Kylie Bollwitt

NashVil e

Table of Contents

Preface
The Road to Nashville Time line
Valentine Valentine
Kohler Photo-Shoot
Unspoken Photo-Shoot
Valentine Valentine Store Launch
Billy Currington Music Video
Annie Rose Tour Wardrobe
Recap:-, What I learned
& Works Cited

Works Cited

Nashville - Google Search. Nashville - Google Search. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
A Collection of Black & White Nashville Skyline and Nash

ville Cityscapes Photography by Jason Wilson. Met

roscap.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Black and White Picture/Photo: Guitar-shaped Sign with Im

ages of Famous Singers on Broadway Sidewalk. Nash

ville, Tennessee, USA. Black and White Picture/Photo:

Guitar-shaped Sign with Images of Famous Singers on

Broadway Sidewalk. Nashville, Tennessee, USA. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Nashville Tourism. And Vacations: 250 Things to Do in Nash

ville, TN. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Event Calendar :: Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum

of Art, Nashville, TN. Event Calendar :: Cheekwood

Botanical Garden & Museum of Art, Nashville, TN.

N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Annie-Rose. Annie-Rose. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Recap: What I Learned

My trip to Nashville, was an experience of a lifetime. Amanda taught me so many things that I will
always be grateful for. The fact that I got to work
next to her for an extended period of time brought
me utter bliss and I am extremely grateful for this
opportunity. When I first departed on this journey, I
had no idea what to expect and now I can honestly
say, I have a better grasp on the industry and am
well-equipped to begin to master and develop my
my craft even more now that I have the tools and the knowledge necessary to work successfully in the fashion industry. Amanda opened my
eyes to many things about myself that I
would have never been able to pin-point. She
helped me to re-focus on my strengths and to
fine-tune the areas in my work that may hold
me back. I came back from Nashville with a
new set of goals and was more than ready to
continue on my fashion adventure with high
hopes for what the future has in store for me.

AmandaSays

Kylie came to work with me during the busy season- which
means I had just as much wardrobe styling work as design work and its
an intense combination. It means constantly swiveling back and forth
between two careers and Kylie handled it like a pro. Shes built to multi
task! She kept me on task and in line which is really above and beyond an
intern. I would think my to-do list out loud in the morning and she would
remind me of it in the afternoon.

After spending a day watching how set life or the production
world worked on a commercial set, Kylie was super comfortable and I
felt confident leaving her on set alone to handle whatever may have come
up. She is the definition of a fast learner and it was such a relief to me
to know she was catching everything that was going on. Beyond all that,
Kylie gave me great ideas on growing my business and developing a PR
strategy. Her ideas were/are super current, extremely logical and practical but innovative at the same time. Can she come back and do another
internship? I miss her! I need her!!!!!!!- Amanda Valentine

Preface


Growing up in a small town has its perks and downfalls. However, it
is because of the town in which I was raised, the family in which I was born
and the mentors in which bestowed wisdom into me that I have decided to
embark on my journey in the fashion industry. Hi, My name is Kylie Bollwitt.
I am a University of Nebraska transfer student, studying fashion merchandising with a minor in business management. The all to common questions that
people often times over use were always the questions I feared, growing up.
The questions that asked: What do you want to be when you grow up? What
are you going to study in college? What is your ideal career? Where do you
want to be in five to ten years? I had an enormous imagination and participated in just about anything and everything I could. I have and always will be an
individual who strives for more in life. I wanted to be the most well-rounded,
charismatic and passionate being when it came to my career and whos lives I
would touch and hopefully impact. But, it is because of my undying determination to dip and dabble in many different life experiences that I feel I have
a better grasp now, than ever before on what I want out of life. I can attribute
this revelation to all of the people who have nurtured, guided and redirected
me in finding my intended path.

Looking back, it is clear to me now that fashion has always been a
part of my life. Starting at a very young age, I was a diva at heart and had a
super sense of style even in my tiny tot stage. In my younger years I refused
to have someone alter my wardrobe choices and insisted that I had the final
say before leaving the house on an outing. I can only imagine that my outfits
were spectacular and that I drove my mother up a wall with all of the costume
changes I embraced throughout a given day. Picture this: White-blonde hair
in two spring-like pigtails, Ribbons and bows, ruffles and lace, sunglasses and
gloves and not to be forgotten an impressively dazzling purse for the necessities. I dyed for anything and everything pink. Every value, saturation and
shade of pink on the face of the planet was in my closet. Factual is the information that would inform someone of my capabilities to dress in pink almost
every day of my toddler life. Although I found my outfit choices to be quite
swell, who could ever break a precious toddlers heart by telling her that she
cannot wear a dark pink headband with a pale pink and white striped dress
and bright pink ruffled socks, pink simmering gloves, baby pink ballerina
flats, and to top it all off fuchsia lipstick all in the same outfit. Luckily I got it
together in time for elementary school and had somewhat mastered my outfit
building craft or so it may seem by high school.

Annie Rose, Tour Wardrobe

High school years are hard for everyone. Being a teenager is torture. Its a
constant battle of proving your worth to your peers. Even though many trials and
tribulations a teenager must overcome seem to be laughable and frivolous when
looking back on the past, in the moment they are ground breaking and crucial for
survival. Everything is intensified, everything is dramatized and everything is being scrutinized by your peers. This time of life for a teenager is rough, and for me
it was nothing short of difficult. My high school experience was bumpy, emotional and in this very impressionable time in a young adults life I was being molded
in a way in which I was not proud of. It was in this time in my life that I found an
escape in fashion. Being an honor-roll student and participating at the top of my
class in fine arts, competing in sports, figuring out how to be in a serious relationship at such a young age and trying to find my place socially was incredibly hard.
It was in the midst of all my activities and responsibilities that fashion became
my creative outlet. There is something to be said about a great outfit. An outfit
that you know you look good in, that you put together, that you bought with your
very own money. This outfit was more than just an outfit. It was a suit of armor
for the day. It gave you confidence , it brought you joy, it made you feel wonderful, beautiful and unstoppable. Its in that day, with that outfit that you could
conquer everything. I dressed up every day for school, because I knew that it
would help me get through the day. It made me feel better about things that may
have been bringing me down or stressing me out. Its because of the way I dressed
that I began to find my place. The clothes gave me confidence, a confidence that I
always had, but I just needed an avenue in which to let it escape from my control
and be free. With this new confidence it didnt matter what the day brought me,
I would handle it. Its from fashion that I was able to delve more into who I was
and who I wanted to be. It brought me out of my shell and helped me outwardly
express my opinions and thoughts to those around me. Realizing these things
about myself was a great stepping stone when transitioning out of my small town
and into the big city. Being able to think critically and live expressively are key
components when heading off to college.

The car is packed, youre handed the keys and before you know it youre
headed off to college. As exciting and liberating as it may feel right in that moment, fear creeps in to make you question your every step and your every decision. I can honestly say, that even though looking back on my life fashion was the
clear choice of study for me. In this stage of my life, I wasnt ready to take the
leap. I instead chose a major more familiar, that wouldnt challenge me. I went to
college and studied about topics in which I wasnt passionate about. I full-filled
my scholarships from that year and moved on from that institution. Even after
taking one step closer to reaching my dreams, I still couldnt get past my practical and logical mind-set for my future plans. After earning my Associates degree
in Business Management with a specialization in merchandising I took a year to
gather myself and to ponder what I would do next. I knew I wanted to study fashion. I had known that from the very beginning, but the distance from my family
and the amount of money it was going to take didnt seem worth it.

Annie Rose is a nine-teen year old, Nashville born and raised
YouTube star. She has been a client of Amandas for a couple of years
now, in which Amanda would always do wardrobe styling for any and all
of Annies photo-shoots. Not only that, Amanda would also style her for
any upcoming performances or appearances. The consultation that I got
to be a part of involved many wardrobe pulls and countless shoes, leggings and accessories. Annie had been selected as one of YouTubes top
rating stars to go on tour with all of the other top ten rated web channel
stars around the U.S. This required many wardrobe choices and not very
much time. She found out that she had been selected only a week prior to
her departure for her first appearance. Our job was to put together 30-40
looks for her. We had to have looks specifically for the backstage area, for
appearances, for interviews and for performances. Although with a limited
time and resources, I found this challenge quite fun. Amanda gave me the
reigns and I was able to work directly with Annie and together we were
pleased with our selections. She was well equipped with unique and stand
out looks for all of her tour needs.

Billy Currington, Music Video:, Hey Girl

I cant say that I have ever worked on a
music video before my time in Nashville, but now
that I have, I know just how much work, long
hours, and repetition the production of one entails.
This project, however, was probably one of my
favorite projects that I worked on with Amanda in
Nashville. The video set was at the alley in down

town Nashville and was lavishly decorated

with a Chinese themed, parade-like

atmosphere. Preparations for the video

included: pulling wardrobe, packing,

unpacking, setting up, organizing all the

looks and getting the model dressed. Once

the model is in wardrobe she must be ap-

proved by the executive producer. Then

hair and makeup, rehearsing and then its

time to start shooting. Take

after take, and 12 hours

later we wrapped. Then

tear down, merchandise

evaluations, receipt docu-

mentation and returns of

unused merchandise was

taken care of.

After a year of searching and touring schools I was ready to surrender my

dreams. It was then that I realized the University of Nebraska at Lincoln had split
their design and merchandising programs and with the short move from Omaha
to Lincoln I could still be close to family and afford to pay my way through the
program in a short amount of time. The University of Nebraska Lincoln, was my
saving grace. I continually want to improve myself and never want to stop learning, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to do both in a realistic, practical
and logical way.

During my time in Omaha I networked and started to develop a sound
group of professional people that would work together on projects here and there.
I partnered with five photographers as their set stylist and wardrobe stylist. It
was in these connections that I launched my freelance portfolio work of Styling
With Kylie. After hearing a few people talk about Omaha Fashion Week, I was
intrigued. I needed to find out more and so I began to dig. I emailed the producers, Nick and Brook Hudson countless times, I called the phone line listed on
their website and even posted on their Facebook page about the possibilities for
employment or even for an internship. It took months of patiently waiting and
following up, until I finally received an email from Brook Hudson. She wanted
to meet with me for an interview for a possible internship. I was ecstatic. I was
on cloud nine. We met the very next week for an interview and on the spot I was
hired and was able to have my choice of the five possible internship positions.
I am quite surprised I didnt faint right then and there. I ended up choosing the
talent management position that required me to keep in constant contact with
salons, designers, makeup artist, models and volunteers for the backstage area.
With the talent management position also came duties of backstage manager and
stage director. A heavy load, but I was ready to tackled it all full boar. After two
seasons and two shows Omaha Fashion Week hired me onto their staff. I dropped
the intern behind my name and gained an amazing group of colleagues. Working with Omaha Fashion Week has opened so many doors for me creatively and
professionally. I have an incredible network of people underneath me that I get
to work with everyday and I couldnt be more blessed for all of the opportunities
that have developed because of my association with this company.

It was on March 2nd, 2012 when my world was flipped upside down.
Amanda Valentine was debuting her first collection at Omaha Fashion Weeks
Spring show. My world wasnt turned upside down due to the awe strike of
working with a celebrity. No, I can honestly say that I did not have cable and
therefore did not watch the project runway season that she had competed in. I
did, however, know who she was and researched her background before I met her
at the show. I was nervous and excited because this was my first direct dealing
with a known designer and their collection. To my advantage my professionalism beat out my nerves and I made a great impression on Amanda that night. We
exchanged contact information and after the show continued to dialogue about
what we both had going on in our careers and what we hoped to be doing in the
very near future. In listening to her talk about her career and how she goes

about her day to day operations, I was intrigued and wanted to know more. We
ended the night with Amanda saying she would love to work with me and that
if she had work in Nashville that she would contact me directly. I could not
have been happier to have made such a great contact. Not only did I look up to
Amanda but I found her outlook on life invigorating and wanted to see what the
industry from a different cities perspective could look like.

The very next night Amanda and I attended the Maroon 5 concert together. Her brother, James Valentine in the lead guitarist for the group. After that
night I felt I needed to lend a bit of time for Amanda to arrive back to Nashville
before bombarding her with questions about the potential of working together in
the future. So, instead of asking a lot of questions right of the bat, I thanked her
for the time she invested into me while she was in Nebraska and told her that I
hope things can line up for us to meet and correspond soon. I never received an
email back, so a week later I re-wrote Amanda and this time I asked her for her
professional opinion on my studies and my major. After another week of no response, this time I asked her to please keep me in mind the next time that she has
any work come up that would require an assistant. I let her know that I am always
willing to learn and would love to work under her and experience the fashion
industry from the Nashville perspective.

I had heard from Amanda briefly in emails saying that the offer still
stands for me to come and work with her if an opportunity presents itself, but at
this point it time she didnt have anything for me to do. It was finals week and
I was drowning in studying and finishing the final touches on final projects. Of
course, this would be the time in which Amanda needs me. I received an email
from Amanda the week of my finals saying that she had a photo-shoot that allowed for a second assistant and if I was interested she would love to have me
fill the spot on May 5th-10th. Jumping and screaming for joy upon completion of
reading the email, I realized just how much I just agreed to taking on. Not only
did I have a week to find lodging and travel for my stay, but I had to pack and finish the rest of my finals. I had one week exactly to get all of my accommodations
in order and head out of town. After many online searches for flights I decided
that having a car in Nashville would be more ideal than having to rent a car after
a flight. Knowing that the duration of the trip, by myself was going to take 12
hours I had to make arrangements on where I would stop for the night to reboot.
I had a friend of the family that lived in St. Louis and she was willing to let me
stay for the night while I was passing through on my way to Nashville. So, after
making arrangements, taking my car into the shop, packing for the trip, moving
out of my apartment, and finishing my finals I took the road south. I disregarded
the worry of my parents from my quick and what seemed to them as a hasty decision to embark on a new adventure in my journey of life.

Although the road was long the love, kindness and support of my family is unmatched. Being fully equipped with all of these things the miles flew by.
One nights rest in St. Louis was all that stood between Nashville and I now.

The Eloise Student Fashion Show was a show put on by the OMore
School of Designs junior and senior level students in the fashion design
majors. It was awesome to be able to see a fashion show from an audience members perspective, since with every fashion show I have attended
I have been behind the scenes rather then front of stage. Because of my
background in fashion shows with Omaha Fashion Week, I realized that I
found myself critiquing everything about the show instead of really enjoying it. That was when I decided that this was the
perfect opportunity to try to scout some of these young,
up and coming designers to Omaha Fashion Week. The
looks that are pictured here belonged to Ashley Baldin
who I had the pleasure of meeting
after the show. I also set up an
interview with Ashley a week later
to explore to possibilities of her
interest in showing at Omaha
Fashion Weeks next round of
shows. Although the meeting went
exceptionally well and she wanted
to embrace the opportunity the
monetary costs were too much for
her to tackle at the time. I have
stayed in touch
with Ashley
and look
forward to her
debut to OFW
in the very
near future. She
is highly talented.

Unspoken Photoshoot

The first item up for

business with this band
cover photo-shoot was
to shop for wardrobe possibilities. We pulled around 20 different looks- 5
possible looks for each band member. On the set I helped choose possible
looks to be photographed. During the shoot I would make sure the
garments were steamed, laying correctly and fit properly. I was constantly
tucking and pulling on the garments
to lay without bumps or wrinkles. I made
coffee and food runs during the process
and after completion of the shoot, I was
in charge of tearing down, packing up,
returning unused items and conducting
merchandise evaluations and charges
and communicating them to the client via
email.

Kohler Photo-Shoots

The Kohler Photo-shoot was
my first ever commercial gig. We pulled
thousands of dollars in merchandise from:
The Label, Posh, Urban Outfitters, Target
and The Gap among others on a stylist
lend. The first few days Amanda went shopping with me but
when there were last minute things that we needed on set she
trusted me enough to go on my own for the pulls.

Prior to shooting, I was in charge of pulling complete
looks for approval from Amanda, the creative director, the photographer and the representative from Kohler. If the look pleased
all parties it was then time to dress the models and communicate
the look to the hair and makeup artist. During shooting we would
alter looks, add accessories and make sure all garments were laying correctly and looked flattering. After wrapping, I would pack
up, take back returns. After a merchandise evaluation, I would
send out an email to the producer of the shoot and the Kohler
representative with
receipts of purchased
goods. I also was in
charge of invoicing the
client for the 5 days of
Shoot shooting for
5 Day

Amanda and
5 Locations
27 Models myself.
50 Looks

The first assignment was to style a photo-shoot

for Amandas line that would be launched online on her new store on May, 15th. My duties
included:
Packing and
unloading the
merchandise,
steaming
and setting
it up for the
models arrival. On set
I helped with
accessorizing
the garments.
I also was
in charge of
fanning the
garments for
the dramatic
affect seen in
the photographs. During the photo-shoot I
also kept a close eye on on imperfections
and fixed anything that was out of place.
Before launching the store, we created a
PR buzz. I made contacts to get Amanda
radio interviews for live, call-ins the day
before and the day of launching. I also
contracted a graphic artist to have her make hang tags and
poly bags for delivery. This tactic would help Amandas
brand identity and advance her business. When the store
went live my responsibilities were to monitor sales, get the
merchandise packaged and sent off to the consumers.

Email Correspondences