party report

Erin Fetherston Is So Excited, and She Just Can’t Hide It

When we walked into Rose Bar at the Gramercy last night, we were pleased, but not surprised, to see adorable Erin Fetherston positively joyous — dancing, smiling, and practically humping every friend who came in the door. “I’m sooo happy!” she said. “I mean, it’s still not over. I’m just happy. I am really happy. I was actually happy all week long because it was truly a pleasure putting this show together.” She said her team was so awesome and efficient that the lead-up to the show had been completely stress-free. “Every season is different, but this season in particular was a joy,” she said. “We had everything ready. The beautiful girls came in. It was like playing dress-up, not like pulling teeth. It was truly fun to make this thing come alive.”

Fetherston’s clothes did seem to reflect a newfound confidence and uninhibited whimsy. There were striped tights; short, poufy tulle skirts; tall, funny hats with bows; satin band-leader jackets; crimped hair. It reminded us a lot of how we used to dress in middle school, when we were obsessed with Winona Ryder from Heathers and Clarissa Explains It All.

What’s more, the show itself had been pretty fun to watch. Every model made a saucy face for the cameras. Fetherston’s instructions: “I was like, channel magic. Channel magic. Be charming.” And the final eight girls walked out not with hats, but with sparkly animal masks on their heads. Why? “Because they’re so cute,” said Fetherston. “There’s something I really love about an animal mask on a human. They’re kind of like woodland creatures. The whole collection was about dolls, broad strokes, and I just felt like the finale shouldn’t be too serious. The dresses are serious. They’re couture, they’re amazing, but I like putting something playful on the head, like they’re all going to the same masquerade ball.” Fetherston said she’d only made animal masks of a bunny and a lamb, “because I have two little dogs and they’re both small and white and one looks like a bunny and one looks like a lamb, so both kinds of animals are close to my heart.”

Erin Fetherston Is So Excited, and She Just Can’t Hide It