Pulling for the Mart: Come along with me
When I wrote this post earlier this year, you all gave such great positive feedback and told me you loved the inside look. This past April market, I got to have Katie come along with me and capture some of the process. In the post where I explained what I did, I got into what exactly goes into creating looks for the bi-annual runway show. I apply my wardrobe styling background to clothes that aren’t mine, lol. I mainly look for the outfit that will come alive down a runway. If you want an exact breakdown, you can read the post HERE. What you will see today is kind of the visual story that goes along with that post. I start out each market with a vision/mood board of what the show will look like, but everything else is pretty much my vision with what I see that the Mart has in their showrooms.
I take my assistants with me, and start on the floors that are open the first day, which are the permanent exhibitors. Since I know the Atlanta Apparel Mart well now, I map out in my mind the order of exhibitors I will visit. I take into account each one and what they offer and type of clothing I know I will find. For example, some will specialize in denim, or one will have items more trendy and colorful, opposed to another that might have all neutrals. And I just know this from being there often.
Once I’m in the showrooms, I scan the entire room. I pull (and remember where they went) items that I love and know I want to use. We find an empty wall (sometimes the showroom might be working with a buyer and need to show their clothes for an appointment), and get to work. This includes, writing a description of each item, tagging the clothing as well as the hanger, and taking a photo (that part is for my own memory and vision). We do all of this because we aren’t taking it with us because the showroom needs it on their floor. We only pick up on the night we line the show (put all the outfits together), and then an hour before the show. I have to make sure the girls are descriptive just in case someone besides themselves needed to pick up the item… they have to grab the right one. We have had that happen before, where something similar was grabbed but not quite the exact item I chose.
Part of my high is being able to walk in these showrooms and take my pick of what I love, and piece it together in a vision. I will say, (here’s some insider info) that this past market for the runway show, I did not have a lot of visions to what the outfits would look like. I actually always do. I am already creating the outfit and all it’s details sometimes as soon as I see the single piece. This time, I feel like I pulled a ton of pieces that inspired me, that I loved and knew would come alive on a runway… but I had no actual vision. Basically until it was down to the minute I started creating the outfits with Morgan. This was new for me, but it all came together, just like the other times when I do have a clear idea of what I want to pair things with. This is actually what keeps me going in this business and gives me such a piece of mind that I am doing exactly what I need to be doing. This passion is an actual talent and I have been running with it. Most of this comes so natural to me that even though it’s the hardest I’ve ever worked, it’s like second nature and easy. It’s like I just know what I’m doing without even reaching for the information. I say this because nothing has ever come this easy to me in my entire life. I remember struggling at so many jobs. Or testing in school. (Can you imagine, this whimsical creative type who reasoned every single answer to be right and didn’t understand why there had to be rules in life… why couldn’t we all just live without explanation of math. or rules… ) Yeah, so being able to be creative and create a job based on this talent, works so much better for me haha!
This day at Atlanta Apparel was the pulling process for the April show, so it was a lot more product tagging than just the small model demos or the mannequins. The day is long, the building is cold but alive with an energy, and the fashion is feeding us. I love popping into the showrooms all over the Mart, the people that work there and run them are so amazing. We do run into the occasional stressed out person that isn’t feeling the show process, and that’s ok… they are doing their thing too. But for the most part, it’s such a fun atmosphere and people are really genuinely excited to be there and do what they do. They love hearing about details of the show, and are excited to have one/many of their pieces be in it. Everyone is dressed in the latest trends, and/or gets really creative with fashion, it’s really cool! I always play around with my outfits and most of the time, use items in my closet to make looks I’ve never worn before.
This day at the Mart I grabbed my favorite sheer white tunic (old from Free People) and layered it over a suspender-type jumpsuit (old from Vici Collection). I definitely recommend trying something like this for fun, with any kind of jumpsuit and sheer tunic or even kimono. I hope this provides some kind of inspiration for you, and I hope you had fun with this visual story behind the runway show prep for Atlanta Apparel. It’s my most prized work that I am grateful to do and entity to be a part of!
Up next week… backstage at the show!
Photos by: KVC Photography
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