Maria Gallelli
1 November 2015
Mrs. Donna Talis
Interview Essay: Fashion, Art and Culture
“I feel like clothing is a way to express, myself, and I am all about self-expression.” says
Alexa Stango, assistant manager at Nicole Miller in Manayunk, Philadelphia.
Alexa Stango is 23 years old. She has been an employee of Nicole Miller Philadelphia for
over a year. Recently, Alexa was promoted to assistant manager of the store. She graduated
Summa Cum Laude from Pittsburg College with a BS in Science, Psychology and Spanish.
Alexa is a fashionable, artistic and cultured person.
Alexa has always had an interest for fashion. Although, she did not attend school to
pursue a career in fashion, Alexa has used fashion as form of demonstrating self-expression. As
an employee of Nicole Miller Philadelphia, Alexa has learned more than just fashion consulting;
she has learned about fashion and business.
As Alexa states, “Nicole Miller Philadelphia is an independent franchise, so you get to do
everything from merchandising, to selling, to buying.”
Nicole Miller Philadelphia has given Alexa more responsibility, and she finds it to be a
beneficial learning experience. Although Alexa has an interest in fashion, she is unsure about
whether to continue a career in the fashion industry. As she explained, “I may end up in South
America teaching with indigenous kids because that's another passion of mine.”
Alexa spent some time living in South America a few year ago. After the experience, she
has thought about becoming a teacher of literature for both English and Spanish. She is interested
in helping to affect the lack of education throughout South America.
During college, Alexa had the opportunity to study and travel abroad to different
countries. Since she was young, Alexa has been attracted to South American culture. In her
junior year of college, Alexa studied in Ecuador for a month; she lived with indigenous woman.
She describes part of her experience, “Getting to the nearest town was a 20 minute walk, and by
town I mean three broken down buildings and a soccer court.”
Traveling abroad has had a major impact on Alexa’s perception of her life in America.
She says, “When you come from America, where you have all of this big grand everything, to
going to someplace that's so humble, but they are happy -- it is a lot different.” She was exposed
to a social and cultural environment she had not been familiar with, but it taught her how to
become more appreciative. However, at the same time she also learned money is not happiness.
Learning a different way of life and knowing about different cultural environments is
always useful. Alexa is interested in fashion, art, and culture. A Nicole Miller Philadelphia
employee or South American school teacher? Who knows what the future holds for Alexa
Stango?