The Mart Market Week: An Inside Look At Styling The Mannequins
I LOVE sharing these posts about mart market week, because I LOVE doing this job. Wardrobe styling and the Mart is my favorite job ever and I will be back there next week! I will of course be taking you along for the styling process! This January is a smaller market so that typically means I just do a live model demo and/or mannequins, it’s not the huge runway show. Speaking of which, I could cry that I will be missing the one in April. I mean… why didn’t I plan my pregnancy around that?!?! Well, I actually thought about it and the show being in April slipped my mind, but we also got pregnant on the first try. So I didn’t quite plan accordingly. Oh well, I’ll have a cute babe (Gd willing) and I’ll be back in the fall!
I captured more of the market process this past fall and am just now putting it into a blog post but figured it was fitting anytime! I have covered the pulling process before when it came to a large show, which you can read the post HERE. So this one (in my purple pants) is the mannequin process which is a little bit shorter. I typically do these a few days before actual market starts, and before I start pulling/tagging items I want for the actual show. We keep this separate because the clothes that stay on the styled mannequins stay down by registration all week, where the clothes I pull for the show, get to be tagged and don’t leave the showroom floor but a few times (lining/creating the outfits for the show one night, and the actual show). Otherwise, they stay marked in the showroom so exhibitors can sell it to buyers!
Mart Market Week
HERE is a post behind the scenes pulling for the shows
HERE is the post for behind the scenes of the actual show!
A quick breakdown of the mannequin process, is this. I visit the showrooms (a lot are not open or there this early in the week, which is one of my biggest challenges). I explain to them that the items I am pulling at this moment will sit on the mannequins the entire week of market. So yes, they will not be in their showroom, but it can be a trade off because they will be seen by everyone that enters the building. Sometimes this is a hard sell, and sometimes it’s not a big deal and I can leave with the item. I try to pull things I love and that speak to me, but also keep in mind that my hero items, I would rather have in the show. So even though I’m styling at a smaller scale for this, I have to think bigger picture for the week.
Once clothing and accessories are pulled (I just grab what I love and then style later), I start to piece together outfits from my grabbed goodies. The accessories are laid out as well and added to each outfit at the end, to complete the look. We try to use items from different showrooms for exposure, and make sure the mannequins are completely accessorized from head to toe.
I then head down to dress the mannequins, each outfit marked and ready to go.
I use the freight elevator… it’s all kinds of dirty and creepy. Fashion and hustle isn’t always glamorous!
The major wardrobe styling happens once they are dressed, I get to put my final touches and details on them that doesn’t really come alive or translate until the clothes are on! Little special details that I like to do that I think adds to the magic of wardrobe styling, comes with tucks or the way an item is presented. Like maybe I want a belt to go over an entire outfit on the outside, or a specific tucking in of the top. I love details like princess sleeves and ruffles, but not everything looks great on a mannequin. There are pieces I fall in love with, but know they will look better ‘moving’ down a runway and details will fall flat and get lost on a mannequin. I take all that into account too. And sometimes, I need to speak to the buyer, which my funkiest creations are not always conservative for the standard buyer. I do have Morgan tell me to reel it back for the mannequin wardrobe styling sometimes. It should be to the point of the style we are trying to portray so people can easily get inspo, not be intimidated or turned off.
I will stay true to what I love in the details, which usually involves sleeve detail, pattern mixing, color play, monochromatic pairing, lots of layering, and pleating. Are any of these things you incorporate into your own dressing?
Each mannequin has all outfit details and where everything can be found in the entire building, so that if a buyer sees something they love or wants to sell in their store, they know exactly where to go.
I hope you enjoyed this little peek into the process and recap, I will be doing this next week! Next will be an overview of the running around process as I visit showrooms and tag items! Don’t forget, I also offer personal wardrobe styling services for you in your own home!
You can shop similar outfit details below, my sweater and pants are both from Zara and no longer online.
Do you have any questions I didn’t answer or something else you would love to know about Mart Market week? If so, let me know in a comment below!
