The White Show
On Monday 11th June Newcastle College displayed some of the best work of the fashion students who had just completed their foundation degree. The catwalk show was held in the on campus bar SPACE and featured collections such as; The Little Black Dress collection, as well as other garments designed and made by the students.
The catwalk was decorated in an all white theme and included origami flowers and butterflies as main features. Some of the tasks I was assigned on the day was to help to attach the many paper flowers and butterflies to the boards - and with only a staple gun to do so this actually proved quite difficult! I also had to cut out the long strips of paper that created the "skirt" of the actual catwalk; again sounds easier than it was - I was sat on the floor... in the dark, rolling the paper up as I cut along the strips! But the results were good and fitting for the theme, and with the addition of butterflies scattered around the entire catwalk... The decor was complete.
The main reason I was in attendance on the day was to help out back stage: this involved keeping the place tidy and organised, making sure the garments were on the right rails, and most importantly dressing the models to ensure the show ran smoothely. After the 11 models arrived; we realised with only 4 of us backstage, this was going to be more chaotic than we had originally thought! We were assigned 2 models each with the hope that the models with fewest changes could sort themselves out with little help needed from us. Luckily another volunteer came to help out later on. After meeting our models and running through what outfits would be worn by which models and what the running order was, etc. we were ready for a dress rehearsal. This was an essential part of the day as it allowed us all to work out timings and how to dress the models quickest and most efficiently. We conducted a couple of dress rehearsals, to the dramatic music (which stayed in my head all day & night!), until we were completely happy and confident with the timings and running order. Some minor alterations of garments were also needed, most notbaly a floor length dress which almost forced a model to waddle down the catwalk! But with the simple addition of a split to the bottom of the back of the dress; we were all ready for the actual show.
Dress Rehearsals
After a short break; the models were sent to the hair & make-up artists who gave them all sleek ponytails and smokey eyes, which worked well with the garments and theme of the show. The doors opened to the public and as they settled in their seats; backstage we were all getting hyped up for the show to begin! And with the models all dressed in their first outfits, we listened to the introductions as we waited for the cue of the atmospheric music...
The show was a success and the crowd applauded the talent on show greatly. It was such a good feeling knowing that the show had gone to plan and everyone had played a part in making it such a success. It was also interesting - as a first year student - to see the work produced, the designs, the talent and so on; of the second year students. I'm glad I was given the opportunity to help out at the event and I'm already thinking about next year's show; wondering what it will look like, what theme it will be, the decor, the music, etc.
And also most importantly...
That will be my designs on show next year!
