I was invited to cover the activities of Virginia Fashion Week which was held last week. Shows were in Virginia Beach, Richmond and Williamsburg. I attended the Saturday event held on the campus of William and Mary College. It was, in a word, FANTASTIC!!
I thought it would be interesting to provide a different look at the show. The big show is always well covered. Tons of people are there and that part is going to receive a ton of press and coverage. So, I went early. I went when the models were rehearsing and when they were walking for the designers to see who got to wear what. I had a front row seat for the whole thing! It was amazing!
I did my whole event without flash. That’s always my preference. The room with the runway was pretty spectacular, and the light was overall, pretty good. It was a mixed light situation on steroids, and I had to crank up my ISO pretty high, but truthfully, I love the grainy look I achieved. The pictures really reminded me of my old film work.
I have covered smaller shows in the past. Much smaller shows! And in the way, way back, I frequently covered plays and dance recitals. This large scale fashion show seemed to be a hybrid of those.
It was such a cool experience. I can hardly wait to go again!! Next time I will definitely go earlier, and will pack my gear a bit differently. I will probably stay later, too. Getting a hotel room nearby would be helpful. I would like to stay on and see the final show the next time, for sure.
The line up where the models waited to see who got selected for whom reminded me of the famous image used for Chorus Line, a famous show from the 70’s that had a revival in 2006. I was fascinated that each girl had a different expression and a different stance. Those are the male models sitting behind the ladies waiting their turn.
When someone gets selected for a particular designer, they have the model step forward. Then they can see all the models they’ve picked and start figuring out who will wear what.
This is one of my favorite images from the day. You get a sense of how TALL the girls really are! And I loved showing the height of the room. I think pre show and rehearsal is my fashion forte and I just can’t wait to do it again!
