Alyssa documented her days in New York leading up to Sara’s show…
It is my first working day in New York with Sara. I arrived at the hotel at 9am to go over our list of jobs to accomplish for the day. Today is mostly a waiting game. I have a few errands: buying hangers & lint rollers, coffee runs, getting organizing supplies (it’s easier and more cost effective to buy some things here in NY instead of bringing them with us), but it is mostly down time for me today taking notes, shooting photos, and watching as we roll through appointments. I guess you could say it is the calm before the storm. Even though I have confidence that Sara and I are very prepared, after everything is settled and resolved tonight, the ball will be running in the morning and we will be running around trying to get things finished.
The first appointment of the day was the stylist. We have been sending her photos during the whole collection process, so she already has a good idea of the inspiration and what Sara is looking for in terms of styling. The stylist went through all of the looks putting garments together to make complete outfits. She also talked with Sara about other pieces she thinks we would need.
Shoes are another important styling element. Sara and the stylist agreed upon what style of shoe, color, height for the collection (Aldo is going to sponsor us with shoes). Once the decision was made about the shoe, we just needed to check shoe sizes of the models we are casting and go pick them up.
The next appointment we had was hair and makeup. The hair and the makeup team arrived along with a model to discuss how Sara would like the hair to look for the show. Our stylist was also present to add her input and a few extra ideas. It is a team effort and everyone’s input matters. Sara sat down with each team showing them her collection and talking a bit about her inspiration and what she would like to see on the runway. Then each team provided some feedback as they worked through the look until they agreed on a hairstyle and makeup look that worked for everyone. It went smooth as each team seemed to be on the same page. Once the look for hair and makeup was approved, we jotted down notes, took photos and the team moved on to another designer.
And last but not least the models start to come in. Sara had sifted through model cards yesterday to find girls that fit the story of the girl, kind of like her muse. She had a certain type of girl in mind looking through cards to find the right look. Once she chose girls from those cards, the models bookers were called to set up a times for casting. During the model castings, Sara has each girl try on a couple of outfits and then decides which girl is perfect for each look depending on the way the garment fits to her body type, hair color, skin color, height, and so on. We go through each look in the collection until an outfit or two is paired with a model. I organize the racks and looks by creating a card for each with the model information, listed garments, shoes, and any special instructions for dressing the model backstage. We plan on casting models multiple days until we have the models for the entire collection (we are going to use about 12 models – most girls will have one outfit change backstage at the show) and maybe a backup in case someone does not show up.
Another important task set in motion today is the recreating of the board. Since the collection is being styled, garments being jumbled around, and models are being paired with an outfit, a new board is being developed. Each day after model castings, I run out to print the photos from the castings that day. We photograph each of the girls who are being considered for a look – it’s amazing how different a look can be on a different girl. The board will change up until the day of the show, but each day we can add something to the board and move outfits/models around as we cast each model.
We will see what day two brings us tomorrow…
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