After New York Fashion Week wrapped, I found myself in a bit of a funk. Truly, my life felt boring. One day, I came across a listing on LinkedIn from CLD PR asking for volunteers for various events for Bridal Fashion Week, and, obviously, I had to apply. A few days later, I received an email saying I had been selected to work the Naama & Anat Runway Show.
On the morning of the show, I woke up pretty ecstatic. I could not wait to participate in another fashion show. As a personal rule, I try to put my most glamorous foot forward, so getting ready typically involves curling my hair, putting on my favorite red lipstick, and applying false eyelashes. When I was done getting ready, I looked in the mirror and felt ready to conquer the world.
When I arrived at the Metropolitan Pavilion, the beautiful venue for the event, I was assigned typical runway show tasks, such as setting up front-of-house and guiding models on where they need to go. At one point, I was even handed twenty bucks and asked to go buy water. In a moment of downtime, the runway show producer came up to me and just said, "come with me." I was somewhat confused, but I followed, thinking she was going to assign me to another task. The next thing I knew, another volunteer and I were standing in front of Naama, the designer herself. The producer said to the designer, "which one?" Naama looked the other girl and me up and down and said, "They're both stunning, you choose." To which the producer promptly answered, "this one." She said this pointing at the other girl. Within seconds, she was dressed in a bridal gown and asked to walk the show. I was shocked when I realized that I was considered to walk in the show. Even though the producer picked the other volunteer, the sheer fact that a designer called me stunning gave me all the confidence I needed for the entire month.
During the actual show, I worked as a dresser and helped models quick change from one gorgeous wedding dress to another. I found myself amazed at the detailing in the dresses, and was totally picking the one I would want for my wedding in my head (even though, that's not happening any time soon). Most of the dresses included beautiful lace and beading, and each had a unique take on what we know to be classic wedding dresses. I knew I would be going home and adding all of them to my Pinterest board as soon as the show wrapped.
This show was the first time I had to work backstage, and though, I love watching the shows, I found backstage work to be thrilling. There is an adrenaline rush that comes with having to help a model change from one look to another in under a minute. The fact that it was bridal show made these changes even harder, as many of the looks came with veils and capes. Because the gowns were couture, we had to be even more careful when handling them. Not to mention that all various snaps, zippers, and hooks and eyes made it complicated to get in and out of the dresses in a timely manner. Of course, we pulled of our changes and the show was a success.
At the end of the day, I felt happy. I gained a lot from the experience and added another skill to my resume. I had missed out on what could have been a true movie moment, but was glad that I gained more experience in the field I want to enter. Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll spontaneously get to have my New York runway debut, but until then I'll just enjoy being behind the scenes.
XOXO,
Kristin
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