SHOWTIME: Melbourne Fashion Festival - Day 1 (Part c)

Helen Lee - March 29 2005

After first rehearsals, we're given a quick break and models are ushered into the hair and make up room to get gorgeous. Designers, stylists and their assistants are wondering from rack to rack to tell dressers how to assemble certain outfits with little note about shirts that had to be tucked in or left hanging out, how many buttons had to be done up on shirts and coats, and if bags or bracelets were to be worn on the left or the right side. It might sound a little over the top, but an outfit must look perfect for it's one walk down the catwalk because the images will be on the other side of the world and back again before long.

I get told (by a beautiful guy who works at Willow), that Nicole's 'armour' jacket (ok it was probably not called armour, but it weighed about as much) would be difficult to get on and off, and the arms were made terribly small. Oh and the right arm was smaller than the other. Of course I don't think too much of it, after all Nicole is a model with slim arms. The show's stylists' tells me that Nicole has to get back into the Willow outfit after her last one for the finale. Great, they had to pick the hardest one didn't they? Then I find a red stain on the back of the Karen Walker white shirt and nothing seems to get it off. Make up remover doesn't do the trick so I'm flitting from person to person to find a way to get it off. Finally Richard comes to the rescue! He painstakingly removes the stain with the help of some nail polish remover. My first crisis of the night avoided!

Backstage calms down for about an hour or so, so Jayde and I help ourselves to San Pellegrino water in the hair and make up room and we run into Adelaide and Carlie (which we both met at DJ's last week) lounging around the hair and make up room and we sit around and nibble on some noodles as we chat with everyone. Before long they're both called away to get their hair done so Jayde and I wonder back out to where our racks, which were around the corner from where most of the racks were ' because Nicole and Emily had fast changes, they were given more space so we could get them in and our of outfits easier. I give up on the noodles and wonder off to find something to eat. I got as far as 7 Eleven where I picked up a piece of chocolate cake.

Another hour or so later you can sense the tension in the air grow, news had filtered through that people were arriving and mingling at the pre show party. A lady approaches me with a pretty pair of Costume National shoes and informs me that Nicole must wear the shoes after she's finished the show. Oh and I mustn't lose the shoes too. So now I was babysitting a pair of shoes.

Film crews are filming things for TV shows with local presenters floating around, a photographer floats around Nicole's racks and asks questions about her outfits, a few more snap pictures of the action backstage. They will be kicked out by the production crew before the show starts, because frankly they get in the way and we can't have people filming or taking pictures of model's changing.

Someone mentions that they will be ushering in the crowd into the room in about 15 minutes and the anticipation builds. Everyone backstage is under strict orders not to go outside anymore, it's like being under house arrest! Jayde and I annoy Oscar for a little while to find somewhere high to hang Jayde's/Emily's Collette Dinnigan dress which we had painstakingly steamed, then ironed because the steamer didn't get out the creases. Eventually I come up with the idea of gaffer taping the hanger to the air vent nearby so the dress can hang without the bottom crinkling up when it's sitting on the rack. Every other dresser who has a Collette Dinnigan dress decides it is a great idea so Oscar has to gaffer tape a few more - it's a good thing he's tall!

Continue reading... part d