Last Sunday I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work as a dresser backstage for Gok Wan's One Size Fits All Show. Want to know what the day involved? Then read this post to find out what it was like and my experience!
A few days before the show was scheduled I received an email from the university about applying to be a dresser for the show, and personally I think it is very important to jump at any opportunity you can get if you want to make it in the fashion industry! So I put my name down for helping out at the show and got sent all the details. Fortunately the show was taking place in Norwich, so organising travel and getting to the venue was easy.
6:30 am
On the day of the show, we had an early 6:30 am call time, (but thankfully it felt more like 7:30 am as the clocks changed that evening!) When we arrived we were allocated our model and started the model's fittings. All of the clothing was set out for our models, with each model having their own assigned rail, which of course was very organised. I met my lovely model Khatra, who also works for her own business @ KP Aesthetics Clinic. We ran through the outfits to check the order and made sure everything fitted her. The range of designers who were featuring their work in the show was quite varied, and each model even got to wear a stunning wedding dress.
After the fitting, we then moved all of the rails and clothing out of the dressing room and into a room closer to the stage, where the models could make their entrance easier.
9:00 am
At 9 am we had a health and safety induction by Mr Gok himself. Next was the run through, which involved dressing your model as quickly as possible, whilst keeping all of the outfits in order, and putting them back neatly on the rail with their accessories. (Surprisingly this was quite tiresome, but the excitement and adrenaline of getting the model ready on time kept it fun.) After the run through, we then helped set up snacks and drinks in the first dressing room. We had a break, giving ourselves a bit of time to have a snack, take a little look round, take some photos with the flower wall (of course), and meet some of the people involved in the show, including Gok himself (!!!). The models had their hair and make up done in this break too. Meanwhile myself and the other dressers helped to steam some of the garments that were slightly creased. The morning and lunch break passed pretty quickly, and before long we were getting the models ready to go on.
(Ready to go on stage!)
12:50 Pm
We carried out a quick check to make sure all of the outfits were in order, and then it was almost show time! We got the models dressed so that they were ready in their first outfit, and the show began. I felt that the show went really well, myself and my model luckily didn't have any problems with the outfits for the show- so that was the main thing! We had an interval but waited backstage and were able to relax for a while. Then at 1:30 pm the show continued. My only worry for the show was getting my model ready in her wedding gown, as it was a corset back, however the other dressers were there to kindly help me out with this one!
(Backstage with my model Khatra)
4:00 pm
After the show had finished we quickly got our clothes and clothing rails out of the backstage area and back to the room that we first had the fittings in. The designers that had put their collections in for the show were then able to take their pieces back. I took a few more photos with my model and at 4:30 pm the dressers headed back home.
(Flowerwall photo with Amy!)