How to Organize a Fashion Show

Fashion shows are fun events that showcase a designer’s creativity and provide a quick look at their latest upcoming collection. Organizing such an upscale event requires careful and intense planning and an experience of the working of the fashion industry. If you have been tasked with organizing one such event, here are some tips that will help you in emerging victorious.

The Venue

Choosing the right venue is crucial for a successful event. The venue needs to be in sync with the spirit of the event as well as in an upscale location as per the standards of the attendees as mostly the audience of such events is high profile people. Do keep into consideration ample parking space, easy accessibility, back stage capacity etc. too.

The Timing

Timing is extremely important for fashion shows. Decide on an appropriate and suitable date after consultation with all the designers. Thereafter coordinate with the models and make-up artists as very few of them are available on short notice. So if you want the best for your show, plan well in advance.

The Theme

Deciding an appropriate theme can be a very challenging decision. The theme must justify the show and the clothes and blend in smoothly. A theme is extremely important for an effective fashion show, so spend enough time to think of one and execute it accordingly. The decor, stage, make-up etc should then be accordingly decided. Remember the decor should be such that it does not distract people from looking at the show.

The Team

Build a core team of 5-7 people and assign them important areas to focus on. These members should be experts in their fields. For e.g. choose someone who can supervise backstage makeup and choreography, another for lights, someone for the stage decor, music equipment etc. This way the work will be neatly organised and delegated.

The Music

Fashion shows are high drama events and music forms an important element of such shows. The music needs to match the mood of the show and should not look out of place with the decor, theme and clothes.

The Rehearsals

Fashion shows require a tremendous amount of coordination and smooth planning among the various departments. Therefore remember to keep adequate time for rehearsals so that the models are familiar with the stage and you are able to supervise the clothes, make-up, lighting and music. The rehearsals do not have to take place at the actual venue every time except for the last few times and a day or 2 before the show.

The Seating

Arrange the seating around the catwalk. The catwalk area can be a just a strip of floor but elevated ramp is the norm.

The Invites

Make 1 full and few separate check lists of VIPs, Guests, Buyers and Media so that no important people are left out. The invites should be well designed and must communicate the essence of the show. The designing is important as the invites are an important element for creating the first impression. The press must definitely be invited so a buzz can be created before and after the event and the event enjoys good coverage.

You might consider sending e-invitation as well and do your bit to save paper. A good resource for the same can be found here: EventEve Masquerade Invitations »
The intense hard work and chaos that goes behind organizing fashion shows gets hidden by the glitz and glamour of the final event. The above tips are sure to help you plan and produce a successful and well organised show that would be talked about in the fashion circles. So go ahead and start planning. Ciao! 🙂