I officially survived my first runway show as a designer!!! Granted I only had to design and construct two looks, but still, it was a huge accomplishment for me!!! The Recyled Fashion Show was hosted by Bridge House, which is a New Orleans non-profit long-term alcoholism and drug addiction treatment center. Bridge House owns multiple thrift stores around the New Orleans area, and each designer was given a $75 voucher valid at the Bridge House Thrift Store to purchase and repurpose their designs. There were 30 designers with two designs each for a total of 60 outfits that would be auctioned off with 100% proceeds going to charity. The designer had the choice of presenting in two categories: Ready to Wear, which was purchased straight off the rack, or Couture, which garments were deconstructed and then redesigned and reconstructed. I entered both of my garments in the Couture category. I developed a concept first, and I geared it toward the Bridge House treatment facility and their efforts in the community. My theme was Darkest before Dawn; one look represented the Darkest Hour, and the second look represented the Dawn. I developed an inspiration page with the ideas surrounding each look, and the sketches are here, here, and here that coincided with each inspiration. And HERE is the final product!!! This pic was documented in the New Orleans Times Picayune on the front page seen here, above the fold! My models and myself were pictured with the article on the front page, and they included information about my “Darkest Hour” piece, which received the highest auction bid out of all 60 designs!! All in all it was a huge success for me; I was SUPER stressed out for about two weeks leading up to the event, and I can’t even describe the level of nerves the day of the show, but it was all worth it. I also did the hair and make-up for the models (which wasn’t exactly in the plans, but actually worked out very close to my make-up inspiration images here, and here). I had so much fun, and even felt a twinge of a taste of a project runway type atmosphere…and there’s so much more I can run my mouth off about…but all in all, I was able to help donate my time and raise money for a great cause, and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT, and it reassures me that I’m headed in the right direction!!!!
