Back in July, I had the amazing opportunity to showcase my brand in a runway show for Arabella Marketing and PR. Here's the story:
Arabella asked me to be a part of their exclusive runway event in July of this year. I said yes because I'd never been part of a runway before, and I knew this was going to be BIG for my brand. But the excitement quickly turned into me being a scaredy-cat: a runway?! Me?! I make scarves! OMG there's going to be crowds... and I have to dress up......OMG!
Yeah...my mind went spiraling.
I didn't know the first thing about fashion or runways. I make scarves for modesty, but honestly, I didn't think my brand was fashion-y enough for a runway. But others saw me as worthy... which meant I had some pretty heavy blindfolds on.
I took a few deep breaths... let it sink in that it was happening... then realized I needed to make order out of my chaos.
I was sent a list of models to choose from who could walk at the show. I had to choose 10, and it wasn't easy to narrow it down. I visualized the scarves on these beautiful women, imagining how they would look in them and whether they would feel confident in them. If you're not used to hair wrapping, it can feel intimidating, especially for young models who are used to showing their beautiful hair.
I also had to pick my runway music. My mind spiraled again: how in the bleep do I do THAT?!. I will admit......I used ChatGPT. Not to make the music, but to suggest songs with a BPM (beats per minute) that would work for a runway. Think of when you watch a runway show - the music has a certain beat to it that models can walk to and keeps the crowd energized. That's what I was looking for.
Luckily, some of my favorite artists made the list: Vandelux, Two Feet, and Lany. I needed music for about 10 minutes of runway time, and these artists had exactly what I needed (although Arabella had to bleep out a cuss word from the song Devil by Two Feet lol). I chose the following songs:
Two Feet: Devil, Vandelux: Last Train, Vandelux: Matter of Time, LANY: Up to Me
So now my models and my songs were picked out. Check. Now to put together looks for each model. At first I thought, "How am I going to make 10 looks?" But when I looked at my full inventory, I thought, "How am I going to narrow it down to 10 looks?!"
This was one of the hardest parts. Which 10 scarves did I want to show? Did I want headbands? Pins? What combinations do I choose?
Then I realized something: these models are professionals. They're going to rock the look either way, but it's still important to me that they look and feel beautiful. Overdoing it will be too much on all of us. Keep the looks simple.
Once I realized that, picking out the looks was easier. I also decided I wanted all of my models to wear black. Black skirt, dress, pants, doesn't matter. This would let the scarves really shine because they would be the pop of color against a black background.
Now the hardest part of them all: dressing myself.
The theme was 1920's, which isn't a modest style. I struggled with this, but I found a really cute 1920s modest outfit with a poncho that made everything come together. I also scheduled an appointment at Sephora to get my makeup done because I had no idea how to do 1920s makeup. The picture attached to this blog post is me right after I got my makeup done. I liked the look; I think Sephora nailed it.
So now the models are picked out, the songs are set, the looks are packed, and I am dressed and done up.
Only one more thing to do: the runway.
Part 2 coming soon.
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