10 Steps to Creating a Fashion Show

1. 10 Steps to Creating a Fashion Show By: Danyelle Brevard

2. Step 1: Assemble A Team • Strength in numbers • You can't pull off an event as large as a fashion show by yourself. Surround yourself with: • ·         an advertiser • ·         a graphic designer • ·         a make-up artist • ·         an emcee • ·         a wardrobe specialist • ·         a cleanup crew • ·         a dj • ·         ...and plenty of supportive friends. • Don't worry about filling your team with the area's best talent; simply recruit friends and family. Remember that every job you haven't assigned to someone else will fall to you. The more organized your team, the smoother your show will be.

3. Step 2: Choose A Venue • Location, Location, Location • The venue for your show should be large enough to hold a sizeable audience and a runway. You may have to get creative as you consider local theaters, schools, community centers and parks.  • If you can't find a venue where you can construct a traditional runway, simply use an existing stage. Models can walk to the center of the stage just as easily as they can walk to the end of a runway. • Example of a non-traditional venue: In these photos, taken by Alyssa of FashionTheLike, models walk the runway for IADT student designers in a local shopping mall. Makes sense to see new clothes where you'd buy new clothes!

4. Step: 3 Theme • A fashion show needs a cohesive theme to not only hold it together but also to hold the attention of its audience for a duration of 15 to 30 minutes. Your fashion selections, for instance, might reflect a specific season or activity, focus on the work of one designer or fashion school, cater to a specific age group or utilize unique materials. If your show is held in conjunction with another event, the respective themes should be compatible.

5. Step 4: Decide on the Clothing • Beg, borrow-- just don't steal! • Gather the clothing you will feature in your show. Fashion designers should select the best looks from their upcoming collections, making sure each look is complete with coordinating accessories and shoes. Others can borrow new clothing for free by approaching clothing stores and designers with sponsorship packages a minimum of six months before the fashion show. Have your graphic artist create a digital or paper sponsor package that features your fashion show theme, what kinds of clothing you plan to feature, a brief bio page of the team members behind the show and the goals of the show. Include the mission statement of the organization behind the show if the show is for charity. Tell them you will give them publicity in your promotional materials in exchange for clothing or accessories. Approach fashion designers with a clear idea of the type of outfit or outfits you would like to receive. Approach them in person or by phone, chat up your show and the fact that you would love to feature their clothing in your show. Ask them if they would like to help you put on a great show and get publicity for fashion house in the process. Leave them a copy of your sponsor package if they need time to think about it, then email them the next day to follow up and remind them what a great opportunity for publicity participating in your fashion show would be. Collect each article of clothing, shoes or accessory item from participating stores or designers. Place each outfit including shoes and accessories in garment bags that you will hang on garment racks. During the show leave all tags on the clothes, and afterward return everything promptly exactly as you received it.

6. Step 5: Expenses •  If your fashion show requires extras such as special lighting, runway carpeting and backdrops, sound systems or printed programs, you'll need to factor those expenses into your ticket prices or find sponsors to underwrite the costs. The latter is fairly easy if you can identify business owners and organizations that recognize their donations as both a tax write-off and an opportunity for good publicity. Additional budget costs may include hairstyling, makeup, dry-cleaning and promotional items such as flyers and posters.

7. Step 6 - Get Sponsorship • Obtain sponsorship for your show. Call decision makers at corporations you want sponsorship from a minimum of six months before the fashion show. Talk about your show, the types of clothing you will feature and demographic you plan to attract. Give them your sponsor package and ask them directly in for their support, being specific about the type of support you want to obtain and what you can offer in return. Types of sponsorship you could ask for include cases of free champagne for an adults only fashion show and free printing services from a local printing company in exchange for prominent placement of their logo on your promotional materials.

8. Step 7: Find Models • Someone's got to walk the walk • Many young people in high school and college are willing to serve as models. All you have to do is ask them. • You might be surprised at the response you get by simply posting an ad on craigslist.com or spreading the word at a local college. You may also get professional models to help you out for free by promising photos for their portfolio.  • Sometimes, models can be found on social networking sites-- either general sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, or model-specific social sites like ModelXpress.com. 

9. Step 8: Plan Your Show • Practice makes perfect • Before the show, fit your models to the clothing they will wear and take photographs. • Then, print out the pictures and attach them to outfits in the order the models will wear them. This way, on the night of the show, the models know exactly what they're supposed to wear and when they're supposed to appear.  • You should also time your rehearsals to make sure the show runs no longer than 20 minutes.  • If you're using amateur models, you will probably have to spend your rehearsals coaching them on walking down the runway and striking poses.

10. Step 9: Market Event • Market your event, if appropriate. If you're raising money for charity, you'll want to entice as many people as possible to attend. Create a slogan or theme, and create fliers describing your fashion show and where the money will be going. Hang them in store windows and create a website for maximum coverage. Enlist the help of ticket sellers in different areas for maximum sales potential. Sell tickets priced with your demographic in mind. Determine your refund policy beforehand for those who buy tickets but are unable to attend the show. Send all invites and submit all press releases to the media at least six weeks before the show.

11. Step 10: Keep the Show Moving • Fashion waits for no one • If you follow all of these steps, your show should almost run itself-- that is, until wardrobes start to malfunction, set pieces come loose and models call in sick. Check in with each member of your team early on the day of the show to make sure everything is in order and everyone has what they need to fulfill their duties for the day. Show up at least three hours early to the venue to oversee any last minute details, give press interviews and attend to photo opportunities, then relax and enjoy the show. After the show, relax! Your clean-up crew is taking care of everything. Have goodie bags or baskets ready for your team after the show, and take them out for dinner and champagne--fashion shows are hard to pull off smoothly, they deserve it! In the days after your show ends, don't forget to send thank-you notes to sponsors and donors (and don't forget to return any products you may have borrowed for the show in perfect condition). Good work!