by Sheryl Berk
Jonah smiled. “Really? You think so?”
“Oh, he knows so,” Mickey added.
The next piece down the runway was Lara’s trench coat, made entirely of scratch-post fabric. She’d frayed the edges and added a dramatic gold belt, pieced together from lids of cat food cans.
“Okay, that’s a definite possibility,” JC said. “It’s ingenuous.”
Each piece that followed was equally clever: a sweater woven out of dog leashes, a blazer made of dog harnesses paired with a hamster-wheel hat, a velour coat crafted from dog beds.
“Ooh, I was thinking of using those,” Jonah recalled.
“Don’t second-guess yourself,” JC warned him. “Confidence is key when you face those judges. Defend your design!”
Mickey sat up straight as soon as she saw her model waiting in the wings. As her look came down the runway, the judges’ faces were blank. She’d done her very best to create a classic jacket, inspired by Chanel, covered with birdseed to create texture and trimmed with rainbow-colored rope for contrast. The top was a simple yellow halter, tucked into a playful hoop mini skirt in rainbow-colored canvas. But her favorite part was the long feathers that the hair stylist had woven into the model’s updo. It pulled the entire outfit together.
“It’s good, really good,” JC told her. He’d written her name on his list and underlined it twice. “Fun, yet fashion forward—a winning combination.” But Mickey knew the contest was far from over. She still had to face the judges and explain her motivation.
JC’s look was the last down the runway. As the model stepped out into the light, the suit sprung to life. He’d created a pink leopard-print pattern on the kitty litter-bedecked jacket and skirt. And as if that weren’t enough, he’d sprinkled it with glitter, so the entire outfit twinkled under the runway lights. As the model reached the judges, she purred like a kitten and peeled off the jacket, revealing a black mesh tank with pink trim.
“What is that made out of?” Jonah asked.
“Kitty carrier!” JC said proudly. “It was a last-minute decision. I winged it.”
Jack Rosen almost fell out of his chair, and Lena had a smile on her face the entire time. The only one Mickey couldn’t read was Helga. She seemed very, very serious.
“Okay,” she said when the last model had returned backstage and the music had stopped. “We will now call some names.”
JC grabbed Mickey’s hand and squeezed it.
“Lara, Jonah, Mickey, JC,” Helga said slowly. “If I have called your names, congratulations. You are the final four, and one of you will be our champion.”
Mickey couldn’t contain her excitement. She reached over and gave JC a huge bear hug, but he didn’t move a muscle to hug her back. He was frozen like a statue, utterly speechless.
“JC, didn’t you hear? You made it to the finals.” She wasn’t quite sure he was breathing!
“I think he’s in shock,” Lara said. “Yoo-hoo, wake up!” She gently tapped him on the shoulder.
“Here, let me try,” Jonah said. He slapped JC across the cheek with his hand.
“Ouch!” JC yelped.
“There ya go—problem fixed,” Jonah said. “Dude, you might actually win this thing. We all might.”
“I’ll need you four up here on the runway…now,” Helga instructed them.
They stood before the judging panel, nervously awaiting their critique.
“Go, Mickey!” shouted a voice from the audience. She knew it was Aunt Olive.
“Your fan club?” Jonah whispered.
“Kinda. My aunt.”
Helga handed her microphone to Jack, who began addressing the finalists.
“So we have four looks here from four very talented student designers. Who will win?”
“Who?” JC shouted. “Who is it?” The suspense was killing him!
“I don’t know.” Jack chuckled. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Why don’t each of you tell us why you want to win Assignment: Fashion Jr.”
JC furrowed his brow. “What? That’s not something you usually ask your contestants. Don’t you want to know how and why we created our looks? I have a whole speech written…”
“Well, we’re mixing things up a little,” Lena explained. “We want to make sure the person we choose has a real future in fashion. Why don’t you start, JC?”
JC took a deep breath. “I love fashion. I love this show. I love you guys!”
Mickey thought he was actually going to jump down off the runway and hug the judges.
“Wow, that was sweet.” Helga giggled. “Thank you for that.”
“Lara, you’re next,” Jack said.
Lara shuffled her feet nervously. “I-I…” she began. “I want to come to this country to study fashion and learn from the greatest designers in the world. I want to make a name for myself and make my family proud.”
Lena nodded. “That’s a lovely sentiment.”
Jack looked at his list of names. “Mickey, you’re up.”
Mickey gulped. “Well, I’ve always seen fashion as a way to express myself. A lot of people have made sacrifices to get me where I am today, and I’m really grateful. I want to be a designer, not just for me, but for all of them.” She looked out at the audience and saw Olive dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
Finally, it was Jonah’s turn to speak. “I want to prove to my parents, to everyone, that fashion is my passion,” he said. “I know I can be not just good but great, and I have to follow my heart. I don’t want to be a lawyer. I want to be the next Karl Lagerfeld.” He glanced at Mickey and smiled. “All I need is someone to believe in me.”
Helga actually looked like she was getting weepy. “That was so inspiring,” she said. “Okay, we have some decisions to make.”
• • •
As the cameras continued rolling, the judges huddled in a corner.
“So what do you think?” Jonah asked JC. “Who’s it gonna be? What does your list say?”
“I have no idea,” JC replied. “Really, truly. This is unprecedented.”
It took nearly twenty minutes, but finally Helga stepped onto the runway and waved a sheet of paper in her hand.
“I have here the winners of Assignment: Fashion Jr.,” she said.
JC swooned. “This is it. This is it.”
“The third runner-up is Lara,” Helga announced. She handed Lara a certificate and a check, and kissed her on both cheeks. “We hope you will stay here for the summer and study. Lena wants to offer you an internship at Teen Style magazine in the fashion department.”
Lara was over the moon. “Really? Yes, please!”
“Second runner-up goes to Mickey,” Helga proclaimed. JC patted her on the back and gave her a push forward.
“Jack Rosen is very interested in having you spend a week working with him on designs for his new spring collection,” Helga said.
“You have quite an eye,” he told her. “And I’d love some fresh ideas.”
“That would be wonderful!” Mickey said. She couldn’t have asked for a better prize. She saw that JC was still standing there, eyes closed and silently praying.
“Our first runner-up, I’m delighted to say, is JC,” Helga continued.
“Oh,” JC said sadly. He couldn’t hide his horrible disappointment. Mickey’s heart broke for him.
“I might be able to cheer you up,” Helga said. “I have a red carpet event in two weeks, and I was hoping you would design my outfit for it—since you know me so well.”
JC’s eyes lit up. “Me? You want me to design a look for you?”
Helga smiled. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Okay?” JC exclaimed. “It’s a dream come true!”
Jonah suddenly realized he was the last man standing.
“Which brings us to you.” Helga turned to f
ace him. “Congratulations, Jonah. You are the first champion of Assignment: Fashion Jr.!”
Jonah shook his head in disbelief. “Are you sure? I’ve never won anything in my life.”
“Oh, we’re sure,” Jack said. “Your design was flawless—and you have an incredibly bright future ahead of you in fashion.”
His parents ran up from the audience to hug him.
“That’s my boy!” his dad said, throwing his arms around him. “I knew you could do it!”
“You’re not disappointed that I don’t want to be a lawyer?” Jonah asked.
“Disappointed?” Mrs. Zimm replied. “We couldn’t be prouder. You won the whole thing!”
Aunt Olive made her way to the stage as well. “I didn’t win,” Mickey told her.
“So what? You win some, you lose some,” Olive replied. “You impressed everyone with your talent, and that’s what counts. I bet that Jack Rosen fella will offer you a job one day.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Mr. Kaye said, coming to congratulate his two students. “You both did exceptional work. I’m bursting with pride.”
Mickey found Jonah in the crowd. “Great job!” She planted a kiss on his cheek.
“You too. So maybe I’ll see you next year at FAB. My dad said they might actually let me go there.”
“Oh,” Mickey said softly. “I’m not sure I’ll be there anymore. It’s complicated.”
“Huh? Jack Rosen thinks you’re awesome. We all think you’re awesome. Why would you quit?”
“It’s my aunt.” Mickey pointed to Olive who was chatting up Mr. Kaye. “She got this great job offer in LA with a big raise, and I can’t let her turn it down. But I also can’t live in New York by myself.”
Mr. Zimm followed Mickey’s finger and suddenly spied someone he recognized in the crowd. “Olive?” he asked.
“Mr. Zimm!” she replied, slightly stunned that her boss was at her niece’s fashion show. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” he said.
“She’s my aunt,” Mickey piped up. “Wait, how do you know Jonah’s dad?”
“He’s my boss,” Olive answered.
“The boss that’s making your aunt move to LA so you can’t stay at FAB and study fashion?” Jonah cried. “Dad, you can’t do that!”
Mr. Zimm scratched his head. “Could everyone please calm down and tell me what you’re talking about?”
“If I accept the executive position, my niece can’t live with me here in New York,” Olive said. “So I have to turn it down.”
“What? Nonsense!” Mr. Zimm insisted. “There’s no one else who can do the job, as far as I’m concerned. If you can’t work out of the LA office, then I suppose you’ll just have to stay here in New York.”
“In a private office? With a view?” Mickey pressed him.
Jonah chuckled. “Yeah, and don’t forget the big raise part.”
“Yes, yes,” Mr. Zimm said, shaking hands with Olive. “All the above. As long as Mickey promises to give my son a personal tour of the Fashion Academy of Brooklyn. I hear it’s a remarkable place.”
Mickey nodded. “It’s the only place in the whole world I wanna be.”
Thank you to EVERYONE who has helped us bring Fashion Academy to life—from the very first book three years ago, to this, our fifth and last one, with even an off-Broadway musical in between! It’s been a lot of fun, and we hope we’ve inspired many young future designers to pursue their passion for fashion! We’re excited for the next chapter in our mother-daughter writing career—stay tuned! Keep reading, writing, and dreaming big! XO, Sheryl and Carrie
Don’t miss the rest of Mickey’s
fabulous fashion adventures!
Sheryl Berk has written about fashion for more than twenty years, first as a contributor to InStyle magazine and later as the founding editor in chief of Life & Style Weekly. She has written dozens of books with celebrities, including Britney Spears, Maddie Ziegler, and Zendaya—and the #1 New York Times bestseller (turned movie) Soul Surfer with Bethany Hamilton. Her daughter, Carrie Berk, is a renowned cupcake connoisseur and blogger (facebook.com/PLCCupcakeClub; carriescupcakecritique.shutterfly.com) with more than 100,000 followers at the age of thirteen! Carrie is a fountain of fabulous ideas for book series—she came up with Fashion Academy in the fifth grade. Carrie learned to sew from her grandma “Gaga” and has outfitted many an American Girl doll in original fashions. The Berks also write the deliciously popular series The Cupcake Club.
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