En Vogue: Culver’s Loren Snead gets up close look at New York Fashion Week

Sept. 23, 2022

Move over Tommy, Calvin, Donna and Giorgio. There's a new name in the fashion game: Loren. 

No, not Ralph Lauren. That’s Loren, as in Loren Snead ’23, an avant-garde Culver Girls Academy senior from Dallas who has her own sense of style and hopes to someday make a fashion statement. She recently got an eye-opening look at what she hopes will be her future when she took a few days off school to work as an intern at New York Fashion Week. 

“It was just surreal. For me, this experience was really showing me what I wanted to be and what I wanted to do,” Snead said. “I think the most surprising thing was just how it all works together. It was an amazing process to see”

Snead’s goal is to attend college and earn a degree in public relations or marketing with minors in fashion media and Spanish and then work in public relations or marketing in the fashion industry. Or maybe start her own fashion line.  

As an intern for a Miami-based public relations firm, she got to witness some of the best public relations and marketing professionals in action at New York Fashion Week, one of the world’s premiere trendsetting events.  

“Just to see it all come into play was one of the most amazing things for me,” she said.

Snead is working as an intern for John James PR. She got that position while interning at The Riviere Agency at Miami Swim Week, one of the world’s top swimwear trade events, in July. Her ability to roll up her sleeves and get to work impressed John James Muller, the owner of John James PR. 

“She’s awesome. I was super impressed by her work ethic and how she hit the ground running. She is a brilliant girl,” Muller said. “She has the ability to think really fast on the ground. She’s helped us with several fashion shows at this point and she’s always one step ahead of every intern I’ve ever had.” 

Snead said the lessons she learned at Culver about leadership, perseverance, networking and emailing skills and how to use Excel have been key to her success. 

“Literally all of it played into how I worked in Miami, which impressed him enough to offer me the internship,” she said. 

Before getting that internship, Snead had an internship with 360 West Magazine in Texas. 

“Being able to work with them opened my eyes to the working experience,” Snead said. “It was cool to see how they worked together and individually to create such a great product.” 

Snead spent much of her time during New York Fashion Week at Spring Studios, the hub of the show in Manhattan, where she saw her share of runways and collection presentations, including one featuring Serena and Venus Williams. 

The studios had all the au courant amenities: an Alo Yoga Wellness Retreat area, sound therapy, and ear seeding, which targets acupuncture points without the needles.  There also was a rooftop venue with a runway designed to look like a tennis court where Serena Williams presented her S by Serena collection. 

“It was super cool to see and be around,” Snead said. 

She’s worked a total of about 15 fashion shows and has done myriad jobs. She’s worked bringing designers where they need to be for interviews and panels, putting front-row gifts out, coordinating with the front of house. At the Sports Illustrated show she was escorting VIPs, including singer-song writer Jason Derulo. She also saw model and influencer Olivia Ponton, and other models. 

She said she’s had a few “Devil Wears Prada” moments where people made the fashion faux pas of acting like Meryl Streep’s character. 

“There were a few guys that thought I was their waiter. Of course, if they wanted a water bottle I would go get it for them. But that was not my favorite part. So I was like, ‘I’m not your waiter, but I’m here to work.’ So whatever makes a guest happy to give them a good experience is what matters,” she said.  

Snead said the lessons she learned during fashion week weren’t confined to the studios. The fashion show spilled out onto the streets. She also saw “influencers” in action. 

“It’s crazy to see them on the catwalk, doing their own little poses, being all froufrou,” she said. “It was just weird. I was like, ‘I can’t believe this is real life.’ ”  

Paparazzi saw her wearing a badge to the fashion show when she left the studio and started taking pictures of her.

She said she was inspired to start her own line of clothing, MaadTiger, after attending the show in Miami. She has designed a shirt that she will begin selling through her website on Oct. 3.

“A big part for me is creating a line that anybody can wear. My market isn't moms and dads, but it's like people who just want to express themselves,” Snead said. “I don't want my clothes to cut off somebody because of a factor that they either can't control or a factor that is viewed like in society. It's a unisex clothing line. So if a guy wants to wear it, that's equally as OK as a girl wearing it. Same for a non-binary person.”  

Muller has no doubt Snead will succeed in whatever she pursues. 

“Whether it is fashion design or communication, she’s going to do great things,” he said.