Shmi Shem: September 2009

Last night was fuuuuuun! Tiring but fun. I volunteered to be one of the dressers so I could put more experience in my resume. =)

First off, we (those who volunteered) had to take Crown's Occupational Health and Safety Test 3 weeks before the event. No big deal but it was interesting to learn about what's supposed to happen in case of emergency.

Then we got our schedule in our emails. We had to be at the Palladium by 12NN and will be leaving by 10.30PM. Thought to self: Hmm...must get a good night's sleep the night before.

Yesterday, I woke up early and left for the city. I arrived one hour early, as usual, and wandered about to while away the hour. Ruby arrived and we waited for a bit at the foot of the escalator where we were supposed to meet the other girls. Didn't see anyone. We went up to the foyer of the Palladium and saw Xen and Simon of Trumpet events, who were handling the event. Nice people.

We were told to chill out while waiting for the others. More girls arrived. Everyone except for Cara, who was from Boxhill TAFE, were from the school. Eventually, Mils arrived, she was in charge of the dressers, and brought us to the room where the dresses were. I was surprised to discover that the models would only be wearing two outfits. Then again, there were 16 models and only a few labels participated in the event.

Then we went to the security office where we had to get a contractor's pass. That's where I met a bit of a roadblock and intensified my feeling that people who don't drive get discriminated against. Bohooo. We had to show an ID and since I don't have a driver's license, I just brought along my school ID. Apparently, school IDs are no longer accepted and the only accepted IDs were driver's license and passport. Dude, who brings along their passport when they live in that country? And I don't gamble so I wouldn't have known to bring my passport along. So, the other girls had their contractor's pass and I had to call V and ask him to bring my passport. He wasn't too pleased about it but he obliged.

While waiting for the passport, I went back to the palladium and met my model, Lucy. She was a lovely girl although she looked beat. There was no problem with the clothes and accessories except for the shoes. The pair she was supposed to wear for the first outfit was too big for her. They couldn't find another Tony Bianco pair so we ended up just letting her wear the other pair of shoes which fit her.

Then my passport arrived and I had to run to the security office, when I write run, I mean run down the escalator, past the food court, up the escalator, through the cinema, down two flights of stairs, and to the parking lot where the security office was located. Then I had to find my way through the maze of hallways to get to the palladium. I had to keep asking people how to get there. They probably thought I was an outsider who had infiltrated their inner sanctum. lol

We didn't get to do much since the choreographer was such a perfectionist, he had to keep making the models do the same stuff over and over. Dude, you should have rehearsed that yesterday and final rehearsal on the day. Instead, he wasted about an hour just going over and over the sequence of their walk. The good thing was we had lunch/dinner break early. I must say, Crown takes care of its employees really well. The cafeteria was set up like a canteen but people just swipe their card to get in and just eat as much as they want. They had all sort of food to cater to people. They had different kinds of bread, bread rolls, sandwich fillings, viands, and desserts. They even had several vending machines for coffee, tea, juice and even ice cream. How cool was that?!?

After linner (lunch/dinner), we went back and they were still rehearsing the darn sequence. So we did other stuff like carry out, lay out and masking tape in place the carpet; put up the media wall and place show bags onto seats. Then we ran out of things to do so we just watched the rehearsal. And I managed to talk to a cute model AND see Jason (producer of So You Think You Can Dance Australia) choreograph and dance. Yep, he can dance. His group Ministry of Dance did a number.

After waiting and waiting and waiting, we were told to go to the Hair and Make up room where the models were and just chill. Napoleon Perdis Academy was doing the Hair and Make Up. They were good although one hair dresser didn't seem to know how to do the hair properly. I finally got to talk to Airdrie who was providing the accessories for April Marie. She did all the beads and pearl necklaces and earrings and they were amazing. I asked for her business card.=)

Then it was time. We put the models into their first outfit. They had their hair and make up touched up. Then off they were to the catwalk. Second outfit, my model's necklace got broken so Mils just attached it just to get it on. Off they went again. Then for the finale, they had to go back to their first outfit. Airdrie changed the accessories for my model. So instead of the crystal beads, she wore strands of pearls. It was amazing.

Then it was all over. We had to take all the racks out of the back stage and into the Garden Room. We had to do a bit of dash and wait since the foyer was still full of beautiful people. I even saw Matthew Newton (Bert Newton's son) and Camilla (the I-select Girl). How's that for people watching. Then we had to dismantle the racks, wrap them in plastic, and tape them. The other girls had to count the number of shoes, the fans, and the umbrella. They had to run backstage and after models to check if they were still wearing the shoes or had the umbrella with them. Clothes had to be put back into their label's garment bags along with the shoes, counted and taped together. Finally, near 11 pm, we were able to leave.

It was a great experience. The Trumpet people were so nice. No yelling, no panicking. Everything was in order. We got to see the moneyed set in their beautiful clothes being interviewed and photographed. They had fun. We had fun. And it was all for charity. Nice, huh?

You can read more about Fashion+Aid here. Compared to last year, which was the first Fashion+Aid, this year seemed a bit more toned down. I supposed it was due to the recession.

The only regret I had that night was that I wasn't able to bring my camera so the photos I took from my mobile aren't that nice.

The show bags

The rehearsal, models under the umbrella, trying to feel cold and lonely

One of the items being auctioned off

Jason Coleman of So You Think You Can Dance directing his dancers, Ministry of Dance. He's the one in blue clothing and a cap. I thought he would be taller. =P

Lucy, my model, from Chadwick Modelling Agency, wearing her first outfit.

Above are the photos of my knitwear project worn by my classmates, Jade and Aleona. The first two were taken by Jade's photographer friend in his studio. It was for free but I had to photoshop the photos since the angles were wrong and my vision wasn't realised. I should have talked to him and clearly stated what I wanted since he didn't know what I wanted. Next time, will make it clear. And it was for free, too, so I shouldn't really complain.

The bottom two were taken using Aleona's video cam. Bad move since the images came up blurry. Truth be told, I liked being the photographing since I knew what angle and what look I wanted. Maybe I should take up photography again?

I chose Christian Cota as the designer I wanted to do a collection for hence the tag.

Next project - childrenswear. I want to do a formal look for the kids so I can combine tailoring with embellishment. Hope it works. =)