Nick Verreos Appearance at FIDM 3 Days of Fashion 2010 Orange County and Los Angeles!

High School Fashionistas: Bring It!!!OC Style: Nick Verreos and the audience at FIDM Orange County Campus' 3 Days of Fashion

This week was the beginning of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM 3 Days of Fashion. It's when high school (and above) students from all over the country come to see what FIDM is all about and check it out as a possible school to attend for those interested in the Fashion Industry. As many of you may know, FIDM is where I attended and got my Fashion Design Degree from, and it is also where I am an Instructor (and it's where Project Runway Season 6 was filmed!!!). I always love being invited to the 3 Days of Fashion and making special appearances at all the campuses.

First Up: FIDM Orange County: Nick Verreos and Amanda Fields pose with 3 Days of Fashion OC attendee

For 2010, I decided to bring my Nikolaki gowns and "star" models such as the fabulous Amanda Fields, who, besides being a muse and "House Model" of mine, she was also on Project Runway Season 3. We had a fantastic time in the OC (as I always do!). I even brought my "son", Benny. Yes, Benny made a "special appearance" and even did a quick catwalk down the FIDM OC 3 Days of Fashion Runway!

FIDM Los Angeles:
Work The Crowd: Nick Verreos and 400+ attendees, FIDM Los Angeles 3 Days of Fashion

Over 400 High School students (and their parents) came to the final day of FIDM Los Angeles' 3 Days of Fashion, and I was the "Grand Finale"(yeaaayyyy!!!). Again, I brought model Amanda Fields and some of my Nikolaki gowns for everyone to see and enjoy.
Flamenco Queen: Model Amanda Fields in Nikolaki black silk taffeta tiered-ruffle and sequined feathered gown

Miss Amanda WORKED the runway--and crowd--wearing a black silk taffeta "Flamenco" styled tulip-shaped gown. She looked UNBELIEVABLE in it and you could tell from the "ooohs" and "aaahs" from the audience.
Print Goddess: Model Amanda Fields in Nikolaki silk chiffon gown

I also brought one of my favorite gowns, a "Hibiscus"-print silk chiffon high-neck gown which has over 30 yards of fabric. Again, the crowd went "wild" when she sauntered onto the FIDM LA 3 Days of Fashion stage/runway and showed all the kids what a model in COUTURE should look like!
Say FASHION: Nick Verreos and Amanda Fields pose with FIDM LA 3 Days of Fashion attendees

After my speaking appearance and mini-Nikolaki Fashion Show, both Amanda and I spent over an hour taking photos and signing autographs (as we did in the OC!) with all the attendees. I hope everyone had a blast, enjoyed my talk (sorry I went overtime!) and best of all, were inspired.

Click BELOW for Video of both the OC and Los Angeles 2010 FIDM 3 Days of Fashion:

Nick Verreos and Heather Chantal Jones of "America's Next Top Model" on Video!!

FIDM Three Days of Fashion: Los AngelesGreen Microphone, Green Pants: Nick Verreos chats with host Blaine Vedros, and over 200 students at FIDM LA "3 Days Of Fashion"

Well, I just can't get enough of model Heather Chantal Jones! As you may have read in a previous posting, last week I was invited to San Diego to make a special appearance at the FIDM San Diego Campus and Cycle 9 "America's Next Top Model", Heather--I call her Chantal--Jones, drove down from Los Angeles, and joined me in the fun. This last Friday, neither her nor I had much to travel (since we are both Angelenos) when we reprised our 'Three Days of Fashion" appearance in the sunny Los Angeles Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising/FIDM Campus.Next Up For Bid, A Turquoise Silk Jersey (20 yrds of it!) gown with Grecian draping, copper sequins and built-in bustier: Nick Verreos and model Heather Chantal Jones at FIDM LA "3 Days of Fashion"

Being that this event was in LA, everything is done on a "grander scale", and when I showed up to the stage, there were over 200 kids, plus parents and school administrators, crowding the expansive 5Th Floor "Conference Room". When I made my entrance , it seemed like EVERY student had their cell phones perched atop their heads taking photos. I was nearly blinded by the flashbulbs and trust me, this doesn't happen very often. Not for a little ol' designer like myself, and certainly not for a "Project Runway" reality show alumn.

I did a fun interview with cutie host Blaine Vedros (love him!) and then, of course, I brought out Chantal for some runway modeling of my NIKOLAKI collection. She wore the "Carrie Ann Inaba" silk jersey gown (which Carrie Ann wore on last season's "Dancing With The Stars") as well as other gowns. We even captured video of the event.
Below are the videos. Enjoy!

Model Heather Chantal Jones, of Cycle 9 America's Next Top Model, modeling NIKOLAKI dress worn by Carrie Ann Inaba:

Model Heather Chantal Jones, modeling NIKOLAKI Spring 2009 and Nick Verreos discusses his inspiration:

FIDM's Three Days Of Fashion

Vitamin Water: Check. Throat Lozenges: Check. Outfit to wear in front of High School Students: Check. It's FIDM's Three Days Of Fashion!

Last month, I got the chance to visit all of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising's California campuses in a flourish of activities that the school plans out during Summer Break. Traditionally, FIDM plans out an event called the Three Days Of Fashion for high school students throughout the country who are thinking of coming to fashion school or going into careers in fashion. As FIDM's spokesperson and as an alumni and an instructor, I was asked to make special appearances at all their campus--all within a span of two weeks. Let's just say, I got to know airports and the Southern California freeways very well! Lest you think it's all "flossy flossy", I flew Coach and drove myself to these events!

I began my appearances in a rather "dazed and confused" state. My first, San Francisco event was set for the same day I was flying back from New York City filming my MSN "Dress Like You Mean It" fashion segments. And I had to be in San Francisco by noon. I left NY at 5 AM , arrived in SF at 10 AM and drove straight to FIDM SF. No sleep and not enough Vitamin Water to keep me going. But somehow I did it! One of my oldest of friends, whom I consider like a sister, Didi Simon, greeted me at the airport and then took me to a much needed power breakfast before heading into the city. Love me some Didi!! Since I spent my adolescence in the Bay Area, I always love returning to the City by the Bay. After I was greeted by the energetic FIDM SF staff, I took a look at their window displays of original student designs of garments they made from hospital smocks. Yes, you read it right: Hospital smocks! They were great by the way. Note to future Project Runway segment writers: This is a challenge worth doing. I then spoke to the over 150 high school students about school, FIDM, and of course, Project Runway. I also signed autographs and posed for lots of My Space photos.

Next stop was home base, Los Angeles. At this Three Days of Fashion, I brought along a surprise "guest star", model Amanda Fields, who was on Season Three of the show (designer Kayne Gillespie's model). She models here in Los Angeles now, and I thought it would be a fun addition to the appearance to bring her along to model some of my dresses. Needless to say, the kids loved it--and you know Amanda was eatin' it up too!! The FIDM grand ball room, as I call it, was filled to capacity with eager students wanting to know more about fashion, designers and , again, my experience on the little ol' show.

A couple of days of rest, and I was in my car , taking a sweet ride down to San Diego, for my next stop in my "Nick FIDM World Tour" : San Diego. Because of the infamous Southern California traffic, I almost did not make it on time. But, once I did, I was whisked right into the event, and all that nasty traffic was forgotten once I got to meet and greet all those wonderful students who had shown up to do the San Diego FIDM Three Days of Fashion. The staff had decorated the room I would be speaking in to make it look like a Moroccan souk! With an added runway( you KNOW I had to do my runway walk!). It was so much to meet all of these future fashion designers and to see their excited faces once they meet me and want to take photos with me, it makes it all worth it. So many of them told me "You have inspired me to be a designer..." Boys and girls alike. As an instructor, I always feel that if I can inspire just a couple of my students for doing better and wanting to succeed, then my job has been done.

My final stop was the OC! Land of Laguna Beach and MTV's The Hills. This was my first time visiting the campus and was eager to see was it looked like. First of all, the FIDM Orange County campus is FABUUUULOUS!!! The building itself is very modern and all one story. Then you walk in and its got bright bubblegum pink floors. Love it! I felt right at home. There were over 200 high school students--and their moms--waiting for me to make my appearance. I was told that they had already spent the morning and early part of the afternoon taking draping classes and putting together story boards, as well as illustrating. My appearance was supposed to be a surprise but I guess word got out. Once I walked out, I was greeted by the same amount of applause and screams I think Lauren Conrad of "The Hills" gets (OK, maybe not so much, but indulge me in a bit of fantasizing). I had a great time speaking to the students and then afterwards meetin' and greetin'. After it was all over, I had such a great time doing all the Three Days of Fashion and look forward to the next round. Maybe next time, I'll pack lots of Vitamin Water and throat lozenges--and try to upgrade to a better airplane seat, or a better car for my driving.