The Day of the Show

Desire: A Fashion Show Inspiring Styles From Dawn to Dusk

Wow! The night before the show and the day of the show were a whirlwind to say the least. The last minute stress started the night before. We had to meet at the school to organize the clothes and pack up the stage and set. I was freaking out, because I wasn’t 100% sure that we had clothes assigned to all of the models. People were yelling at me to get everything done by a certain time. I almost cried from the stress, but I didn’t. I assigned people to certain jobs; organizing shoes, accessories, etc. We had to meet the models at the mall at 8 pm. So we dropped everything we were doing and ran over to the mall. A group of people put up the set while the rest worked with the models. I ran back and forth between both because I had to be in 100 places at once. Once the set was put in place and the changing tents were put up, all of the models were called over for a rehearsal on stage. A couple of people, including myself, had to time each category that came out. So say the least, they were sloooooow and confusing. Everyone was exhausted and upset, fights broke out and people got emotionally hurt. Parents of some of the models came, so it was time to call it a night. The Fashion Show Coordinators wanted me to come back to the school to finish organizing the clothes. They were nuts. I had my sister with me (a model), it was extremely late, and I was starting to feel sick. So I told them I had to get home and we would finish in the morning.

I barely slept that night.

Next morning, I woke up frantic and hyperventilating. I had a million things to do in so little time. I was supposed to meet the show coordinators at seven in the morning to finish everything. Once I get to school, I get a text message saying that everything was pushed to 7:45 and we had a meeting at Starbucks. Super annoyed already, my sister and I headed over to Starbucks, super early, and waited. It’s embarrassing to say, but I threw up from nerves and stress. So I met with the show coordinator and we went over all the details. So at 8:45 we headed over to the school where we were going to meet the makeup artists and our teacher. I got to work with all of the clothes with my helpers, while the models got their hair and makeup done. We packaged all the clothes up and were on our way to the mall at Noon. Once we got there, a little crowd had already gathered just out of curiosity. Backstage, we got all of the clothes organized. Dressers were assigned to their models. I was assigned to dress three guys, which were super easy. Countdown to the show started…

I had the hair and makeup people work on me, since I looked like death. Then we all got into place, models got into their first looks and then the commentary and music started. In a nutshell, the first show was NUTS. Chaos for sure. We were able to have a lunch break before the second show, I grabbed a soft pretzel and then passed out on the stage. One of the instructors came backstage said that it was time to start. Everyone got into their places and we started the show. I was weird, but this time there was an awkward calm in the dressing room. I think it was just because the stress of the first show was over with. Right before the finale, the student designs went out and then the designers went out. I designed and made an outfit, so I went out right after my model. It was quit an experience. After the student designs was the finale. It was fun, because everyone (including dressers and class) went onto the stage clapping. WE DID IT!!! After the show, I went right back to work. I had people help me organize all the clothes into store, we had to deliver all the clothes before the mall closed. I made sure we delivered all the clothes on time, and the store managers were very happy. I had to deliver some clothes to a store that was many blocks away from the mall, so while I did that, everyone took apart the stage and packed up. We all had to meet back at the school to put the classroom back in order. I wrote “Great Job Everyone!” on the whiteboard and everyone signed it, and then we took a picture. It was cute. Everyone wanted to go to a Mexican restaurant after, but personally, I wanted to go home and pass out. And that’s what I did.

It’s surreal that the show is over. We had worked on it all semester. All the hard work was seriously paid off. Everyone did a fabulous job! (Btw, we received rave reviews and it was considered one of the most professional shows in the schools history… AWESOME!)

(FYI these pictures where taken by my dad. I will be getting the professional ones and the DVD later. And I’ll share them of course)

One Week Left

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! One week until the fashion show! 

Last night, we had to do some last minute busy work. I had to finalize the hair and makeup for the models. Everyone brought in shoes and accessories to help accessorize the models. I brought in a particular pair of heels (that are beautifulllll) to be used in a window display promoting our show in the library. 

We have had many fittings at the stores participating. We still have a few left. Ideally, I would like to do merchandise pulls on Wednesday. During class, I plan to get a group together and we will go to the mall with multiple clothing racks and the appropriate paperwork, and we will get the clothes we put together for the show. 

The paperwork I got last night will be greatly needed for the merchandise pull. Some things that are included are: Store, Store Manager, Itemized list of merchandise, Student who picks up and drops off clothing, Sales associate who oversees the merchandise pull, etc. 

We are holding a mandatory model practice tonight. I have to get there a little bit earlier, because there are a couple male models who haven’t had a fitting yet, and I have some clothes that they can try on. Once the models get there, we asked them to bring shoes and I will store and log the shoes for the show. The Fashion Show and Modeling Coordinators will work out the model line up and the choreography for the show. 

Modeling practice

Last night we had modeling practice. The head modeling coordinator couldn’t make it, so I was left in charge of leading everything. The Fashion Show Coordinators couldn’t get out of a class that they had at the same time, so I really was left in charge. The other modeling coordinator was a models, so he had to practice as well. 

I brought my baby brother with me, because I was babysitting at the same time. My younger sister is modeling in the show, so she came along as well. All of the models met in the hallway of the Fashion Studies building. 

I had everyone line up against a row of lockers and I started off by finding out their availability to see who could participate in the “faux fashion show” that we were going to hold in the student quad. After that, I had the models warm up by walking on a pretend T-shaped runway. 

We mixed it up by pairing them up and walking in pairs, and then singles. I love when they do simple interactions on the runway with each other. For example, one girl will be walking back and will pass a male model and then she will grab him hand and try to be flirty. Trust me it’s cute.

Tomorrow is the “faux fashion show” and hopefully the models work it. We need to advertise more for our show that is April 25th. 

Our practice area.

 

 

Brief Background of Fashion Shows

Today in my Fashion Show class, we started off by having a brief overview of the history of fashion shows. Here are some major points that we talked about:

1. Fashion Dolls : original versions of mannequins, miniature scale of outfits where women could order the outfit in their size. 
2. Charles Fredrick Worth : “Father of Couture.” Wife modeled his clothes for clients. Developed advertisement and store window displays to attract public. 
3. Paul Poiret : Opened his first couture house in 1904. Wife, Denise Poiret, and her friends modeled his clothes when walking around town. 
4. Christian Dior : “The New Look.” Post WW2, Dior encouraged his models to be energetic and youthful at fashion shows.
5. Fashion Shows are a type of production that involves presenting merchandise on live models to potential customers.
6. Fashion shows are considered a silent “salesperson” because the customer can see how the designer envisions the total look of the merchandise.
7. There are different types of fashion shows: Production, Formal, Informal, Video.
8. Production Fashion Show : Theatrical, entertaining and expensive. Generate excitement for a certain look.
9. Formal Fashion Show : Conventional fashion representation. Usually 30-45 minutes long. Models walk down runway in a substantial order. The main characteristic is the use of the runway. During Market Week, continual fashions shows educate buyers on new merchandise/trends. Involves many elements like theme, stage, lighting, models, music and commentary. 
10. Informal Fashion Show : Informal presentation of garments and accessories. Can require little preparation. No theatrical elements like theme or music. May use props. Trunk shows feature garments from the manufacturer or designer in a retail environment. 
11. Video Production : Used for both wholesale and retail. Manufacturers record runway shows and use them in national ad campaigns. Can watch shows live via the internet. Unknown designers got fame from various shows like Project Runway.

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is a production show. It is very theatrical and entertaining.

Models walk consecutively down the runway in a traditional show.