The Catwalk of Your Life?

The other day I was thinking about my time as a catwalk model and how, in those days, each designer fashion show had a bridal finale.  No matter what the collection was like, it culminated in a bridal dress finishing the show and every model vied for the opportunity to be the bride as it was literally the icing on the cake of the show.  It would be the most beautiful, the most expensive and most coveted dress in the show and it was the ultimate compliment to be chosen as you were inevitably photographed with the designer as you escorted him or her off the catwalk after their curtain call.  

I had the good fortune to be a bride in many fashion shows and it made me think what it must feel like on a bride’s wedding day to have that experience for the first, and hopefully last, time!  How many women wear a long dress, high heels, a veil, carry a bouquet and have the eyes of their friends and family on them down the aisle and the rest of the day?  The bride is the star of the show just like a designer catwalk show and she, above anyone else, wants to glide down the aisle seamlessly with confidence, elegance and great posture.  But where do you go to get this kind of advice? 

Well, I’ve spent years being a model and years training young girls who want to be a model and I thought brides to be are under even more pressure than young models to look great in their wedding gown, heels, veil, with cameras coming at them from every angle throughout the whole day.  This is a lot of pressure for someone who may not have worn heels and a long dress before.  Even models who have done a bit of modelling would struggle with this kind of pressure with the eyes of friends and family watching their every move.  Then you have to pose for the photos and look at them for the rest of your life…whether you like them or not!  What you may not realise is that you have quite a bit of control over the outcome of your photos if you know a few simple techniques of the professionals.  It can make all the difference between a good photo and an awful one and if you know your best angle, you can offer that up to the photographer instead of the photographer trying to find it for you are under pressure with time constraints and hungry guests.

So, instead of having the same kind of hen party, invite me to spend a couple hours with you and your bridesmaids and girlfriends.  We will learn how to walk in high heels elegantly and without pain,  how to pose for the camera, techniques for staying calm no matter what goes wrong and how to enjoy every moment of your special day.  We will have a lot of laughs, learn lots and you will go home feeling and looking better with no headache in the morning!

www.thebridalcoach.moonfruit.com

Model heels.

So here I am in New York running around in ballet pumps.  Very comfortable and perfectly acceptable in fashion circles when I get on a lift in the fashion district and am dwarfed by a gaggle of 6’4″ women towering over me.  As I am 5’11” myself, I am not a shrinking violet!   

It seems that the word lift actually lives up to its name in more ways than one.  It is also the place to increase your stature if you are on your way to a casting for a fashion show.  A small army of women, also known as models,  run up and down 7th Avenue in sensible shoes until they get on the lift on the way to a casting and out come the 7 inch heels…preferably Christian Louboutin.  You know the ones with the red soles…very Sex and the City.  No matter what you are wearing to a casting in New York…jeans, short skirts, shorts, dresses,  you must have the obligatory 7 inch heels to put on before you go in and see the casting director. It would appear that the more successful you are, the better make of shoe and Louboutins seem to be the epitome.

These long-legged, willowy, unnaturally tall and lean young women just can’t get enough of their Louboutins.  They glide in and out of casting rooms as if they have a sign on them saying  ‘I am a model’ .  The unmistakable and improbable Amazonian women wear these heels as if they were born with them and thank goodness for that or else there would be a lot of casualties! 

They then come out of the casting, gently remove their shoes and lovingly place them back in the shoe bag and original box.  They dig out a pair of trainers or ballet pumps and come back down to reality and get ready for the next dash down 7th Avenue.

The interesting thing is how 7 inches can make you feel so different in less than 7 seconds!  I watch these young women go from gawky, bouncy, uncoordinated girls next door to graceful, gliding muses of designers in seconds and realise that fashion really is just smoke and mirrors.

New York Fashion Week

 

BRYANT PARK TENTS IN NYC

Ok…you know I am in New York covering Fashion Week and you are probably wondering why I have been so quiet.  Well, I got off the plane and hit the ground running trying to keep up with Anna Cleveland while she attended fittings, castings and shows.  It has been a busy few days and I have so much to tell you that I don’t know where to begin! 

We have been to castings for Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren.  Fittings for Zac Posen and Barbara Tfank.  Shows for Diane von Furstenberg, Tuleh, Zac Posen and Barbara Tfank and the it’s only Tuesday morning. 

This year there is a new kid on the block for hosting shows and presentations.  It’s called Milk Studios and it’s in the meat packing district…very trendy.  Rumour has it that MAC Cosmetics has moved it’s sponsorship from the tents to Milk and when you arrive at Milk this week it says MAC & Milk Studios.   It is very well equiped with technical equipment, small and large studios, great views and friendly staff and is certainly giving Bryant Park a run for its money.

The good news for everyone is that the fashion pack is out in force and looking good.  I’ve spotted Anna Wintour, Hamish Bowles, Suzy Menkes and Hilary Alexander to name a few.  They have been feverishly writing and sketching during the shows and seem to be enjoying themselves.  And Miss Jay Alexander is in town styling some of the fashion show walking and looking good but more on that later.

As I said earlier, I have so much to tell you that this is just the start and I have been filming  when no one was looking so watch this space for some interesting clips…

Pat Cleveland…the first supermodel.

Since my last post about Anna Cleveland, the daughter of Pat Cleveland, I thought you would be interested to learn more about Pat, not only the mother of Anna but the queen of the catwalk in the 70s and 80s.  I loved being on the catwalk with Pat because she always raised the bar.  She was dramatic, fluid, seamless, bird-like, delicate, powerful and the epitome of a catwalk model. 

My definition of a good catwalk model is that we are actors without lines.  It is our job to convey a feeling without being able to verbalise what that feeling is.  When we are on the catwalk, it is our job to sell the clothes. 

OK…you get pampered, get your hair done, get your make up done, get given champagne, treated like a princess, maybe even get some clothes or accessories as a treat but the most important and only reason you are there is to sell the clothes! 

Pat did this beautifully without the audience even knowing what was going on.  When she glided down the catwalk the audience was mesmerised, hypnotised, not able to take their eyes off her and consequently Pat did 100s of shows and was the muse of many designers.

Every time she came out in a different outfit, she interpreted that outfit breathed life into an otherwise lifeless garment.  That’s a supermodel and for my money Pat was the first!