Last Sunday I participated in my first (and most likely last) runway show! It was a crazy experience, one which shook me with nerves and excitement. I was also astonished to realize just how much time goes into the preparation of these things - I showed up at 11am, while most people got there at 10 and didn't leave until 9pm!
Here's a little bit about how the day went:
Showed up at 7 salon in bellevue square, which to begin with is one of the most surreal places: the entire salon is black with mirrors and white accents, there is an espresso bar and they have branded miniature water bottles, there's a DJ who is up above the salon in a mini loft which you have to climb up a ladder that's in a rounded cage to get to. Very nice staff, but it just feels so fake.
So I sit down and chat a bit with some of the other girls, while I let my eyes wander to the other hair designs being created. At some point, fake hair begins to come out of boxes and bags - not just natural enhancing hair, but bright pink, lavender, yellow, and blue! I was relieved that they were not gluing any of that to my head. One girl had a huge blonde and pink afro, another had a tall beehive, some had really dramatic cut outs of color and then there were the more classic girls, like me.
They re-toned the blonde streak in my hair, but after that I just sat around for a long time.
Or, at least, what I thought was a long time. A girl came around and curled my hair and pinned it in place, using copious amounts of hairspray all the while. My hair then sat like that for the next 6 hours, with a little bang trim in there at some point.
I read my marilyn monroe autobiography to kill time. There really wasn't much to do. Then at 3ish we went across the street to the Hyatt, which was a very lovely hotel. This is when things started to get nerve wracking: we saw the runway for the first time. Glaring white, a boxy horseshoe shape, giant screens with flashing images behind it and the most awful music.
We met with a woman who instructed us on how to walk, what the choreography was, how to stand. It doesn't seem that complicated looking back, but at the time it was so hard to keep all of her babbling information in my head. Then we got to see the shoes and outfits - which for my group were pretty boring: tank tops with khaki pants and furry lined boots. One of the girls in my group essentially threw a fit over the shoes she had to wear being too high and slippery, but eventually she got over it. Back into the stage room for more hair and makeup.
Finally my hair was taken out of it's pins and styled. Then it was time for makeup. I had a headache from all the hairspray in the air so I wasn't very talkative to my makeup artist, but she did a wonderful job, and I was happy that I looked a little less scary than some of the girls in my group.
While I was being made over, I kept seeing trays of champagne go out and into the lobby - I was jealous when Jim sent me a text about enjoying it.
Finally ready to get into our outfits, and there was a lady who helped get you dressed without messing up your hair and makeup, which was weird. The first group of girls (the professional models) did their scene and then it was our turn.
I walked out onto the runway, trying to not trip, smile but not too big, keep my head up, not swing my arms, not clench my fists, and all sorts of other stupid tricks. And then I saw this very familiar tone of green and knew it was Jim. He was taking pictures!
We did our routine and then it was over. My hands were shaking but I was so happy - we only had to go out on stage once more and it was easier in a straight line. Then back out and into our own clothes. I was invited to some after party, but I felt kind of over being around all these models and Bellevue. So we drove back to Seattle, and ended up having delicious dinner at the Highline. The end.
