Tuesday 16 August 2011

"Talk with the London"

Travelled to Hangzhou for the Spring 2012 GMXY show last Thursday. The bus ride to the fitting was about 2 1/2 hours long. Twilight was playing on a screen at the front so the trip went by quickly. There were 20 models in total, around 15 of them being Chinese  and at least 5 11" I was by far the shortest of them all.

We arrived at around 4pm and went straight to the fitting. They put us in show order and numbered us off (I was 6th). There were 90 outfits in total so the first 10 girls had 5 changes, we were photographed in each our outfits and 5 hours later left for the hotel. The place we were staying was in a secluded peaceful area surrounded by trees. It was a resort style hotel so my roommate Julia from Russia and myself had to walk a fair way from the main building to our room where 2 comfy beds in a quaint apartment were awaiting us. 

The next morning we woke early to make the Chinese style buffet breakfast in time. The show itself was in the same vicinity as the hotel so it was a short walk from breakfast to the venue, GMXY signs labelled "Talk with the London" leading the way. Walking into the auditorium I see dozens of Chinese men running around working on different parts of the union jack shaped stage, and the skyline style backdrop. It was then that I knew it was going to be a fun show.


Straight into rehearsals we're given 2 choreographed walks for the different collections. The first 6 which I was lucky enough to be in opened and closed the show. Once we had gone through what each of us was required to do we then played the waiting game.
All the models spread out amongst the venue and either had a nap, skyped their friends or went for a smoko until we were summoned for a not so appetizing lunch.


Once we had eaten (or picked at in my case) we were ushered into hair and makeup. The rest of the afternoon went relatively quickly I had a book to keep me entertained and chatted  with one of the other models about her travels around the globe. Before I knew it people were starting to arrive and the 7:30pm start time was getting closer. 


The show itself took 50 minutes but to me it felt like 5. The time spent on the catwalk is sort of an adrenaline infused blur, as soon as were backstage and out of the audiences view it's all shoes flying off and unbuttoning of pants as we run back to our dressers in preparation for our next look. Im glad there were 20 models in-between me and my next outfit there were definitely a few moments where my dresser had tangled clothes and didn't have things ready. But all in all the show went smoothly and was a lot of fun. Although fashion shows don't pay as well as catalogues they are definitely my favourite. Walking down that catwalk with hundreds of eyes on you, all you can see and hear are cameras flashing and the beat of the music. The feeling is indescribable.
 

1 comment:

  1. the brown things in the lunch look deep fried insects.. delicious

    ReplyDelete