20th February 2019
Organising A Fashion Show
Organising a fashion show may sound easy but truly involves lots of planning and coordination. Creating a show that is view-able, wearable, and memorable requires great designs and the right showcase. The best advice can be gleaned from watching footage recorded during Fashion Week —it's a great way to pick up ideas from the professionals. Look for runway and stage ideas, the use of lighting filters and gels, listen for music if it is provided and watch the timing of the models entering the catwalk. Remember simple is better.
Step 1: Assemble a Team
Strength in numbers.
You can't pull off an event as large as a fashion show by yourself. Surround yourself with:
- An advertiser
- A graphic designer
- A make-up artist
- A master of ceremonies
- A wardrobe specialist
- Clean-up crew
- Plenty of supportive friends.
Don't worry about filling your team with the area's best talent; simply recruit friends and family. Remember that every job you haven't assigned to someone else will fall to you. The more organised your team, the smoother your show will be.
Step 2: Choose a Venue
Location, Location, Location
The venue for your show should be large enough to hold a sizeable audience and a runway. You may have to get creative as you consider local theatres, schools, community centres and parks. If you can't find a venue where you can construct a traditional runway, simply use an existing stage. Models can walk to the centre of the stage just as easily as they can walk to the end of a runway.
Step 3: Decide on the Clothing
Beg, borrow-- just don't steal!
It is possible to put on an entire fashion show without buying a single article of clothing. Donated or borrowed fashions could come from design students at a local fashion college, a fashion boutique, or even your own closet. When borrowing clothes from a fashion boutique, give them publicity in your program, leave all the tags on the clothes, and return everything exactly as you received it. And don't forget to write thank you notes!
Step 4: Find Models
Someone's got to walk the walk
Many young people in high school or college are willing to serve as models. All you need do is ask them. You might be surprised at the response you get by advertising online or on a local college notice board. You may also get professional models to help out for free, by promising photos for their portfolio. Sometimes, models can be found on social networking sites — either general sites like Facebook , LinkedIn , Snapchat or Instagram or model-specific social sites.
Step 5: Plan Your Show
Practice makes perfect
Before the show, fit your models to the clothing they will wear and take photographs. Then, print out the pictures and attach them to outfits in the order the models will wear them. This way, on the night of the show, the models know exactly what they're supposed to wear and when they're supposed to appear. You should also time your rehearsals to make sure the show runs no longer than 20 minutes. If you're using amateur models, you will probably have to spend your rehearsals coaching them on walking down the runway and striking poses.
Step 6: Keep the Show Moving
Fashion waits for no one
If you follow all of these steps, your show should almost run itself-- that is, until wardrobes start to malfunction, set pieces come loose and models call in sick. On the night of the show, it is important to remain flexible and have an assistant director that can put out last-minute fires.
After the show, relax! Your clean-up crew is taking care of everything.
In the days after your show ends, don't forget to send thank-you notes to sponsors and donors (and don't forget to return any products you may have borrowed for the show in perfect condition). Good work!
Finally - don't forget to get fashion show/event insurance
Result: A Night of Glitz and Glamour where you take the applause
