Chrissy Rutherford currently works at Harper's Bazaar as a contributing web editor. Follow her on Twitter here.
In 2007, I landed a dream internship at Harper’s Bazaar and went from merely indulging in the pages of the fashion glossy to being able to actually touch pieces of the likes of Prada. Equally as exciting as perusing the garments was the discovery of new talent. While fulfilling one of my intern duties of filing lookbooks, I stumbled upon Alexander Wang's spring '07 lookbook (his first collection). I had never heard of the designer before, but the images of the blonde model wearing an expertly styled mix of masculine and feminine pieces made me an instant fan. The model just looked effortlessly cool, especially compared to whatever mall-bought outfit I was wearing at the time.
A few weeks later, I saw that Alexander Wang was holding a sample sale. I had never been to a sample sale before, but knew this was something I couldn’t miss. I probably tried on half of his collection while there, and while I loved every piece, my intern budget necessitated that I exercise some self control. I left with a delicate silk dress embossed with a reptilian texture and cut with an asymmetrical Peter Pan collar. It seemed demure from the front, but the fabric was a bit shorter on the sides, and had low-cut armholes. To me, the dress was a masterpiece.
The following weekend, I had my first outing in my new Wang dress for a friend's 21st birthday. Granted, I was a little overdressed for her FAO Schwartz ice cream sundae party, but I just couldn’t help myself. Each time I wear the dress, I still get just as excited as I did the first time I put it on. It's also been incredible to see Alexander Wang turn into the household name that he is today, and owning the dress feels like owning a little bit of fashion history.