top of page
Featured Posts

The #fashion show comes to EME

EME's 'Eclectic Evolution' fashion show. 21st September.

So, it was Saturday. The culmination of months of planning, castings, meetings and phone calls. The day had come for the EME show, courtesy of the charity Uthink pdp.

Fashion show models

The idea behind the show was originally to promote four new themes added to the expanding EME repertoire. Four rooms had been decorated by three set designers of varied backgrounds to introduce attendees to the themes. Each theme was then paired with a designer taking part in the show itself. A model was placed in each themed room during the evening to interact with people and allow them to enjoy the feel of the themes. The themes being featured were Candid Colour, Cupid’s Diary, Love & Light and Futuristic.

I won’t lie, a lot had gone wrong. For one, the programme - that I had worked on night after night and Kay had spent days editing to a high standard - had failed to arrive. The reason was unknown but hours trying to locate it on the morning of the show had failed to track it down. Go to plan B - pretend we had always intended to go paperless and prepare to email it to those who wanted. That bullet dodged.

Photo courtesy of Vincenzo Albano

Perhaps the programme going missing was a blessing in disguise as one of our planned designers had pulled out a couple of days before the show, meaning that there was no need for her to be included in the text. So we could at least edit her out without having to explain to people why she was in the programme but not the show.

By the time Saturday arrived I had barely slept and had almost entirely lost my voice - something that happened during the week’s rehearsals. I had been getting up at 6am to get my son to clubs before school and then getting back from rehearsals around 11pm, having not eaten much. I had been pouring over charts and documents from the time I got up, squeezing in school runs and activities as well as my usual gym schedule - essential for my sanity! Unsurprising that my body found a way to shut me up! It was protesting.

I arrived at the venue around 3.30, having already received several slightly anxious phone calls from one of the designers who was worrying that things wouldn’t be ready in time. And she was right to worry! The organisation of the show and its complexities had snowballed and it had become a struggle to contain everything, but the day was here and it was all going to happen; however it went!

The models were upstairs with the makeup artists and hair stylists who had set up on the sixth floor. These ladies worked nonstop in very warm conditions and did an amazing job. I skipped up there - by the stairs as the only lift had become very busy and the stairs were faster. I was to get to know the stairs well during that afternoon and evening!

Having greeted the makeup artists and hair stylists, I set off to try to find tables and chairs to help them work more comfortably. Back on the second floor people grabbed me at every turn to ask me questions, too many to answer! I had to try and help while moving slowly towards the backstage area where the designers had set up camp. They were fitting models and making any necessary alterations. I must have done a marathon up and down to the sixth floor to find models and chase people. The stairwell also became a sanctuary of sorts from the mayhem, somewhere to take a breath.

As 7pm drew closer people started arriving and I had to run into a room to throw on the clothes I had brought for the evening. As I shut the door of the room I realised that it was also occupied by a naked man who was getting ready for his part as “#aFineLine” in the art installation for the show! But it didn’t matter, both of us just got on with the job of getting ready as quickly as possible! A quick trip to the loo for a glance in the mirror and a bit of makeup and I was ready for the fray.

The show was by now running quite late, and there were a lot of people crowding around the area that was the catwalk. The holdup - back upstairs - was a confusion in makeup which the makeup artists were hurrying to resolve. Eventually everything was ready to go. And go it did. In a blur of ribbons and swimwear……

I didn’t actually get to see much of the show as I was backstage helping dress models or sort out mini crises. I did see the belly dancer, Laura Simone who started the show, transfixing people - particularly the guys - with her hypnotic smile and sinuous moves, not to mention her incredibly sparkly costume! She was also there to promote the costumes that she makes and sells herself.

The host of the show, Evan Von Schnippisch, who I had met upstairs where I had given her a brief synopsis of the work of each designer - had the difficult job of introducing the different designers and acts, as well as interjecting her own songs and brand of entertainment. The crowd was perhaps not the responsive cabaret crowd she was used to so she did an amazing job of holding the audience’s attention.

All the designers’ shows went really well and according to plan under the management of the choreographer, Kelly. These were interspersed by a performance by Tearborn and the dancer Monique, also by songs from the host and a burlesque type dance from one of the models, Coco Nobel.

The whole show passed by in what seemed no time at all and suddenly we were at the end. The models burst out to meet the audience and their families and everyone mingled and had photo calls. Now was the time that the themed rooms came into their own. People had looked in on them before the main show but now photographers were queueing up to snap the show models as they posed in the rooms. Each had a very different charm to it and they were greatly admired - a lot of work had been put into their decoration by the room designers. They offered some of the flavour of the Extreme Modelling Experience. I watched as photo flashes lit up the rooms and I listened as the happy sound of people enjoying themselves filled the air.

I could hardly believe that it was over and it had been such a success. All the work and all the hassles had been worth it and I felt as though I had just had a wedding and was observing the reception!

Several people thanked me and I enjoyed basking in the glow and glitter of the occasion. I couldn’t believe that it had all worked out and that I had been a big part of it. I looked around the room one last time at the happy people enjoying themselves and I grabbed my bag and slipped away into the night. As I walked to the tube tears ran down my face. I think it was the juxtaposition of the glittering room and tripping through rubbish on the dark street outside on my way back to a late night train home, where no one would really understand the enormity of the achievement of the evening. Plus the sudden relief of stress and the joy that it had all been a success.

I think we all felt as if we had had a wedding with all the planning and the excitement of the day itself. Ideas were born at the show and we are already planning to nurture them and watch them grow. Ideas for the next event are already sprouting......

Recent Posts
Archive
Search By Tags
No tags yet.
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
  • Instagram Social Icon
beauty, makeup, woman,
EME London, Portrait shoot, EMELondon, Extreme Modelling Experience, Experience, modelling, London, K Anthony Photography, Photography, Art, Tableaux  ​
bottom of page