Art Connects Us All

Art Connects Us All is the name of my annual fashion show. For that past four summer, I would hold a fashion show. I started sewing five years ago in my fashion club in high school. I became one of the co-president of my fashion club my senior year. That is when my mother bought me my first sewing machine that I still currently use today. At the end of each year my high school would hold an annual fashion show. It was a huge success, close to 200 people would show up to our event.

Since then my passion for fashion continues to grow. A few of my friends encouraged me to pursue my dream of having my very own fashion show. I think for any high school senior this decision will be nerve-racking. Not sure of the outcome and how people would respond to your vision. I was having doubts about having a fashion show until I wrote out my vision and my plan to achieve that goal, it did not seem to be impossible anymore and pretty tangible to achieving with hard work. When I graduated from high school my plans were put into motion.

Here below are just 5 of the many steps you should keep in mind if you want to have a fashion show:

Pick a theme for your show at least 3 months in advance. This will give you direction as you choose designers and outfits, book a venue, and decide on casting.
Create a budget for your event. Do you have funds available or are you going to be relying on donations and volunteers? Fashion shows generally cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000 to produce. My banquet hall cost me $700 and fabric cost about $200 to put things in perspective. I asked designers and models to volunteer their time in exchange for free showcasing in your event.
Establish how large the show will be and how much tickets will cost.Most shows last 30-60 minutes and can showcase up to 100 outfits, so even just with the workers and models, there will be a lot of people involved. I had 20 Models for my first show. I recruited some models from other events and also had a few friends from high school participate in the show.
Recruit friends, or family to help with your event. Whatever tasks or duties you don’t assign to someone else will fall to you, and assembling a team to help with various tasks will make the planning process and event production much more enjoyable and rewarding for everyone involved.
Recruit an emcee to do the music and announcements. If you don’t know a friend or professional who is willing to donate their time, this may be where you end up spending a little more money, but having a good emcee is an essential part of putting on a fun fashion show. The emcee is in charge of announcing the designers and outfits, keeping the energy of the crowd up, and moving the show along at the right speed.

Here are some just something you should keep on mind. Stay tuned to next weeks to read more!