Tara Bradley has been sitting on pins and needles (no kidding) waiting for news – good or bad.
Would her senior fashion collection, presented this spring at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, make the cut and be shown at next month's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City?
Simon Ungless, director of graduate fashion at AAU, had hinted on the last day of school that he wanted to take Bradley's collection to the show.
That would be where fashion giants roam the runway: Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang.
Mixed in among the icons are the AAU students, who salivate at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"The show typically is for grad students (Bradley was an undergraduate), but I was hopeful," says Bradley, 25, who grew up in Land Park.
Ungless couldn't let her know until the committee of eight made its final cut.
So in June, with no news as good news, Bradley packed up her stuff, rented a Ford Explorer and drove cross-country to New York with a friend, enduring the floods in the Midwest, navigating a 400-mile detour and keeping a cat from getting soaked along the way.
She moved into an apartment in Brooklyn and, within a few days, secured an internship with renowned French designer Catherine Malandrino.
A few days ago she got the other bit of good news.
"I'm going to be showing in Bryant Park in the big tent at 8 o'clock in the evening on Sept. 5!" she said in a phone interview earlier this week from Manhattan.
Twice a year – in September and February – tents are pitched in Bryant Park, 8 acres in the heart of Manhattan. The huge venues are set up to accommodate runways, seating for journalists and buyers (and the constant gaggle of tardy celebrities), backstage areas for hair and makeup, lighting and sound.
Each designer gets four hours in the tent, most of the time spent prepping for the show, which lasts about 12 to 15 minutes.
"This definitely will give me more exposure than San Francisco," Bradley says. "Most of the audience will be in the fashion industry, so it's the ultimate place for a fashion designer to show."
She will work with a stylist to update the collection for New York.
"My collection needs a really great shoe," she says. "I used a menswear shoe in San Francisco. Simon and I have been talking about maybe a white, high-heeled Mary Jane."
This is the fourth year the Academy of Art University has taken student collections to Bryant Park. The school takes care of everything, including models.
Ungless will ship Bradley's collection (about six of the original 12 outfits) to New York before heading there himself later this month. He stresses that Bradley was a top choice among the nine student designers who made the cut.
The AAU show is scheduled last, so Ungless expects the tent to be packed.
Among the attendees? Bradley's parents, Claudia and Erv. They head to New York on Sept. 2 out of San Francisco.
"I'm sure we'll be sitting in the back, but we don't care," says Claudia Bradley. "This is just so big for Tara.
"She's picking us up at the airport, so I told her to tell her job she might be a little late that morning."
And perfect timing: The Bradleys get to haul their daughter's winter wardrobe back East.
"Our hotel's not far from Bryant Park," Claudia says. "I'm excited because I haven't been to New York since 1980, and Erv has never been. We'll just be tourists."
Of course, Mom already snagged a little black dress at Nordstrom Rack, because it will be party time once the show is over.
"I think this latest kudo will send (Tara) over the top," she says.
Not that Tara wasn't already on a meteoric rise.
Malandrino offered Bradley a full-time position once her internship is over next month. She'll be working on the designer's high-end collections.
After her own show, Bradley will be running around backstage at Malandrino's event Sept. 8.
But first, she gets to walk the runway – all by herself.
"I'm excited for both shows, but I still can't believe this is also happening for me!"
Call The Bee's Leigh Grogan, (916) 321-1129.
