Behind the Scene

makeup backstage

“Get the boot!” “Somebody help Jerry with the buttons!” “Where’s Sally?! We need her right now! She’s going on the stage in 10 seconds!” Shouts of order were bouncing off of the walls as models left and right were coming on and off of the stage. Being behind the scene of a fashion show for the first time was so exciting. The back scene of a fashion show was something you would have never imagined.

I’ve always wanted to go to a fashion show ever since I got interested in the possibilities of taking my career down that path. Luckily, my cousin who works in the fashion industry and who is one of the top members that organize fashion shows in Korea, managed to bring me to the Adidas Summer collection this summer as her “helper”.

The fashion show was scheduled to start around 8p.m on Saturday night in Kangnam, Seoul. Therefore, my cousin and I (the helper) started the day at 7a.m on an early Saturday morning to start preparing for the show. Well, I was just tagging along to see what and how she managed to do her job; she is the best after all. First, we went to the Kangnam square building, where the show was planned to take place. She managed to draw the place in 3D dimension on her notepad, forming set designs in her head and drawing it on her book. I was really impressed and awestruck by her artistic skills and knew that instant, why she is the best.

killer heels

When 5p.m came around, we went back to Kangnam Square building for the rehearsal. Models too big for my liking started to arrive one by one. This collection was especially interesting because the designer wanted all the models to reach exactly 195cms. Therefore, only female models whose over 180cms and male models who are over 190 were selected in this project. Imagine me amongst the giants, I barely reach 160cms. I tell you, they were not human beings.

Finally, around 7:30, things started to get crazy. My cousin reminded me to stick close with her at all times because the place is going to turn chaotic. The set preparation was done; all the models were ready with their makeup and clothes on. One thing I could never forget at that fashion show was the killer high heels the female models had to wear. The heels were personally designed for each female model in order for them to exactly reach 195cms.

8p.m came around and the show launched off. Doors opened, as the first female model walked down the runway with her killer boots. I observed in amazement as models ran down the hallway towards their booth, changing hastily to next piece of clothing for their next walk on the runway. Models were not the only ones who were busy runny around; hair, makeup artists, and organizers were helping them through the process, making sure that the clothes were put on properly in 8 minutes. The whole scene was a chaos, and visiting fashion show for the very first time in my life, I was bewildered and excited beyond words could describe. Who knows? Maybe, in couple of years, I could be taking my cousin’s footstep.