I started modelling in early 2016 when I was 15, but it wasn’t until this year that I did fashion week. I went to London a week before London Fashion Week started with very few expectations, praying that I would book a show.
Tuesday 12th September 2017
One thing I learnt very quickly was that in this industry you cannot predict anything. The days leading up to fashion week are spent running around London going from casting to casting, doing the same thing each time for different potential clients hoping to impress them. And no matter how prepared you think you are it is never enough. Schedules are sent the night before so that you know where you need to be and for what time. But throughout the day that can change, new castings, amongst other things, for you to go to can be sent, throwing your whole day off track. It is possible that the modelling industry invented the words ‘last minute’. Try as you might to guess how well a casting went, it is incredibly difficult as casting directors give very little away, this can lead to a constant mixture of surprise and disappointment. Tuesday was the calmest day leading up to fashion week as it was the furthest away. Thankfully this wasn’t my first time in London so navigating the underground wasn’t too much of a challenge, however I won’t lie it wasn’t easy going all over a strange city looking for studios and rented offices. It definitely took me a while to find my feet. (I credit my successful navigation to the app Citymapper – a lifesaver for anyone in London)
Wednesday 13th September 2017
Wednesday was slightly more insane, this is when lots of models started to fly back from New York, and the more models in town the more castings there are, and the more you have to go to. THANKFULLY my wonderful agency knows how difficult it can be to find your way around London, so one of the Interns – Tamara, a London native – acted as my chaperone so I didn’t continue to get lost. Meaning I could get to as many of my castings as possible in such a limited time space.
Thursday 14th September 2017
Thursday was the day before fashion week, and the craziest, everyone (models, designers, agents alike) were running around like mad trying to prepare for the insanity that is fashion week. Luckily for me I again had Tamara to guide me through it and keep me sane and laughing in an otherwise very stressful situation. At this point I was on my third day of castings and as I wouldn’t find out what I would be doing each day until the night before, I still didn’t know if this would be a wasted journey. But then it happened, I got an email from my agency saying that I had a ‘fit to confirm’, which basically means a designer that I had already been to a casting for wanted me to go back for a fitting, so they could confirm whether they wanted me in their show. Now this wasn’t conformation for a job, but it was a step closer than I had been 10 minutes before hand. I went to the fitting and then continued with the rest of my castings. That evening I waited in anticipation, with the next day being the start of fashion week it was my first opportunity for a show. The email containing my schedule came through and a mix of relief and excitement ran through me. I had got the job, my very first show and they had booked me to shoot their SS18 look-book as well, which meant I would be spending the whole day with them. I was ecstatic, I had put in a lot of hard work and I was finally able to see the results.
Friday 15th September 2017
I had an 8:00AM call time as I had to shoot the look-book before the show started. The location for the show/shoot was in a church, with hair and make-up done upstairs, I was shooting the look-book with another model called Imade, which was great as shoots are always more fun with another model there. Between us we shot 18 looks. Imade has been doing this much longer than I have and is such a pro, so it was pretty intimidating working with her but she couldn’t have been nicer and she was such a laugh. After we finished shooting the look-book we had a quick lunch break before we had to prepare for the show. Luckily for Imade and I we had already gone through hair and make-up so this part was relatively simple for us. It’s amazing how quickly and efficiently the hair, make-up, nail and stylist teams work. After a quick rehearsal it was time for the real thing. As this show was a presentation and not a runway it meant it would last for an hour and a half, which although sounds like a long time when it was over I couldn’t believe how quickly the day had flown by. I was so happy I had booked a show, and more! That was more than what I had wanted. I couldn’t believe it that night when my schedule came through for Saturday and I had booked another show.
Saturday 16th September 2017
My call time for Saturday was 7:30AM, and the show would be a runway – my first. I was so nervous all through the prep for the show, and there were some pretty famous faces at this show which did not help with my confidence, thankfully all the models were super nice and made me feel much more relaxed. The show was over by 10:30AM which meant the day was just starting. I spent the rest of the day going to more castings for the shows in the next few days. It’s not unusual for the casting to be the day before the show, which meant that I would be going to castings for the rest of fashion week.
Sunday 17th September 2017
On Sunday I only had castings. I also had 3 hours free, which was a first for me during fashion week, I don’t know London that well and I don’t really know anyone there either. Luckily for me I ran into 2 friends that I know from the agency, at a casting, that were in the same position. In order to kill some time, the 3 of us and another girl who we met at the casting went to The Model’s Lounge at the Mayfair hotel. The place is amazing, a suite is given up as a place for models to come, relax (massages!!), eat, see friends and recharge. Its only open during fashion week but is a great place to go when you need to kill time in a city you don’t know. I wasn’t expecting much from the rest of fashion week as fewer shows meant fewer jobs up for grabs. But much to my surprise when I got my schedule for the next day I had booked another show!!
Monday 18th September 2017
My call time for Monday’s job was 8:30AM, and as the show was a presentation it meant I wouldn’t be finished until 1:30PM. The presentation was unlike most others in that is was set out as a runway, but was repeated over and over again. Which although was very strange, it definitely made me more comfortable in walking a runway. As there was only one day left of fashion week there weren’t many castings, so after I finished the show I went to my few remaining castings and reveled in the fact I could get home before it was dark and have a nap. The fewer castings you do the less likely you are to get a job and as I’d already had more jobs than I ever imagined I could have got, I wasn’t even thinking about the next day when my schedule came through and told me I’d booked another show.
Tuesday 19th September 2017
The last day of fashion week meant my last show of this season. It was a runway which meant I was more nervous than the day before, but I was starting to become more confident in myself and found the more I believed in myself the better I did. Booking this show was crazy for me, as I’ve previously mentioned it’s very difficult to predict how a casting went. But this one I was sure I had messed up. It just goes to show how sometimes you don’t know how well you’re doing. My call time was at 10:30AM and the show itself was at 1:00PM. After the show finished so was fashion week (at least for me) it was crazy how quickly it had gone and how much I enjoyed it.
Thank you to my amazing agency for looking after me while I’ve been in London, and to my parents for being crazy enough to let me live alone in London for 2 weeks at 17.
Emma x
GracefullyEmma 
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