Paris scene an eye-opener for young area designer

PARIS - Shortly after Megan Stein arrived at her design school here a few years ago, she found herself chatting with a group of classmates about the International Young Designers' Competition.

"Did you see what won last year?" one of the students asked.

"Yes, it was horrible," said another. "I don't know how it could have won."

Stein was stunned, but not to silence.

"That dress was mine," she confidently told her now-embarrassed comrades.

And so began Stein's eye-opening, skin-thickening experience in the beacon of the fashion world - Paris.

The first American to win the Young Designers' Competition, Stein, now 29, spent nearly a year and a half here: first as a student at École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Europe's version of the Fashion Institute of Technology, followed by an internship at Givenchy, where she worked under the direction of chief designer of women's wear, Riccardo Tisci.

As Stein returns to her home in Bala Cynwyd next week, she's of the opinion that, save for the 15-minute runway shows, fashion is

so not

glamorous.

And to her chagrin, she clearly sees a disconnect between designers and real people. She has realized that her aesthetic is more wearable Donna Karan than the flashing lights and aviator-frame style of luxury brands.

"I got a design education, yes," she said at a cafe facing the steps of the Bastille. Her short red hair is practically the same shade as her matte lipstick. "But not as much as a psychological education."

Stein's perspective is refreshing. In this overly sensitive industry, novice designers are more likely to sugarcoat their experiences.

Stein gives it to you straight. She's not egotistical. She doesn't feel entitled, and she knows everyone must pay their dues.

It's just that her self-esteem embodies the confidence of a generation that is more likely to start their own businesses than toil in anonymity for someone else.

Disenchantment with what happens in design houses is common for young designers, according to Lee Trimble, fashion director for Gen Art. The New York organization serves as a gateway between fledgling designers and the industry. Oftentimes, these young people confuse what happens on reality television shows

Project Runway

and

America's Top Model

with a typical design experience.

"A lot of designers go into fashion thinking it's about making clothes and actualizing their vision of what fashion should be and their particular aesthetic," Trimble said. "There is a lot of creativity and there are a lot of aesthetic choices, but it often relates to a certain type of customer the house is marketing to."

Stein went to middle school in Bala Cynwyd and high school in Lower Merion where she - luckily - studied French. She received an undergraduate degree in comparative literature at SUNY Purchase College in New York.

After graduation, Stein moved back to Philly, where she worked

in costume design with Janus Stefanowicz at the Wilma Theater, as well as designers Frank Agostino and Risa Benson.

In 2003, she enrolled in the graduate program of fashion design at Drexel University. Two years later she entered the International Young Designers Competition.

After the first round of presentations, Stein became one of 10 Americans - three from Drexel - to represent the United States in the finals held in Paris at Carrousel du Louvre, the site of Paris Fashion Week.

No American had ever won, but Stein achieved a first. Her design was totally aviator-inspired - complete with headgear and dark glasses. She paired a waist-length bomber jacket with a wool felt two-tone jumper complete with nylon webbed suspenders and a bubble skirt.

"We never expected to win," said Renee Weiss Chase, former program director of the university's fashion department. Chase said Drexel had sent several students in the past, but they always came up short.

"As we were going to Paris, Megan had a feeling the whole time things were going to go in that direction . . . . But she just dug in. That's why she had the success that she had."

As part of the prize, Stein won a year of schooling at Chambre de Syndicale. There, she said, the curriculum was focused on fashion as art, instead of as items that would be heavily merchandised to a certain kind of customer.

During the year, Stein designed a six-look women's wear collection of body-skimming tonal pieces. She was inspired by lights, shadows, dreams and memories.

She was among a handful of students chosen to show on a runway in the Carrousel du Louvre to a jury of industry professionals.

This year, Stein cinched a six-month internship with Givenchy. Her job was to research sketches for designers and work closely with the embroidery team.

Her days stretched into the wee hours of the next morning. Stein worked on the pre-fall collection, the couture collection, and last month's ready-to-wear-collection, which featured a bevy of sleek black- and-white looks.

She quit after just two months.

"I didn't want to live in a tiny box and wait for someone to decide what it is that I needed to do," Stein said.

Now that she's on her way home, Stein hopes to land a job as an assistant designer or in textile design. The plan is to get more practical experience and launch her own company.

"I love American sportswear," she said. "I want my clothes to do a job for people; create the transition for them between their inner world and their outer world."

Clearly Stein will do it how she sees fit.