Andrew Hoge has designs on a career melding social media and couture
Annie Beckmann
Andrew Hoge is busy with couture pieces and social media in Luly Yang's downtown Seattle showroom
If fashion tells a story, Andrew Hoge
sure has one to tell.
The senior and onetime biochemistry
major who wanted to be a doctor
describes what he calls the thunderbolt
effect of his decision to switch his major
to business administration and strategic
communications. Another pivotal point
came his freshman year when he joined
the SU Fashion Club.
Before long, he would organize the
first of what has become an annual
fashion show and fundraiser for the
club. Hoge trained models, found
designers and boutiques to feature, and
discovered his previously unknown
talent as an event organizer. The spring
benefit show, now in its fourth year,
raises money for Dress for Success,
which provides interview attire and
career development tools for women in
need.
Working for designers now comes
naturally for Hoge, who has interned at
the fashion house of Oscar de la Renta in
New York City and is currently interning
with Seattle designer Luly Yang.
"Luly Yang is a legend in Seattle and
I fell in love with her designs and her
business model," says Hoge, who on
a recent day was busy at the designer's
couture showroom at Seattle's Fairmont
Olympic Hotel.
As Hoge stands alongside a mannequin
and gently fluffs the silk taffeta
skirt on a $34,000 monarch butterfly
dress studded with Swarovski crystals, he
talks of what it took to land internships
with prestigious designers.
"The one big thing I learned as an
intern for Oscar de la Renta is that social
media is huge," says Hoge, who is now
Yang's public relations manager.
How he found his way to the world
of high fashion speaks to his upbringing.
"My parents gave me a strong work
ethic and values and told me never to be
superficial," he says. His dad, an urban
planner, met his mom in her homeland
of Guyana while he was working for the
United Nations.
While Hoge credits his strong
foundation, his goals and grit are his
own. When he was initially turned
down for an unpaid internship in Yang's
showroom, he followed up with an
e-mail offering to help her any way he
could. She agreed, and by 2009 Hoge
was hired on as a part-time paid intern.
As an intern, Hoge has organized a
model call to add fresh talent and
created look books featuring photos
of Yang's designs.
"Andrew is always a joy to work with in our studio boutique," Yang says. "His poise and professionalism at the workplace is perfect for our work environment."
His internship last
summer in public relations at Oscar
de la Renta provided another level of
experience in fashion and brought his
future into sharper focus.
Hoge maintains a detailed journal to
keep tabs on lessons learned, questions
that arise, his ever-changing goals and
life's epiphanies. Ultimately, he aspires
to work in public relations or as an
editor at a fashion magazine such
as Vogue.
Hoge has a realistic sense about the
role of fashion in one's life.
"Unless you already have selfconfidence,
you can be put off by
fashion," he says. "It's all about personal
style, personal expression and wearing
what makes you feel good."
SPRING FASHION 101 / ACCORDING TO ANDREW HOGE
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No-nonsense bright whites and shades of camel are in for spring.
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Don't shy away from color. Juxtapose a muted shade with a bright, bold and uplifting color.
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Fashion designer Marc Jacobs makes a return to disco-era '70s chic.
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Watch for a Spanish flair and bright colors in Oscar de la Renta's creations.