The making of a fashion show: Southampton Solent Graduate Fashion Show
05-06-2007
Fashion shows come in all shapes and forms – all in a bid to win us over with their wares in a short space of time. Fashion Capital talks to Sophie Blackman and Kerrie-Anne Pritchard of the spectacular Southampton Solent Graduate Fashion show about the tears, tantrums and tribulation involved with putting on the Ritz….
FC: How long does it take to put a show together from scratch?
Sophie/Kerrie-Anne: The two of us got together in the middle of January and had to have a fabulous show ready by the 21st May- so a long time!
FC: Were you surprised about how much was involved?
Sophie: Yes definitely; once things got underway I realised just how many people, organisations and work was involved. Plus we are both perfectionists so we wanted everything to be perfect.
Kerrie-Anne: There was just so much involved – so much to remember. I’d find myself waking up in the middle of the night to write lists if things I had to do the following day!
FC: What things did you have to consider whilst organising it?
{mosimage}Sophie: Budget was a big issue, from the word go – the first area we looked into was sponsorship for the event, this took months of phone calls, e-mails and plenty of letters. We were always aware of our time scale, making time plans and week-by-week accounts made it a little easier.
Kerrie-Anne: If we had enough models, Then what kind of looks the designers wanted for their models, then trying to put the models into suitable groups, then working out the hair and make up for each group, choreography for the show, running order and music, styling for the first half of the show, set design to reinforce our theme of the secret garden. The presentation on the screen running throughout the show, photography, floor plan of the dressing room, and who was dressing who, goody bags for the VIP’s and sourcing all of what was in them, sponsorship, wine and food for VIP’s, seating plan for VIPS, press, the uniforms for the helpers, the money raising aspect in the foyer, raffle tickets and prizes we had to get donated, t-shirts and promotional things to go on sale. The after party venue, DJ, etc!!!
FC: What do you find is the most difficult part of organising the show?
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Sophie: Relying on people was the hardest thing, model schedules were the most time consuming, doing photo shoots, choreography and fittings took up a lot of time that I think was sometimes overlooked by others.
Kerrie-Anne: It was hard to put my trust into others. I found it hard delegating tasks to others… as I am such a perfectionist I just wanted to do everything myself!
FC: What is the best part of arranging a show?
Kerrie-Anne: The feeling when it all comes together on the night. Throughout the organising we had to try our best to keep the designers happy, although we built quite a strong relationship with them I think they were still a little cautious in trusting us to do a good job with the show! And then on the evening when they were all saying thank-you for making it look so good, was amazing!
FC: What skills do you need to have in arranging something like this?
Kerrie-Anne: I feel you need to be confident, ambitious, innovative, motivated and very organised!
Sophie: A good creative mind and the ability focus on a final outcome. Working well in a team is really important and being able to project your ideas is also key.
FC: What advice would you give to someone doing it?
Kerrie-Anne: Planning is essential, and keeping a working time plan and a contact book is recommended – you are talking to so many different people about so many different things this all needs to be kept track of! Watch as many other catwalk shows as possible as these were great inspiration and helped us achieve such a professional looking show!
Sophie: Oh that’s quite hard, it’s going to be different for every show; just enjoy the whole experience.
Thanks to the girls for giving us an insight into the making of a fashion show. Catch the show on a recorded web stream at www.solent.ac.uk/fashionshow
By Becky Lyon
Images by Camilla Seckin