By Tine Royroft

Each autumn, those of us who can’t make the oh-so-enviable trip to NYC for Fashion Week turn to the internet and often “E! Entertainment” as a last resort. We lap up any and all fashion pix and video like the couture-starved dames and dudes we are, and cling to bits of celeb gossip with all our strength ~ who walked the runway,who got snubbed, and who sat next to Anna Wintour at the big shows become our daily obsession.

But thanks to the combined efforts of Karon Shea of Karon Shea Model Management and Paul Giorgio of Pagio, we shall no longer need internet access to be close to the action. These two masterminds are bringing us StyleWorcester ~ an incredible night of fashion and fun, promising to satiate even the most voracious fashion appetite.

“Worcester is developing its own identity as a first-rate city,” Giorgio says. “We’re trying to bring in the events that every great city has. Boston has a fashion week, New York has a fashion week ~ why not Worcester? We have just as much fashion talent here as those cities do.”

The event kicks off on Thursday, November 8 with a VIP cocktail party and the premiere of The Crooked Man, a frightening film shot in and around the Worcester area.

Then Friday, November 9 brings the thunder when StyleWorcester takes over Union Station. Fashion vendors including Adore Boutique, Queen Bee Beads and Gifts, Dzian Gallery, and Velvet Goose will display their fashion, jewelry, and handbags ~ everything your haute desires.

“We’re having cosmetics, beauty products, laser services, everything for women,” says Shea. “And we’ll have designer shows. The first designer show, Kendra Touma’s, will be at 6:30pm. Touma just finished doing fashion events in both Boston and Providence. And then our featured designer, James Hogan, who is from Worcester, will have his show.”

General admission tickets are $30 each and can be purchased by calling Karon Shea Model Management at (508) 755-6795 or by visiting www.style-worcester.com. Tickets for VIP rows are $50 per show, or you can attend both shows for $75.

StyleWorcester 2012 is not to be missed, but Shea and Giorgio aren’t stopping here. This team intends to expand the event each year. They have plans to involve area college students who are studying fashion design and are looking into producing informal model shows throughout the year to pique the interest of fashion-lovers. These informal shows, which, according to Shea, are growing in popularity, involve people going to specific restaurants for organized luncheons; during their meal, models casually walk around the room in designer frocks and educate the guests on the featured designers. Giorgio and Shea will not stop until Worcester too can claim its very own Fashion Week.

For more information, visit www.style-worcester.com.