From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
A Stylist’s Story: Islands of the World Fashion Week (Part Two)
By Tyrina Neely
Nov 19, 2009 - 12:40:16 PM
Murielle Leconte
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Day three - It’s a Wrap
My
cell phone won’t stop ringing - Harry first then Kristina - everyone’s
exhausted and yearning for an extra minute or two of sleep. I oblige -
I could use a few extra minutes myself. By 10:30 am we’re on the road
and at the venue in no time. Let the fun begin!
The
final day of Islands of the World Fashion Week (IWFW) was definitely
the busiest and most hectic for us in the shoe styling department.
There is a mixture of eagerness and exhaustion in the air that makes
everyone a little anxious - especially us.
At
the final hour every designer needs shoes, and the requests are very
specific: “silver 4 inch heels with one strap across the toes and a
very thin ankle strap with no buckle,” even with a great selection it
was impossible to cater to every designer whim - but we did our best.
b-Michael
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For the final day, the designer line-up seemed the heaviest of all the days.
Murielle Leconte - Haiti
ICandy Swimwear - Bahamas
Harl Taylor BAG - Bahamas
Eric Raisina - Madagascar
Guest Designer: b michael
With
some designer shows requiring each model to wear at least two different
looks, the goal was to choose shoes that could do double duty for both
outfits. Eliminating shoe changes made life a little easier for us and
less chaotic for dressers and the models themselves as they scurried
off the runway to the backstage fitting area. It’s enough having
clothes flying everywhere without bringing tens of shoes into the mix.
This
is this part I love the most about working backstage. The adrenaline
rush - everyone’s up in arms about something and it creates a frantic
yet exciting environment that all fashion enthusiasts seem to feed off
of - organized chaos at its best.
Harl Taylor BAG
|
The
part I love least - packing up. After all the chaos comes the somber
task of packing it all up. The shows were done and the producer
gathered everyone to give a vote of thanks. As he ended and the models,
hair stylists, make-up artists and other production staff left, our
work began. Sorting shoes by brand, we combed through hundreds of
pairs, keeping our fingers crossed that few would be damaged and hoping
little to none would be missing. As we worked a model sashayed by and
commented “now the real work begins huh,” and she was right.
However,
to our delight we were done in just over an hour, we hauled the pairs
to my car and made plans to meet up at the after party.
I
dashed home, threw on a little black dress and headed to the IWFW wrap
party. I’ve become somewhat of a little old lady as it relates to
partying lately so after a few ‘tay lay lays’ it was time to head home.
Eric Raisina
|
Fast
forward to Monday - time to return the shoes to Bani Shoe Warehouse.
Styling is a very new idea to local retail companies and the notion of
loaning clothes or accessories for marketing exposure is one they are
very wary of adopting. I was anxious to return the shoes. Every single
pair was thoroughly checked to ensure it appeared brand new. The
process was long, painstakingly repetitive and took a full eight hours
without stopping. In the end, all but two pairs of shoes were accounted
for with very little damaged pairs, a feat in and of itself. After a
pat on the back in the form of a Bamboo Shack combo snack it was all
done.
Months
of preparation culminating in a 10-15 minute runway show. Put those 13
shows together and you have the three day IWFW. It was an absolute
pleasure to be a part of the styling team for this year’s event. Here’s
to the growing Bahamian fashion industry!
Tyrina Neely
Tyrina Talks Fashion is your weekly serving of fashion forecasting,
trend reporting, figure analysis and helpful fashion tips and tricks. Email
Tyrina with your fashion questions and photos at tyrinaalicia@hotmail.com.
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