Working backstage at the Charlotte Ronson Spring 2012 fashion show was by far the most amazing experience during my co-op. I’ve volunteered backstage at small shows before, but nothing could compare to working behind the scenes at Charlotte Ronson. Fashion shows are definitely not all glitz and glamour. Preparing for the show took long hours and hard work. We received multiple shipments of the clothing samples for the runway and our showrooms that had to be sorted, labeled, and checked off on our inventory sheets. As interns, it was our job to help with all the last minute changes. We sourced buttons in the garment district, switched and sewed the buttons, cut lining out of tops and dresses, and dyed various pairs of shoes. We created an emergency runway kit full of matching thread, needles, scissors, tide to go pens, shoe inserts, and lint rollers. At this point, things were just getting started.
The model castings began about two weeks prior to the show with help from Natalie Joos, a well-known casting agent in New York City. We had a schedule of models coming to the office everyday to try on specific looks and be photographed. Charlotte and our stylist, Natasha Royt, looked at each model’s book, which contained all of their information and photographs to decide who had the right look for the show. After they narrowed it down, it was time to confirm if they were available for the day of the show. Two of the confirmed girls were chosen to come in to meet with Natasha to try on different outfits and decide what exactly was going to be shown down the runway. Each look was photographed and posted on boards for the design team to narrow down. We ended up with a total of 39 looks.
Once the models were confirmed, they came into the office to try on some of the outfits, so Natasha and Charlotte could decide who would be wearing what. These were the days that I helped dress the models, took pictures, and made the model cards. Every model received a poster stating their name and showing the pictures of the exact look that they would be wearing on the runway. The cards explained exactly how to put on the entire outfit including shoes and accessories. These model cards were extremely helpful on the day of the show because they made sure everyone who was backstage was on the same page in regards to dressing each model.
The day of the show was extremely stressful. About fifteen minutes after everyone met at the office, there was a power outage and a water leak. In a panic, the employees and interns packed up the entire collection and had everything ready to go the venue in a matter of minutes. We all headed straight to the Lincoln Center and had hours of down time before we could head backstage. Once the clothes arrived, everyone headed backstage where we separated the garment bags on racks. There were two to three models assigned to each rack, and the dressers spread out their looks and made sure everything was ready to be put on quickly. All of the interns helped dress the models and lined them up according to their look. In a matter of ten minutes, the show was over and we were all finally able to breathe! Although the Charlotte Ronson fashion show was stressful, I loved every minute of it.
View the complete collection online at http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/S2012RTW-CRONSON
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