IFW: Amsterdam
“ Fashion weeks occur simultaneously worldwide with both On and Off Schedule shows taking place, so on that basis I was approaching a completely new experience”
Following my experiences on the styling team at Milan Fashion Week and after twice managing backstage at London Fashion Week, I felt it was time to step it up a notch. I've always loved the idea of jetting off between clients and collaborating with creatives overseas to start and finish the day in different countries, speaking different languages. Maybe it speaks to my inquisitive and bilingual sides (English is my first language but I also speak Spanish and Polish).
My first important step was deciding on where my next international work experience and network expansion was going to come from. Fashion weeks occur simultaneously worldwide with both On and Off Schedule shows taking place so on that basis I was approaching a completely new experience, I thought it best to get in contact with designers and organisations running Off Schedule shows..these featured more emerging, undiscovered talents that were more in need of (or willing to have) extra assistance backstage. After doing some research into various options, I opted for Amsterdam. A city I had visited a number of times, with the positive energy and overall vibe there, it seemed like a perfect choice.
Once Amsterdam was chosen as the destination for my next international fashion adventure, I went about researching the different shows available. I came across the IFWA (International Fashion Week Amsterdam), run by Houda El Fechka Eddiouane, head designer of haute couture brand 'Houda E Official' and was drawn by the fact that they held shows in multiple major cities around the world including New York, Paris, Dubai and London. There was a lot of attraction in the idea of potentially building my network and experience beyond this one opportunity so I bit the bullet, sent an email to Houda expressing my interest in joining the show team and awaited a reply.
After what felt like a lifetime (actually only 4 days), I got a response informing me that Houda and the team would welcome me and that the next step would be to arrange a face to face meeting at her office in Amsterdam. With the green light given, I went about searching for the right deal on flights and accommodation. Once I'd booked everything, I communicated everything to Houda and the meeting date and time were confirmed. Before I knew it, travelling day had arrived. As the show was scheduled for mid March, I wanted the meeting to happen before the end of the year so there would be sufficient time to make the necessary arrangements. This proved to be a good strategy as organising work plans on an international basis takes another level of planning compared to that on projects closer to home. On the morning of the meeting, having picked out and steamed my clothes the night before, I woke up with a good feeling about the day. That positive energy was matched upon arrival at the IFWA office and discussing everything, my intuition was enthused into reassurance that this was a good career decision.
Fast forward 3 months, times had changed and a new air of uncertainty hovered over the event like a dark cloud. The unwelcome introduction of Covid-19 at the start of the year had meant that by the time we reached the date, we didn't even know if government regulations would allow us to go ahead with it or not. The night before my flight, after much deliberation on her part, I received a call from Houda stating that local restrictions prevented anyone from holding a public event unless they kept numbers below 50 people. Anyone who knows the dynamics of a fashion show knows this would be damn near impossible as 50 people could easily cover the backstage team alone, not to mention attending guests! I then had a choice to make, either withdraw from the team hoping to reclaim my place at a later opportunity or travel regardless and help produce the best results possible. I'm very much a 'time is now' kind of person so I chose the latter. In my eyes, we still had designers who travelled from the other side of the world and even though our 2 day catwalk showcase was out of the question, we were still able to produce some great content with them in an editorial context. For me, there were simply more pros than cons.
Upon arrival, there was no time to settle in relaxingly, it was straight to the World Fashion Centre to meet with the team one last time before the shoot. There wasn't much left for me to do in terms of preparation but I was tasked with finding an extra make up artist last minute. I had worked with a few on previous projects so I reached out to them and luckily one was available. Shoot day #1 was split between the decadent walls of 'Twenty Seven Boutique Hotel' and Dam Square. 10 models were respectively assigned a member of the glam squad before being dressed by myself in one of 4 collections which all ranged in style from high end haute couture to sports luxe leisurewear.
Shoot day #2, more of a Ecom setup, took place in a photography studio outside of Amsterdam. As the second show day was planned to be dedicated to kidswear, so was the shoot. From the ages of 4 to 18, these kids were again treated to hair and make up (with a more age appropriate tone) and I dressed them in their designer apparel. I enjoyed working with the younger generation equally as much as their elders in the previous day’s line up, they all did a great job of modelling the contrasting collections.
After 2 full days, my spirits were still high as my physical exhaustion was combated with the pride I felt from stepping out of my comfort zone once more, building on my experience and expanding my network. I love to combine fashion and travel as much as I can and I arrived home safely ahead of lockdown, it was worth every second!
