*This post was written in 2016
Behind the scene of any fashion show is as hectic as you can imagine it gets. In 2016, I had the experience of a lifetime. I was able to debut my first collection in the BVI’s prestigious fashion show, Summer Sizzle BVI.
I was sending my collection down the runway as a part of the BVI Emerging Designers Showcase.
From Fitting to Finalizing
The event featured five emerging designers alongside international and regional designers. For us as emerging designers, we had to begin fitting the models two days before the actual event just to make sure that we got the models in outfits we felt they could represent well. From fitting to finalizing, each piece and last minute retouching needed to be perfect.
Setbacks to Get Forward
The next challenge we faced of course, was the terrible setbacks of production work. In other words Murphy’s law kicked in. We never had enough hangers to hang our clothes, and most of our pieces were all over. However, I suffered a terrible fate. The zipper for finale garment broke on the day of the fashion show. Needless to say I had ample time to fix this, but the entire hassle of getting it fixed left me drained.
I never ate anything on that day up until the final hour after everything was completely sorted. I was fitting models right up until the last minute.
I did get to stop and take pictures of the model line-up. They did look a bit stressed but nevertheless they we’re just as excited as we were. The beautiful thing about it was how satisfied each and every one of us were when we walked out there on the runway.
We also had no help in the form of a personal assistant. Of course, there was our mentor who did the best she could and for that I am grateful, but we were never really assigned an assistant so all five of us became each other’s personal assistant.
Model Mania
The most challenging thing I can say is actually finding a model to fit the clothes. I think that as long as the clothes are sewn and are sturdy it is just to find the model who represents the idea you’re trying to portray.
Finding models compensates for making sure your models don’t clash with time or with other designers and that they can fit in each article of clothing with ease and can come out with ease. This is important so that the show runs smoothly.
Once you’ve found your models and their line-up is well-sorted all that is left to do is yo make sure production goes as planned. Getting each model in and out of their outfits is more or less something against time and can easily be solved with a willing team.
Fashion show productions will always be a hassle and will always be a hectic sort of life, but at the end it’s all worth it when you are in love with fashion. Just seeing your pieces down the runway is something to be cherished. It is something I know I will always cherish for years to come.
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