London Graduate Fashion Week

This was my 3rd visit to London and I found it an absolutely amazing experience. Graduate Fashion Week gave me such an insite to what is to come for my eductaional future. It made me excited for entering my second and third years.

 

Derby Graduate Fashion Show, Day Two.

Yesterday was the official Derby Graduate Fashion Show 2011. I made my way to the assembly halls in the city centre and arrived at 10 am. We started the day by arranging the models and getting them straight into hair and make-up and dressed ready for the first show at 1:30 pm. Me and Josh had been listed as runners for the staff from Toni and Guy and the Make-Up Artists.It was our job to make sure they had refreshmants and that when it came to the lunch break that they were notified and that they recieved food and for any of the models who were still in hair and make-up to be fed also. 

After Hair and Make-Up We spent the morning getting the models to do dry runs of each collection so that they could get comfortable with the catwalk. The first show was a viewing for the public but was also a chance for the 3rd years to change anything they deemed necessary with their collection.

The time between the First and Second shows were spent having retouches to the models Hair and Make-up. When the Second fashion show began, the atmosphere of the backstage was amazing. Watching the audience build up was fantastic. Everything was very fast paced but thankfully there weren't any problems. I really felt the whole year came together and worked as a strong team. A huge sigh of relief during the encore made me feel like it was a job well done. As soon as the models had gone, we packed up and went to party!

Derby Graduate Fashion Show, Day One.

Today was the dress rehearsal for the Derby Graduate Fashion Show which will be held at the Assembly Halls in the centre of Derby. We met our tutor Ann Draycott at 10 am in which she briefed us on what was to follow for the rest of the day including the fashion show, the models we were working with and the order of each collection with routine number. We were given each models details on paper. Both Me and Joshua Swinnerton were head dressers for the Male Models.

 We were taken backstage where the Female Models were to change and got hold of two spare rails and took them downstairs to the Male Models dressing room. As we waited for their arrival both Josh and I unpacked each collection and hung them on the rail in order of each routine and separated them for each model. We then went back upstairs and were given lanyards and as the first models arrived we escorted them down stairs to their dressing room.

The collections consisted of:

Collosus- A gladiator inspired Mens and Womenswear collection.
French Fancy- A parisian themed romantic collection with delicate tailoring.
Mili Tech- A work wear/ grunge take on futuristic fashion.
Seashell- A swimwear line in which the Male models were dressed in surfer styled shorts and flip flops to accompany the Female Mermaid inspired garments
And one collection in which Male Model Elliot was groom to one of the Bridal wear Female Models.

We then dressed all six male models into their first outfits and brought them back upstairs for the rehearsal which started at 1:30 pm. As each collection went out for the first viewings by the designer, in which alterations could be made, it was just a matter of escorting the models up and down to the dressing room and changing them into the next collection. 

During the dress rehearsal one outfit which was worn by Max from the French Fancy Collection was swapped over to Josh due to the fit and style of the garment. After the dress Rehearsal was done we returned each model to the dressing room, we organised and packed away each collection. Shoes were put below each outfit in order of shoe size for the model. Once the room was tidied and ready for the fashion show tomorrow, we were allowed to leave. It was such an experience to be backstage seeing everything in action.