The highlight of a fashion week for every designer is – of course – the runway show. During these 15 to 20 minutes everybody’s attention is focused on the collection!
High Tension and Great Expectations
The philosophy of my designer Alexandra for her collection is “Travel Through Life” – and as far as these clothes are concerned – well, they really are travelling forth and back through Berlin this week!
Three hours before the scheduled time of the show, the team has to be ready in the backstage fitting room. Everything is amazingly calm – the models are having dinner (yes, they do eat!!) and our team has time to put together the looks and add the accessories and shoes. And the shoes are big trouble! The models have big feet, and at the end of a long day, their feet are even bigger. Size 40 to 41 are a struggle and baby powder desperately needed.
Careful preparation and triple checking are compulsory because we also have to work with people of the show organization and everything has to be co-ordinated.
Count-down
The pressure starts to rise from the moment when the models are getting hair and make-up done and the start of the show is only about 30 minutes away. Time is running but the models are not yet ready to get dressed – and once they are ready, everybody wants to get dressed at the same time. The four of us had to dress twenty models for the first stint, and the pieces for the second stint had to be brought right behind the stage where the models would have to change in no time and little illumination – a tough call. I had to change a huge belt (which I had bought 20 years ago in Amalfi!) three times and another belt (from Positano – 20 years back) twice. I was running on high-heels – as usual!
Sigh of Relief
After 15 minutes the show was over! No accidents, no damages – everything went well, and we were so relieved. But instead of celebrating, we first had to pack everything again…
Once we could relax, we felt how tired we actually were. Our celebration was far away from having a party – we drove back to the Adlon Hotel and settled in the Lobby for a drink and some food.
On Thursday morning, Chantal had to leave, and the three of us had to work in the show room and prepare another four looks for a salon show of the Green Showroom in the Adlon Hotel. After the excitement of our own runway show the night before, this small event was an easy thing to manage…