Annual West 18th Street Fashion Show

Pete Dulin

Published: Thursday, February 1, 2007

Ashlee Broome, Producer of A Summer Wonderland,
Photograph by Matthew Collins
Photograph by Matthew Collins

Winter’s icy grip and bleak weather show few signs of relenting in February. All the more reason to dream about summer, warm weather, comfy clothes, and street fairs. Thoughts and images of fresh fashion styles, models on the runway, and live entertainment can warm the bones until the 2007 West 18th Street Fashion Show in the Crossroads Arts District resumes this summer. In its seventh year, this premier fashion event is a showcase for local designers and labels. Past themes such as Indigo Summer and Chocolate Summer have offered a broad scope for interpretation from dozens of talented, imaginative fashion tastemakers and design houses. This year’s producer, Ashlee Broome, was a former model in past shows, but will apply her production and planning experience to the event this year. Broome (right) shares background about her role in A Summer Wonderland. An artist/designer Call for Submissions appears at the end of the story.

PRESENT: What is your role as producer?

Broome: The merchants, sponsors, co-organizers of the West 18th Street Fashion Show, birdies Panties and spool* Boutique, hired me for the first time to help fill a gap in the production of the annual event. Because their niches are more in the realm of art and retail, they felt that bringing in an official “producer” would bring an organizational capacity to the show that it had never had before.

My “roles” are seemingly endless. Whether it comes to securing sponsorship; outsourcing and commissioning photo, video, music direction, web design, or promotional materials; problem-solving the “set”; or a plethora of other jobs, I’m basically the one that does (most of) the “dirty” work to help birdies and spool* execute the show that they want shown to the public. The owner of spool*, Hadley Johnson, and the owners of birdies, Corrie Van Ausdal and Peregrine Honig, though, do much of the “dirty” work, as well––making phone calls, attending meetings, and networking, etc.