Three Rivers women walk the runway

When Brittany Garrett of Judsonia was a little girl, she would piece together pants, shirts and accessories from her wardrobe. With these items, she created fashion shows in front of her bedroom mirror, but this week, she is experiencing the lights, music and runway at Little Rock Fashion Week.

This is Garrett’s first year to participate in the event.

The recent graduate of Searcy High School

was born in Judsonia, then moved to Minnesota and on to Florida, and now lives in Judsonia once again.

When she was chosen as a model for the annual event in Little Rock, Garrett said she was excited.

“I saw an ad on the Little Rock Fashion Week website and went to an audition,” she said.

Then, about two weeks later, Garrett found out she was going to be a model for fashion week.

“When they called and told me, I couldn’t believe it, and I was excited because I want a career in fashion,” she said.

Garrett will head to Harding University in Searcy in the fall to pursue her dream. She plans to major in fashion and merchandising.

While she looks forward to Fashion Week, Garrett said, she is nervous about some parts of the event.

“I just don’t want to fall [on the runway],” she said.

Coco Chanel is Garrett’s favorite designer because she enjoys the designer’s story.

“She really changed the way women dress,” Garrett said.

While Garrett is a first-timer to Little Rock Fashion Week, this is Ashton Williams’ third time to participate.

“I worked the audition this year, and I did the demo walk,” said Williams of Cabot.

Williams had to do the walk the auditioning models had to mimic, and she still had to audition to be a model. After being chosen for her third year, Williams said, she still gets anxious before a show.

“There’s so much excitement right before the show, but I get so nervous,” Williams said.

Through her three years as a Little Rock Fashion Week model, Williams said she has made many friends and likes getting to know the people who run the event.

Williams, 16, said she will be a junior at Cabot High School next year, but she isn’t sure what the future holds for her.

“I might pursue fashion in college because it’s really fun,” Williams said.

Not knowing what she’ll be wearing on the runway is something that concerns Williams. She said models don’t find out what they will model until the fashion show at the end of the week.

Walking the runway is something Williams said she enjoys, although when she first participated in fashion week, she didn’t know quite what facial expression to use while modeling.

“I smile all the time, and it’s just natural for me,” Williams said. “But once you step on the stage, that puts you in the zone.”

Although her time on the runway is a total of maybe

30 seconds, Williams said, it is a happy environment for her.

“I really enjoy being on the stage,” she said. “I hope to do it again next year.”

Both Williams and Garrett are modeling for D.ooh, which the Little Rock Fashion

Week website describes as

an everyday-wear clothing line for women ages 18-35 that has simplicity and edginess.

Little Rock Fashion Week began Monday and will continue through Saturday.

Staff writer Lisa Burnett can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or lburnett@arkansasonline.com.

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