Designer Wedding Dress Alert!
When it comes to fashion we tend to think of our everyday outfits or of the glamorous dresses A-Listers wear on the red carpet. What we don't think of? Weddings. However, there is a large market for designer wedding dresses, so large that there is an entire week dedicated to bridal fashion rightfully named: Bridal Fashion Week. These fashion shows aren't very different from those during New York Fashion Week, we have the backstage chaos, the all-too-eager press trying to get their perfect picture, the impatient audience members and the dress malfunctions that almost send the designer into a mental breakdown. All of which is expected and, somehow, dealt with. This week, for the first time, I dove head first into Bridal Fashion Week working on the Adam Zohar show. I'll give you the break down of the day, get ready:
8 AM: Arrive at the venue - 40 Bethune Street. An old warehouse operated by Industria in the West Village, it's basically a blank slate; concrete floors, exposed brick and pipes. It's, well, industrial.
8:30 - 9:30: Run to the print shop in my four inch heels to ensure that all the backstage lists, programs and model sheets are accurately printed. Learn that it is going to cost almost $300, realize my boss won't be happy with that, attempt to bargain with the woman working at the shop to get me a deal, succeed, walk back to the venue with all of my printed material having only paid $100. Impressive right? Thanks!
9:30 - 11:30: Send interns to get coffee, brief security guards, set up venue which includes placing all benches, making sure they don't wobble when sat on, organizing all seating cards, placing all seating cards, taping down all seating cards ensuring they are dispersed equally with six on each bench and that they are straight, very straight (my OCD boss wouldn't have it any other way). Place programs to coincide with each seat (ensure those are evenly dispersed and perfectly straight as well), stand back and be proud you finished. Tell security to open the service entrance (what is effectively a garage door), have all of your programs be blown out of place by the wind, start replacing programs. Ugh.
11:30 - 12:30: Models and hair and makeup begin to arrive. Check each of them in individually and walk them to their prospective backstage areas. Help set up backstage hair and makeup stations which includes plugging in and organizing all of their products and tools (they bring in suitcases full of stuff, I like to hand this off to the interns).
12:30 - 1:00: DJ arrives, show him where he needs to set up his station and go over music selections.
1:00 - 2:00: Oversee models are all being taken care of and are in, or done with, hair and makeup. Organize dresses and get them steamed and labeled for each model. Realize we are out of coffee, ask one intern to please go get more, she responds with "no ask the other intern", stand in shock because she just told me no (????). Take note of her inability to do her job, ask the other intern who does go get the coffee, tell my boss I don't like the intern who told me "no", continue to keep an eye on said intern who is continuously not doing her job (things aren't looking too good for her).
2:00 -2:30: Brief the models on how we would like them to walk the runway (blank faced, no posing), what path they will take on the runway (it was pretty straight forward this time but you'd be surprised how many get it wrong), how many seconds to pause in front of the camera ( 2 seconds), set up our final formation, allow the models to do a rehearsal walk, brief the designer on how he should enter at the end of the show.
2:30 - 3:30: Start to get the models dressed in their first looks, ensure the venue is ready for audience members to arrive, ensure security knows the protocol if we have any unruly guests or press trying to sneak in. Set up the check-in area and brief the girls doing check-in on how to work the Fashion GPS Events app so it goes smoothly. Disperse radios and headsets so we can all communicate with each other throughout the show, decide to set everyone to channel 7 because we are on our seventh hour of work and may also be approaching the seventh level of hell. (I say hell but I actually love my job it can just be a little stressful).
3:30: Place the models in their lineup while allowing hair and makeup to touch them up, allow certain photographers backstage for pictures (Harper's Bazaar, W Magazine, Marie Claire). Attempt to learn all of the models names in order to make sure the show goes smoothly and I can grab the ones I need to place back in line for their second look (it gets crazy backstage, we've been over this). Make sure all models are actually staying in their formation as we wait for the show to start (one of my models, Magda, would not stay in her place and was wandering around taking pictures with her personal photographer. It must've been one of her first gigs because not only is having a personal photographer not normal backstage but she was messing up the whole system, just stay still sister!). Proceed to tell Magda and her photographer multiple times that while pictures are fine she MUST stay in her designated spot in line, after 5 attempts, she finally listens. Set up the incompetent intern to "watch" the backdoor because that's literally the least important job I could find her. Set up the Instagram live station that the other intern will run during the show.
3:45: We have a couple MALE audience members who have snuck backstage while models are being adjusted, they hand their iPhone to the Harper's Bazaar photographer and proceed to ask her to take pictures of them with the models. I see this happen, make eye contact with the Harper's Bazaar photographer, take the iPhone from her, hand the iPhone to the men, grab them both and lead them out with my hands in the small of their backs (this hand placement is quite emasculating for some men especially when the enforcer is 5'2", try it sometime). Tell the newly insecure men they aren't allowed backstage and what they were doing is inappropriate. Call security over the radio to tell them they f*cked up and we just had two full grown men walk into a room of young women who weren't all entirely dressed. Apologize to the well known and very established Harper's Bazaar photographer who was just treated as though she wasn't a big deal (she was, certainly, a big deal). Make the decision the models will stand before the cameras for 3 seconds instead of 2 (this sounds minuscule but those seconds add up which is important when it comes to quick changes), inform all of the models about the timing change, get them ready to walk.
4:00 - 4:45: Start the show, ensure all models go out in their correct order, equally dispersed and in a timely manner that matches up with the music. Calm any model nerves while also attempting to keep myself calm in the chaos. Make sure all dress trains are laid perfectly before the models walk.
4:45: Show finishes.Breathe a big sigh of relief and high-five my team for putting on yet another perfect show, hallelujah! Tell the models how great they were, praise the designer for his work, do a little happy dance, laugh a little, realize there's still work to be done.
4:50 - 5:30: Get the models undressed, dresses packed and labeled, makeup and hair stations cleaned up, venue cleaned up and organized, DJ paid and packed away, security let go for the day, radios turned off and put away, snack area cleaned.
5:30 - 6:00: Discuss with the team what went well and what could've been done better, say thank you to the staff, sit down for 5 minutes, make sure we have everything, walk to the subway.
6:00 - 6:30: Take the subway home, sit on my couch, watch a movie, order food, think about how the day was successful and about how I somehow got home an hour earlier than expected, woohoo!
So that was crazy right? A day in the life of someone who works in the fashion industry... it's not as glamorous as most people think! The dresses though, those were glamorous, here's some of my own backstage pics as well as professional pictures and articles!
-The Knot Magazine: Includes multiple shots from the show!
-WWD: All shots from the show!
8 AM: Arrive at the venue - 40 Bethune Street. An old warehouse operated by Industria in the West Village, it's basically a blank slate; concrete floors, exposed brick and pipes. It's, well, industrial.
8:30 - 9:30: Run to the print shop in my four inch heels to ensure that all the backstage lists, programs and model sheets are accurately printed. Learn that it is going to cost almost $300, realize my boss won't be happy with that, attempt to bargain with the woman working at the shop to get me a deal, succeed, walk back to the venue with all of my printed material having only paid $100. Impressive right? Thanks!
9:30 - 11:30: Send interns to get coffee, brief security guards, set up venue which includes placing all benches, making sure they don't wobble when sat on, organizing all seating cards, placing all seating cards, taping down all seating cards ensuring they are dispersed equally with six on each bench and that they are straight, very straight (my OCD boss wouldn't have it any other way). Place programs to coincide with each seat (ensure those are evenly dispersed and perfectly straight as well), stand back and be proud you finished. Tell security to open the service entrance (what is effectively a garage door), have all of your programs be blown out of place by the wind, start replacing programs. Ugh.
11:30 - 12:30: Models and hair and makeup begin to arrive. Check each of them in individually and walk them to their prospective backstage areas. Help set up backstage hair and makeup stations which includes plugging in and organizing all of their products and tools (they bring in suitcases full of stuff, I like to hand this off to the interns).
12:30 - 1:00: DJ arrives, show him where he needs to set up his station and go over music selections.
1:00 - 2:00: Oversee models are all being taken care of and are in, or done with, hair and makeup. Organize dresses and get them steamed and labeled for each model. Realize we are out of coffee, ask one intern to please go get more, she responds with "no ask the other intern", stand in shock because she just told me no (????). Take note of her inability to do her job, ask the other intern who does go get the coffee, tell my boss I don't like the intern who told me "no", continue to keep an eye on said intern who is continuously not doing her job (things aren't looking too good for her).
2:00 -2:30: Brief the models on how we would like them to walk the runway (blank faced, no posing), what path they will take on the runway (it was pretty straight forward this time but you'd be surprised how many get it wrong), how many seconds to pause in front of the camera ( 2 seconds), set up our final formation, allow the models to do a rehearsal walk, brief the designer on how he should enter at the end of the show.
2:30 - 3:30: Start to get the models dressed in their first looks, ensure the venue is ready for audience members to arrive, ensure security knows the protocol if we have any unruly guests or press trying to sneak in. Set up the check-in area and brief the girls doing check-in on how to work the Fashion GPS Events app so it goes smoothly. Disperse radios and headsets so we can all communicate with each other throughout the show, decide to set everyone to channel 7 because we are on our seventh hour of work and may also be approaching the seventh level of hell. (I say hell but I actually love my job it can just be a little stressful).
3:30: Place the models in their lineup while allowing hair and makeup to touch them up, allow certain photographers backstage for pictures (Harper's Bazaar, W Magazine, Marie Claire). Attempt to learn all of the models names in order to make sure the show goes smoothly and I can grab the ones I need to place back in line for their second look (it gets crazy backstage, we've been over this). Make sure all models are actually staying in their formation as we wait for the show to start (one of my models, Magda, would not stay in her place and was wandering around taking pictures with her personal photographer. It must've been one of her first gigs because not only is having a personal photographer not normal backstage but she was messing up the whole system, just stay still sister!). Proceed to tell Magda and her photographer multiple times that while pictures are fine she MUST stay in her designated spot in line, after 5 attempts, she finally listens. Set up the incompetent intern to "watch" the backdoor because that's literally the least important job I could find her. Set up the Instagram live station that the other intern will run during the show.
3:45: We have a couple MALE audience members who have snuck backstage while models are being adjusted, they hand their iPhone to the Harper's Bazaar photographer and proceed to ask her to take pictures of them with the models. I see this happen, make eye contact with the Harper's Bazaar photographer, take the iPhone from her, hand the iPhone to the men, grab them both and lead them out with my hands in the small of their backs (this hand placement is quite emasculating for some men especially when the enforcer is 5'2", try it sometime). Tell the newly insecure men they aren't allowed backstage and what they were doing is inappropriate. Call security over the radio to tell them they f*cked up and we just had two full grown men walk into a room of young women who weren't all entirely dressed. Apologize to the well known and very established Harper's Bazaar photographer who was just treated as though she wasn't a big deal (she was, certainly, a big deal). Make the decision the models will stand before the cameras for 3 seconds instead of 2 (this sounds minuscule but those seconds add up which is important when it comes to quick changes), inform all of the models about the timing change, get them ready to walk.
4:00 - 4:45: Start the show, ensure all models go out in their correct order, equally dispersed and in a timely manner that matches up with the music. Calm any model nerves while also attempting to keep myself calm in the chaos. Make sure all dress trains are laid perfectly before the models walk.
4:45: Show finishes.Breathe a big sigh of relief and high-five my team for putting on yet another perfect show, hallelujah! Tell the models how great they were, praise the designer for his work, do a little happy dance, laugh a little, realize there's still work to be done.
4:50 - 5:30: Get the models undressed, dresses packed and labeled, makeup and hair stations cleaned up, venue cleaned up and organized, DJ paid and packed away, security let go for the day, radios turned off and put away, snack area cleaned.
5:30 - 6:00: Discuss with the team what went well and what could've been done better, say thank you to the staff, sit down for 5 minutes, make sure we have everything, walk to the subway.
6:00 - 6:30: Take the subway home, sit on my couch, watch a movie, order food, think about how the day was successful and about how I somehow got home an hour earlier than expected, woohoo!
So that was crazy right? A day in the life of someone who works in the fashion industry... it's not as glamorous as most people think! The dresses though, those were glamorous, here's some of my own backstage pics as well as professional pictures and articles!
-The Knot Magazine: Includes multiple shots from the show!
-WWD: All shots from the show!
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