What’s it like to watch a runway show? It can be an exciting combination of performance, art, beauty, style and emotion. If it’s not done well, it’s a tedious exercise, when you wish you could get back the time just lost to a forgettable experience.
Backstage is always mayhem – with models being dressed, hair twisted and sprayed by the stylists, and makeup touched up by the black-clad artists whose holsters are filled with brushes of all sizes. Media and VIP are shuffled in first to the runway room – those of note will have assigned seats in the front row. But many want to come late because they don’t want to wait around, want to be noticed and want to make an entrance. So you’ll see people circling the empty chairs in the front row, trying to guess whether the person will or won’t show up.
Front row divas (media, celebs, wannabees) will show no emotion during show. Magazine editors perceive themselves as the A list of the runway room – but are often overshadowed by the latest reality tv star or B list actress who wants to up her fashion cred. Their eyes will follow the models back and forth as they sashay the catwalk, but never revealing what they think. That’s for the tv cameras that will court them post-show.
Everyone else is then shuttled in – scurrying to get a seat and see if there’s anything free to be had. Front row guests are generally left a gift from the designer – a token of appreciation for attending the show. These can sometimes be useless trinkets or lavish gifts – and no matter what it is, everyone wants it. If the evil eye exists, it will appear at the beginning of a fashion show as those who are not given a gift will gaze with envy at those who are regularly granted freebies.
Announcements will be made several times to encourage everyone to take their seats, and turning off the lights and starting the music is generally the only way to insure the runway is clear. The spotlight looks for the first model, the music fills the room and everyone’s gaze will swing to the one end of the runway. The collection will file by, as writers scribble furiously trying to capture the essence of each outfit in a couple of adjectives before the next outfit appears. Photographer flashes increase as the model reaches the photo pool and video screens show the real-time video as eyes flash from model, to screen, to model and back to screen.
The audience claps, the models repeat their runway strut together, and the designer will make an appearance to thank the crowd. And then it’s done. All the lights, attitude, organization and timing – weeks of preparation distilled into 20 minutes.
I'm missing the catwalk scene for lately, I've been busy with all the photoshoots stuff. The last ramp I did was late last month for Louis Vuitton.
