So it wasn’t a week, shoot it wasn’t even a whole hour but it was fabulous.

My work has put together an event for the last two years called ACE (Arts Charity Extravaganza) to benefit local charities. For the most part the event is choreographed by different students from the International Community through the InterKom youth program my work helps facilitate. But this year when there weren’t enough students into the fashion aspect of the program who did they call?

Well they didn’t call Ghost Busters!

Just call me Fashionista.

Although I haven’t been in Shanghai long, I have managed to get a handle on the shopping/fashion scene here. I may not know much but clothing I know.

When my co-worker approached me I jumped at the opportunity! I was born to do this!

Needing to fill our hour slot with cute clothes I wasted not time calling the stores I frequented to see who would let us borrow clothes for this charity event.

First, I went to American Apparel, knowing that they cater to the expat community and that they make super cute clothes, I hoped they would let us have a few looks. And they did!! They provided us 9 very FUN looks to display on the catwalks.

Second I got a designer named Chloe Chen. She owns a few boutiques here in Shanghai and is really good friends with a friend of a friend of mine. (Ahhh connections!) Needless to say she has amazing clothes and she let us borrow 10 looks for the Fashion Show.

Her clothes were my favorite: girly cute and flirty. Quite the opposite of the industrial,punk and funky styles of American Apparel but the contrast was perfect!

In my mind I had it all figured out, when the girls came out to American Apparel the music would be

more rock and roll and Hip Hop like The Darkness and Estelle. For Chloe, I would have romantic and pop music like Britney and Katie Perry.

After getting the clothes, the fittings began. And as much fun as it is to hang out with a bunch of 18 year old skinny girls by the end of the fittings I was very ready to get the girls on the runway! That my friends, was the best part of this whole experience. Getting to see very novice models walk down the runway, classic! Some were afraid of heals, some had gone to modeling school, some… I just don’t have words! They were all gorgeous and a size negative 12, some of the boys in the office couldn’t help but stare! But when they hit the runway I nearly hit the floor, or should I say, they nearly did! I had to channel my inner Tyra and try to get these girls to own the runway!

The night before the show, we did a few run throughs and fittings but I was nervous. A colleague of mine was going to DJ the event (using the music styles listed above) but the girls were walking too fast, or getting nervous, thus making me nervous and the music was not working like I planned. By the end of the run throughs I was scared that maybe we weren’t prepared enough.

But the show must go on! And we had no more rehearsal time left.

So early on Saturday morning I put on my bright yellow Anna Sui dress, my long black wool cardigan, and my gladiator stilettos (those DID NOT last, I had to put on my ballerina flats on) and hailed a cab headed to LOFT, the location of the fashion show.

The cab quickly delivered me to the show site and I found that I was arriving around the same time as all the models! (Even with no makeup they looked stunning… not fair.) Quickly we headed up, and began the hair and make up process. It was fun!

We did one full run through before the event and I was pleased at, with no effort on my part really, everything had come together over night. Maybe it was the hair, or the make up, or the clothes but the girls had really gotten it together! I felt like a proud mother. But I knew that nothing was final until they hit the runway with audience in toe.

My stomach was spinning. Even though no one would really see me or know I had anything to do with the show, I was really nervous!

The fashion show was scheduled to begin about 30 minutes after the entire event began… and as quickly as you can imagine my thirty minutes were up and the Fashion Show began!

The thump thump of the music filled the room, the lights lit up the runway and the audience faded into the blackness of dark. And with that the first model walked out and the crowd began to cheer! The friends, family and peers of all the girls were rooting them on, as they made their way down the scary, long white runway in 4-inch heels!

Some of the outfits were risky, some were really fun and some I wouldn’t even wear! But the girls looked great in everything and by the end of the show I felt a weight off of my shoulders knowing that I hadn’t screwed it up royally! (Don’t get me wrong we had some mistakes, delayed beginning, gaps in songs, early entrances… but no one seemed to care and neither did I! It was for Charity!!)

I am now an official veteran of the Fashion scene! And boy did that fashion pump through my veins! As some of my co-workers noted, I was in my element!

2 Comments »

1. 

   I was hoping to get more details about the fashion show. I know its quite an effort to get a group of people to all cooperate with a production. The photos look cool. You probably learned something about putting a show together. There must be some good tips. What did you enjoy the most?
   Thanks for sharing!

   Comment by Susan — April 15, 2009 @ 10:58 am

2. 

   Hey. I was just looking through things about ACE and found your entry. It’s a great one. Brings back a lot of memory. I guess this year’s ACE was a lot of fun as it was last year. (I was also in charge of fashion last year, the one in all black, if you remember?) Things always go out of control but Fiona said that the event went well. I really want to thank you for continuing this and making the event better and better (Especially with getting American Apparel and Chloe Chen. Love Chloe Chen’s clothes too). Trust me, it was hard last year since it was the first year. Who were the judges by the way? Would always like to chat with you. Feel free to drop a mail.

   Comment by CC — July 31, 2009 @ 5:09 pm

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