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BUTLER - Charity fashion show on July 17
(by Stephen Janoski - Staff Writer - July 16, 2008)
BUTLER - When Butler resident Kristen Alyce’s 19-year-old cousin Kyle was diagnosed last summer with an aggressive form of cancer, her life changed. Having recently lost a cousin in a car accident the previous year, she was terrified at the thought of possibly losing another family member, and the prospect shook her.
Kyle was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that occurs in the bones or soft tissue of a person, with a proclivity towards occurring in teenage males. Because of the magnitude, a massive operation was undertaken, in which the upper bone in Kyle’s arm was removed, and replaced with that of a cadaver in order to salvage his arm.
With Kyle going through chemotherapy nearly every day at New York University Medical Center in New York City, the 21-year-old Kristen continued to attend Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, calling home nearly every day for updates on her ailing cousin’s condition
“He was in the pediatric ward, and was one of the oldest ones there,” Kristen said. “He was absolutely miserable.”
However, through the generosity of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a large screen TV was donated to Kyle in order to give him something to do while bearing with the pain from the many treatments. Kristen said that this had a very positive effect on her cousin’s spirits during that menacing time.
“It was such a cool thing, because he’s always wanted that; instead of a celebrity visit or something, he wanted a TV,” Kristen said, and Make A Wish made that possible.
Things have brightened since then; slowly but surely, Kyle has continued to recover, with his last day of chemotherapy being March 21. Kristen said that his looks continue to improve as he passes through the recovery phase.
When Kristen saw the positive effect of Make a Wish’s efforts on her cousin’s spirits, she decided that she wanted to give back to the foundation that made this possible.
“He has been so blessed with donations from cancer foundations, I wanted to raise money to give back to them,” Kristen said.
Giving back
Kristen, whose real last name is Frerichs (Alyce is her fashion name, she said), wanted to find a way to use her experience in the world of fashion and photography to raise money for the cancer foundation.
Working for both Couture Fashion Week in New York City and ATS Modeling in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., she decided to use some of her connections to put together a fashion show at Dexter’s Nightclub in Riverdale. This, however, is not as easy as she first thought it would be.
“It’s more work than I ever thought,” she said. “You need so many pieces for the puzzle to work, between makeup artists, managers, photographers, finding the models, dealing with the media and everything else. Tons of things go into it that you don’t even realize until you’re in it.”
Kristen, however, is no stranger to hard work. Having started off in photography, she became involved in the fashion business through the models she took pictures of; this led to being hired for the “largest fashion show in the world," Couture Fashion Week in New York.
The marketing work for Couture is done on top of her college career in Florida, as well as the work at ATS Modeling. Somewhere in there, she also received her real estate license, “just in case.”
The show, which will be held on Thursday, July 17, will feature clothing from the designers “Tara Lee Belize” of Palm Beach, Fla., and featured Fashion Week designer “Stix and Roses” from California. Representatives from the companies will be flying to New Jersey and bringing clothes for the models to wear.
Kristen said the models were found through an open casting call, and most are local girls from towns including Butler, Bloomingdale, Kinnelon and West Milford.
Many of the models are excited to be donating their time for such a worthy cause. Marissa Barkey, a 19-year-old Roxbury resident, said she thought it was a, “great experience to do this for a better purpose — it’s not just for the art of fashion.”
Fauna Ryerson, 20-year-old Butler native, agreed. “I enjoy donating— I donated my hair twice for breast cancer, and have donated to a children’s fund in South Dakota.”
Kristen also said that she’s invited some “celebrity guests and area socialites” to make the trip.
VIP tickets can be purchased for $25, which includes priority seating, a complimentary first drink of choice, and a Meet and Greet with the models. It is also open to the public, but a limited number of attendees will be allowed in order to keep the event exclusive. General admission will be $15, and students will be allowed in for $10.
For tickets, call Dexter’s at 973-839-3030, or go to either ticketweb.com or dextersentertainment.com. A link can also be found on IloveButler.com.
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