On the 16th February, I had the chance to be a part of the most recent London Fashion Week with the organisation Fashions Finest - I had such an incredible experience, volunteering backstage and front of house, so I wanted to create a post to share how my day went with you all!
Volunteers arrived bright and early at 8am to help prepare for the full day of shows and events. At first, I helped front of house which involved welcoming guests, press and VIPs and I managed to get a good view of their first show which featured an array of incredible designers, with my favourite being The Kemist.
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| The Kemist |
For the second show of the day, I had the pleasure and pressure of helping out backstage. This involved responsibilities such as assisting designers and dressing models, which was such a hectic experience! As soon as a model walked back off the runway, you literally have to run to get them changed into their next design and make sure they’re presentable and ready to walk again within just a few minutes. I found it hard to keep up with the needed pace at first, but after a few quick changes, you just learn what is expected from you and it becomes more a bit more seamless. Honestly, it was such a thrill and adrenaline rush being a part of this and it taught me so much about what goes into a fashion show! As volunteers, we felt so proud when we saw the model we just dressed walk the runway; it was like they were our little babies!
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| Tuncer Tonun |
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| Joyce Penas Pilarsky |
The next event was the Britain’s Top Designer Award, which was my favourite as it was so inspiring to see such passionate, hardworking designers and it felt great to be even a small part of their creative visions. Each designer had such beautiful, intricate creations that I was truly in awe over, too. The award went to the incredibly talent and deserving Tuncer Tonun, who's elaborate red floral truly stole the show.
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| Kanna Yeung |
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Joyce Penas Pilarsky
The main things I learnt from my experience of volunteering at London Fashion Week was just how hectic backstage at a show can be! When you see models walk the runway so gracefully, just know that before that, there was probably a mad rush and lots of shouting backstage in order to help make him or her look at beautiful as they do! Trust me, it ain’t as easy as it looks. I also developed a new found respect for runway models as they were all so hardworking and selfless! They were constantly being pulled one hundred different directions, poked and prodded by volunteers, hair and makeup artists and designers and they do it without complaint which is something that we can all learn from. |
Overall, I found my experience really valuable and I’ve always dreamed of going to a show at London Fashion Week, so to be backstage and get a glimpse into what happens was so much fun! I learned show much about the fashion industry, knowledge which I can hopefully use in my ideal, future career of fashion journalism.
What is your favourite part of London Fashion Week?
