Well, the week started on Monday with model selection (or "casting" as they said on Project Runway) at the Ukrainian Embassy. Technically I didn't really need to be there, since it's far more important for the clothing designers to pick the girls that will look good in/right for their clothes. But, it was one of our first group Dekka activities, and I was thrilled to go along, since I've never done anything like it before. Not thrilled, however, to be driving in Georgetown on a week night during rush hour. But, that is neither here nor there.
So, since the Ukrainian designers' show was on Tuesday, they had first crack at the models. The system was simple: the girls (and some boys) were called into the room (which I can only assume was some kind of dining room in the Embassy with the tables removed) one at a time, they would walk and pose for us, and the Ukrainians would say "yes" or "no" and that was it. Sometimes they would ask the girls to walk again, sometimes they would ask about their measurements, which caused an issue because of course the girls know their measurements in inches, which means nothing to Europeans. Oh well.
The Ukrainians categorically rejected the short girls. Being a short girl myself, I felt for them. But, it was great for us because lots of the short girls were very pretty and had really great runway walks, so we snatched them up! We had a handful of outfits from two of Dekka's clothing designers with us, so we could do some fitting, but we scheduled the rest of the girls to meet us at the showroom on Thursday for more fittings. I took some vague notes about handbags that I had in stock that could match some of the outfits, and some that I could make to match, but nothing too concrete.
The next day was the actual fashion show at the Ukrainian Embassy, featuring their countrymen only. It was invitation-only and we had one spot for Dekka, so I went to represent the group. I was really excited to go as a spectator, because I've never gone to a fashion show in person before, much less one at an Embassy. I like to think the Embassy thing is a uniquely "DC" spin on fashion week. Anyway - imagine for a moment my fashion emergency. What does one wear to a fashion show? What does one wear to an official event at an Embassy? In my mind's eye, these are two different outfits, for sure. Of course, celebs show up to fashion shows wearing vintage outfits from the designer in question, but that was clearly not an option for me. I finally decided on a short, dark blue denim skirt that I made ages ago, patterned black tights, my new favorite shoes (black suede platform spectators with patent leather laces and a patent leather heel), a bright green V neck shirt with a black V-neck shrunken sweater over it, and a wide black satin sash that I tied around my waist. I also wore dangly earrings in silver and mother-of-pearl dyed bright green, and my all-purpose silver cuff and oversized silver ring. I was pleased, and I felt like I fit in well with the fashion types in attendance, but didn't look too out of place with the Embassy types either.
The show was awesome and I loved a LOT of the looks, most of which were what Nina Garcia would call "editorial." Not real big on the ready-to-wear looks, the Ukrainians. Which was fine with me, because that's what a runway show is all about, right? Crazy outfits that normal people would never wear. Or at least would never wear in the same way the models wear them. For the record, there were a number of individual pieces that I would totally wear in my fantasy life, in which I can afford to buy couture, and also have places to wear couture. Anyway. There was a reception afterwards, and while I was thrilled with the concept of attending a reception at an Embassy, my lack of Russian language skills made mingling kind of a problem. Also, the fact that I had to work the next day, and would therefore be required to drive myself home at a reasonable hour, made "plan b" (drink enough wine to get over language barrier-induced shyness) not really an option.
So! Onward: Thursday night's fitting was honestly the most fun. We all met at the showroom on U Street - three of the four clothing designers, me, and the jewelry designers. We had SO much fun styling all the girls and assigning outfits and all that. It was a little chaotic at first, but my inner meeting planner took over and brought a small measure of order to the system. We took digital pictures of all the girls in different looks, and decided before they even left that night exactly what they were going to wear, and what accessories would go with each look. After the girls left, we met again to make final decisions on the accessories, and on what order the looks would be shown in. The third late night of the week, but who's counting?
Finally we get to Sunday, the big day!!! My day started off at Staples where I made copies of our line sheets to pass out to everyone, and unfortunately I made the tactical error of only having tea and toast for breakfast. We'll get to that later. I had spent part of Saturday making a few new bags for the show, based on the decisions we made at the Thursday fitting. One of our looks was a beautiful dress made out of bright pastel sari fabric, and I made an evening clutch in the candyland fabric to go with it. Another look featured a crocheted bikini top in dark earth tones with bright red accents. The model was going to wear bright red patent leather heels, so I made an envelope clutch in bright red canvas and the wave fabric for the lining. They were both perfect!
Anyway, we got to the French Embassy around 1 pm, and honestly there wasn't a whole lot to be done. We needed to find five more models - two of ours didn't show up and then three of the dresses were really hard to fit and we didn't find anyone for them on Thursday. That plus setting up took a maximum of two hours, so by 3 pm my stomach was making scary noises and I was feeling more than a little woozy from lack of sleep, lack of eating, and pure anxiety. Ack! A quick trip on to M Street fixed the eating problem, but not the sleeping and anxiety problem. Two things about that experience: (1) Now I remember why I never go into Georgetown anymore...the traffic is beyond horrible. I don't even want to talk about it. (2) I have never gotten more dirty looks than I did that afternoon when I walked into the makeshift dressing room filled with hungry and irritated models with my Chipotle bag. Anyway.
Finally, 6:30 rolls around and it is time to get started. There were still girls in makeup, but we were not panicking because all of our girls were ready, and Dekka was the 12th show (or "scene") to go on anyway, so no rush. I had been warned about the chaos and the madness backstage, but honestly we were so prepared, and we did so much planning ahead, AND there were so many of us, that it really wasn't a problem. Nearly all of our girls were dressed ahead of time with plenty of time to spare; only 3 out of 20 were in the show right before ours, and with so many of us to help them get dressed and keep everyone else (literally) in line, it went off without a hitch. I got to see a little bit of the show on the monitor backstage, but not much, because as soon as the girls came off the runway, we had to help them get undressed again so they could get ready for the next scene. Also, my job was to keep track of all the accessories, so I had to collect earrings and necklaces and put the handbags away and all that. Hopefully I will soon have official photos to share from the show!
Afterwards, there was cleanup and packing and schmoozing and interviews and what not, but mostly, I was thinking about taking my shoes off and getting into bed, I won't lie. I met some photographers, makeup artists and some press people, all of whom I'm sure we will be using for the multiple Dekka grand opening parties/events. The whole experience was totally exhausting and totally amazing!!! It's been a long time since I lived through a full week of completely new experiences...sure it made me tired, but it made me so happy as well. :)
I promise to share photos as soon as I have them!
Labels: dekka, events, fashion, tired
