ASHLAND — Adrienne Greenaker believes she has been her own biggest obstacle, and she’s about to hurdle it.
The 33-year-old has called Ashland home for 10 years while raising two children and working locally as a waitress.
Greenaker loved fashion for as long as she can remember, but never believed the industry was within her reach.
Now, she’s competing for the opportunity to walk on one of fashion’s biggest stages during New York Fashion Week.
She is pushing past the doubt that once held her back.
Greenaker has advanced to the quarterfinals of Next Runway Star. The online competition offers one winner the opportunity to walk the runway during New York Fashion Week and win a $20,000 prize.
“I would say that what really made me commit to the competition is proving to myself that I could actually do it,” Greenaker said. “The only person that’s really ever gotten in my way is actually me.”
Greenaker’s love of fashion started in childhood. She remembers exploring her mother’s closet and trying on her shoes and purses long before she imagined pursuing fashion herself.
She later found inspiration everywhere from the outfits worn by characters on “That’s So Raven” and “Lizzie McGuire” to the statement pieces worn by models.
Yet they seemed a world away, too.
“All the top designers are in New York City and Paris,” Greenaker said. “I’m kind of born and bred in Ohio and I’ve never really gone out that way.”
That changed when Greenaker came across the Next Runway Star competition while scrolling through Instagram in July. Entering was free, and she decided to take a chance.
“I was like, ‘You know what? Why not?'” she said. “I truly wasn’t expecting to even really get in.”
But Greenaker continued advancing.
The competition began with 20 contestants and went through several rounds to the quarterfinals. Greenaker must finish first in her group to advance.
The quarterfinal round ends at 10 p.m. Aug. 28. Readers can vote for Greenaker for free once every 24 hours through the Next Runway Star link.
As the competition has progressed, Greenaker has found support from people throughout the Ashland community, including strangers she meets while working.
Greenaker printed business cards with her photo and a QR code to her competition page. She started handing them to customers at work, even though approaching strangers made her nervous.
The response has surprised her. Customers she barely knows have come back to say they voted for her.
“Every time I hand out my card, I’m surprised,” Greenaker said. “Every time someone comes up and says, ‘Hey, this is really cool. I’m voting for you,’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, really?’ Every time.”
The experience has also helped Greenaker grow more confident.
“My social anxiety has gone down so much,” she said. “I am more comfortable to talk to people now.
“I feel like it’s because of handing out these cards and having that practice of having to be personable.”
The possibility of walking in New York has motivated her to keep competing, but the competition’s connection to Rise also resonated with Greenaker.
Rise is a charity partner of the fashion show that advocates for survivors of sexual assault around the world since 2014.
Greenaker said she connected with the organization’s advocacy for survivors of sexual assault and the message of empowerment behind its work.
“As a woman, I feel like I’ve always been a fighter at heart,” she said.
Greenaker sees fashion as a way to express herself and feel confident and powerful.
“I’m gonna still wear the things that make me feel beautiful and that make me feel powerful,” she said. “It’s just not gonna stop me.”
If she wins the competition, Greenaker said walking in New York would feel unreal.
“Probably, ‘Wow, is this real?'” she said. “It’s really just a dream. I would be like, ‘Wow, this is really happening.'”
Regardless of where the competition goes, Greenaker said she plans to keep looking for opportunities to express her love for fashion.
The next round is Greenaker’s focus. She is ready to seen how far that chance she took while scrolling through Instagram can take her.
