2. the college shows (continued)
local fashion show
Another fashion show volunteer opportunity I got involved with was for non-profit company that facilitates massive clothing swap events throughout the entire country. I heard about the need for show volunteers in the school's office, collected the contact information, and sent out an email with my resume and a brief note that I would like to help out in any way I could and listed my relevant fashion show experience. When I got to the venue for the show day of to help the producers, I found that the person in charge had never really put on a show for the company before... she normally led the Chicago swap event and had the idea that a fashion show would be a good way to kick the event off that weekend.
For the first twenty minutes I tried to figure out who was in charge of all of the different elements of the show and found that no one really was communicating enough to know who was leading anything! When I realized this, instincts kicked in that if someone didn't start putting two-and-two together, there was no way a show was going to form out of the chaos. First I found out where all the models were and confined them to one area so that we could coordinate hair, makeup, fittings, and lineups. That took the longest time (in my experience, models tend to show up and act like they are hanging out at a friends house with a personal hairstylist at their beck and call; I'm not saying all models are like this, just the ones I have worked with). Next we made sure the staging, lighting, and music was all set and had the rehearsal to time out how long each model needed to walk in order to fill the entire song/make sure we didn't run out of music. Finally, we assigned the dressers to their models and got the first looks on the models and lined them up for the show... SHOWTIME.
RESUME LINE:
[Company/Show Title] Fashion Show; Production Assistant
* image from zimbio.com
3. the real deal industry shows
chicago fashion week
If you didn't know it yet, Chicago has a fashion week. During CFW, one can "Experience four days of runway shows, shopping events and FREE educational industry seminars. See cutting edge designs by local emerging fashion talents and stay ahead of the latest trends with previews of designer collections for the upcoming season."
I was looking on the Chicago Fashion Resource and googling Chicago Fashion Week, and skimming Craigslist to find volunteer opportunities for the big week. I believe I found my volunteer opportunity on Craigslist and replied to the call for help via email (after googling the company/show and finding a lot of information about the upcoming event). After reviewing my resume, the company contacted me and gave me instructions to help at the show. I got there early in the morning (the show was not until 8pm).
The producers were very prepared for this show as far as I could tell and everything went smoothly except a few things that came up as the day progressed. 1. a model went missing = lesson learned- have all the model's contact information on site day of the show. 2. the model lineup sheets were handwritten with red pen changes all over making it hard to read = lesson learned- know how to prepare a fairly organized model lineup (including model's name, lineup number, top, bottom, accessories, shoes). 3. the model lineup was switched last minute after I had finished typing everything up for the producers = lesson learned- roll with the punches and be prepared to type up/print multiple copies of the new lineup fifteen minutes before the show.
RESUME LINE:
Chicago Fashion Week [Company/Show Title] Fashion Show; Production Assistant
*image from http://www.nylonmag.com
new york fashion week
If you would like to read about a friend's experience volunteering at New York Fashion Week, click here.
