MY ROLES IN FASHION SHOW

Last night was our final fashion show event, which preparations of the last few months have been leading up to! In this blog post I wanted to expand on my job roles and contributions towards the show and what I have learned to take forward with me as I progress through university and onwards...

Goodie Bags

One of the first roles that I was set with regurds to fashion show was doing the goodie bags with Aleisha. We were tasked with getting together free stuff to go into the bags. We made a trip into farnborough town to ask for free bits, which was unfortunately more unsuccessful than we'd have hoped as majority of the shops said that we would have to email online to contact higher authority and so we spent quite a bit of time sending out emails which also were unsuccessful as a lot of companies weren't willing to contribute. We went into the body shop, who said that they would help out in gathering some bits but that we would need to wait a couple weeks and go back. Beth from our group had communicated with me with regards to this, asking about picking up the bits from body shop that we had arranged. I think what's to learn from this is that it's always better to go into these places and communicate face to face as this was how we achieved better outcomes. In the end me and Aleisha were both able to pull together bits to help out with goddie bags which was positive, but I will admit that I could've been more on it with going into places and just asking in person.

I later also helped out with the making and organising of goddie bags; so helping in the production line we made for curating the checkered bobbin reel keyrings as well as tieing on bag tags and clipping into place with key ring to decorate. Again, I enjoyed the creative side of this in pulling together a set aesthetic to match out theme.

Guests List

I was also tasked with curating the fashion show guest list including VIPs; again partnered with Aleisha.

I think we worked really well to get these lists together for the day as we put in extra hours and met up outside of college hours to make sure everything came together well.

This role included a lot of online admin, so communicating with first and second years to acquire a list of names and email addresses that invites and info could be sent out to. It also involved a lot of perseverance so chasing up people to make sure that these were all together for the day.

We furthered our professional practise through the sending out and replying to of emails in a professional and appropriate manner. We made sure to check emails regularly for updates regarding confirmed guests and to make sure that all questions and queries were answered in due course. We had an original list which was then translated into the final, refined list based on confirmed guests. We also typed the confirmed guests lists up in a professional manner, with tick boxes to register guests as they came into the venue.

This task was challenging as times as there was a lot of information to take on and we knew how important it was that this list was done correctly as it could also have been used in the event of emergency as a reference of names of guests who attended. I think the curation of our guests list was a big help in the smooth running of show day and I think I worked well with Aleisha to complete this for the deadline.

VIP Labels

Another task we were set to do (me and Aleisha), includes the VIP chair labels which were to be done in the same format as the theme and booklet. I think I found this a little bit more challenging as I am not as confident with my digital work, however, after I was able to download our number plate style font and access the background plate image from communicating with other students, it was fairly simple to get the names and job titles written out into place as this was all info we had gathered from curating guests lists. I then printed the VIP labels and had the help from others' to get the labels into plastic wallets, which I then laminated and had help getting them cut out neatly. One problem I did face is that the first time I printed the labels, the font did not appear as expected as I needed to download the document as a pdf (image style) rather than the word document itself as the downloaded font disappeared. But through doing this I definitely build my confidence working digitally and I think the final results looked professional, in fitting with our overall theme. Another thing, however, is to just make sure to check and double check as you go along as unfortunately we were faced with the fact that one of the companies on the labels was spelt incorrectly and needed to be adjusted on the day, which I found quite stressful, however, showed me that I could work well under the pressure and get it done in time to overcome problems and show perseverance. This was important in playing a role in the team to get everything together for a successful show result.

Speech

Another contribution I made was volunteering to partake in one of the fashion show day speeches, and this I was quite nervous about as I would be doing the very beginning speech to open the show! However, I will say that taking on this role was really confidence building and rewarding because I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to! Since others were more hesitant to take on a speech role, I decided that this could be an opportunity to push and challenge myself as well as practise my public speaking which should be something that will benefit me in the future.

Media Team

During the run-throughs and final show of the day, I helped out with the media, working with the professional media team and Maddie from our group. This role was really important in making sure that the slideshows and music were well timed with each set of garments/collections, etc. This worked really well in making the show all the more spectacular for audiences to watch. Slides also helped provide more of a context to each collection and set of garment looks. I found it really exciting to work in this fast paced environment to make sure everything ran smoothly for the final show.

Cakes/Catering

Another role that I stood up and said I would take charge of was the catering for the day. So this involved communicating with other students to find out what cakes/snacks, etc. they would be willing to make or provide for the day as well as discussing numbers to make sure there is enough food to go around the guests. I also brought over all the cakes to the venue on the day as well as making sure they were stored appropriately in fridges, etc. so they were kept cool and fresh to serve.

I made sure to also be there to help set up cakes on the stand with labels, etc. I quite enjoyed this role as it felt a lot more creative and I liked putting together a visual aesthetic and set up that went with the theme and would entice guests to try the cakes and snacks etc. We received positive feedback from guests on the food that was made and provided. I also helped out my mum in making some more decorative cakes that matched the theme and would make it all the more aesthetic and exciting!

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Overall, I think the fashion show day went really well and that everyone pulled together successfully in making the show run smoothly. In all working on different roles, this meant we were able to target and organise all aspects of the show in time for the deadline, making for a success. I found that our fashion show unit really helped me build my confidence even more, as well as expanding my vital team work skills that will definitely help me in the future. Again, it was really exciting to bring together this event in time for the finishing our our FMP and course at FCOT! It was really rewarding to see our garments fitted in models and going down the incredible runway setup.