Creative Production Ideas for your next Fashion Show

If you’re planning a fashion show, don’t be limited by the perceived standard set-up, with creative solutions you can create a fantastic event.

Author: Buz Ross   |   Date: 22nd February 2018

In your head you probably imagine a very generic set-up, long catwalks at a certain height, and models walking up and down for what seems like hours, clothes that have no meaning in the real world, I don’t think I need to go on…

However, that isn’t the case for many fashion shows that take place, not everyone is in Paris, New York or London, and they can take the form of many styles and shapes, and have subtlety that is far more inviting for the ‘normal’ person in the street.

Rather than launching an entire range for one designer they can be used in far more interesting and diverse ways, such as charity events or for a specific area or type of fashion, such as bridal wear.

With fashion shows, presentation is everything. The way you deliver the visuals is key, this covers every aspect of the set-up of the environment, including staging, set-design and lighting plus you have the soundscape which forms a large part of the experience.

As with so many events, putting these elements together quite often starts with the size and style of the venue.

Deciding on your Venue

The venue can lead the design of the show, for example, if you are in a building which has a unique shape you might want to use this in the design of your catwalk, or if you have a series of steps and wide corridors, you could use these as part of the catwalk too, as long as the models were able to move safely up and down the steps of course!

Atmospheric Lighting

Lighting can be used both as something to set the mood and highlight key points and themes of the show. This is of course tied into the time of day the show is set for, plus the type of clothing that is being shown, you might want to have low-level lighting with highlighting spots for a show based around evening wear or use lighting effects to create shimmer and sparkle. If you were running a show for beachwear, you would probably want the lighting to be bright and make the audience feel warm, even if the show is being run in the middle of winter.

The stage and set design can play a large role in how you use lighting and make full use of the space you have.

Setting the Stage

Traditionally set and stage design for fashion shows tend to be quite plain and based on one colour, normally white. This is to ensure that you are looking at the clothes rather than being distracted by the background. However, you can play with this and make the clothes appear more dynamic, or play with the audiences’ perception of what is happening on stage.

To create the best set design, you need to know what is going to appear on stage and how it will be viewed, for example, do you want everyone to be looking up, or on the same level? If you are building a set and stage for one designer it will be much easier to create as they will have a theme and colour scheme in mind, if you are trying to accommodate lots of different designers, you might find that going to a traditional white stage will be easier for all designers and designs of clothes to work with.

Many people will stick with the traditional white, and even though you might try to lead them away from that, customers are always right!

To complete the audio-visual experience for the models and clothes to make their arrival is the use of sound.

Music all around

Dependent on the style of show you’re running, you will probably be playing more music to someone speaking to the audience, so consider how you want the music to be experienced, and ensure that everyone in the room receives the same aural experience.

When used with consideration for the designer and their collection, a soundtrack can help to tell the story of a collection, evoking the mood of the clothes, and telling the story of the inspiration. It doesn’t have to be music only, a soundscape formed from sound effects, or natural sounds such as wind, blowing leaves or rain can be just as evocative or more so depending on the clothes being shown. You could just let the clothes speak for themselves, by having silence, but of course, no event is ever silent, there will always be someone in the audience having a little chit-chat!

We recently produced a Bridal fashion show at a new hotel in Southampton, which the following images are from the rehearsal, as you can see they went for the very traditional format.

When showing wedding dresses you need good lighting and also a slightly wider catwalk because the dresses tend to be a bit wider, longer, they are more like the SUV rather than the Smart car of the fashion world.

The staging was created on two levels to give more impact and show the dresses off to their full potential, this did mean having a couple of steps up, but they were simple and easy to use for the models.

White was the theme throughout, of course, the floor looks a bit shiny on these photos, we kept the plastic covering on the carpet to protect it to ensure that it was gleaming for the actual show. It’s the little details like these that can make all the difference.

If you like to find out more about how we can help you with your fashion shows, do get in touch.

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