RING … My alarm went off. I slowly rolled over and looked over at my phone. 5 a.m. … Great.
A 5 a.m. wake up call usually sounds like a nightmare for an average college student, but I was so excited to begin my journey into the fashion industry that my adrenaline kicked in and I immediately woke up with a smile on my face. I am staying at my friend Crystal's home in Hollywood with her cute kitty named Leroy. Well, let us just say Leroy is not all too cute anymore after realizing he puked all over my bed in the middle of the night. I had to have been extremely tired to sleep through that.
But Leroy is not what you want to read about. You guys want to hear about the glamour, the fashion and everything in between. I decided I did not want to be a media representative for every single show this week because I wanted to experience the REAL glamour behind the scenes of Los Angeles Fashion Week (LAFW), so I asked to be signed up as a volunteer for just the day.
Volunteering backstage, hanging out with the models and designers, getting to see all of the shows and outfits before they are actually debuted on the runway; sounds like a dream, right? WRONG.
The runway is the only location that showcases actual glamour, because after today, I can officially say that backstage is full of grumpy and hungry models and disorganization. I began my day in love with Michael Ngo's line watching him rehearse his show step-by-step with his models. The setup was done by creating a catwalk out of two rows of chairs, the bright white lights and aggressive, yet catchy music were on and it honestly almost felt like I was getting my own personal runway show.
But then it was time to go to work. I was on check-in duty. My boss for the day gave me an iPad to check the media in with, and I viewed this opportunity as one to gain more connections and pass out my business card to people who could help me with my dream career — boy was I wrong. The iPad I was given died almost immediately and my advisors kept shooing me away as if they did not care the iPad died or what happens at check-in. The only thing they cared about was if I messed up, so I had to figure something out, and fast. What was I supposed to do in that situation? Just let EVERYONE into the venue? Nope. I asked everyone to make the extra effort and pull out their press pass tickets to prove their credentials.
3pm – FINALLY! It is time to go home, but read more about LA Fashion Week red carpet and runway at the main location as a media guest later that night for a piece of the real world of LA Fashion Week glamour.
Lights, Camera, GLAMOUR!
Crystal picked me up from volunteering at the LAFW shows in downtown LA and I quickly got changed in the car in order to walk the red carpet at the main LAFW location. Upon arrival, volunteers checked me in (by the way, props to you guys for running the event so well) and I strutted my dress down the carpet smiling and posing for hundreds of paparazzi cameras. I was with my photographer, Kristine, we then decided to get a drink at the bar and check out the runway.
This runway took my breath away. It was beautiful. The ceiling was insanely technologically advanced with the light crew controlling the designs and colors that are presented on the ceiling. This created a really cool vibe as they used different shades of blue and green for the majority of the show. The runway was huge and lifted above everyone's heads when they are sitting down. It was white with silver sparkles that just screamed fashion week.
We walked back to the red carpet to see if any celebrities had arrived so we could take photographs of them and possibly try to interview them. A man named Tom approached me, asking who I was broadcasting for and I ended up talking to him for a few minutes about my current jobs and my dream career. Tom must have been impressed, because he offered me a job right on the spot to replace his red carpet reporter and interview every big name on the carpet for the night. HECK YES.
I was so excited, but kind of unsettled as I did not know too much about any of the designers so I was not prepared like I usually would be for interviews. But I guess this was good practice if I want to host an entertainment show on the red carpet for the award seasons, so I took my microphone and started doing my thing. I interviewed a variety of people from designers to producers, to models and Disney Channel stars. It was a great experience full of wacky and unique surprises that I will always remember. You can check out my interviews at 4K Fashion Network which will be on almost every TV in a few months! (I will also upload it to my YouTube channel when I get it!
Anyway, the red carpet ended, so on to the fashion show. Girls were strutting their perfect bodies in teeny tiny bikinis that were begging me to purchase them (SPRING BREAK, they yelled). The music was catchy and drove everyone to dance while watching beautiful couture creations that were strut down the catwalk. Paparazzi crowded around the edge of the runway snapping away at these fierce models.
One of my favorite designers of the night was Mister Triple X. His line killed it. (And no, I am not biased due to the gorgeous male models without any shirts on.) I actually had an opportunity to interview Erik, the designer of Mister Triple X, and he said the line was inspired by his life story, trying to find his soul in a dark place. The music captivated his inspirations and the crowd went wild.
After the show, I went backstage to meet some of the models. Everyone was so kind and interested in everything I had to say. One thing that particularly stuck out to me was how much the models wanted to give back to this world. Every single model I spoke with told me about a charity that they truly wanted to help, and some will even hint at it while they are on America's Next Top Model!
I am so thankful for this opportunity and every single person that I met. I truly believe I have made a huge advancement in my career, and I am looking forward to the best day of LAFW tomorrow. Stay tuned. Until then,
XOXO
Madison Brodsky
P.S. You can find out more about Fashion Week on their website here: http://artsheartfashion.com
