You could be the King, but watch the Queen(s) conquer

Posted by Lucy McBride on January 27, 2011 · 3 Comments 

As promised, Lesley and I wanted to share a more detailed and photo-heavy account of the Rusted Revolution Fashion Show/Her Campus BC launch party which took place at Cityside this past Monday, January 24th.  We didn’t hesitate for a second when agreeing to participate in this event; this was the perfect opportunity to spread the word about RR in the BC community and give the public a more visual sense of who we were in terms of style and aesthetic.

The planning for this event consumed us entirely; every thought and ounce of energy was directed on how to present our best work with the little time and resources we had. Lesley and I both have experience working behind the scenes at fashion, media, and press events, but we had never spearheaded our own. In the weeks, days, and hours leading up to the show, Lesley and I gladly sacrificed food, sleep, and study in lieu of sewing, snipping, studding, and chain-linking.  We were extremely nervous and exhausted, but high on the thrill of the rapidly-approaching event.  The easiest aspect of planning was the styling; initially, we started with 20 looks (10 each), which quickly increased to 26.  Just days before the show, we also received the exciting news that Rent The Runway, a site which rents couture gowns to women at extremely affordable prices, was providing us with 5 dresses for the event. Aside from the dresses, each outfit consisted of pieces from our personal wardrobes, with other items which we thrifted, altered, and embellished.  Each model also wore a piece of handmade chainmail jewelry from our new line (see below).

Selecting and fitting our models turned out to be a surprisingly easy process; Amelia, Chloe, Corinne, Kelli, Caitlin, Marion, Lauren, Annie, Amanda, and Tracy all looked FABULOUS in our hand-selected creations, and matching each girl with her corresponding outfit was quite fun for us.   Lesley and I definitely had an artistic vision for the show; we wanted the clothing, music, and general atmosphere to fully reflect ourselves and the nature of our brand.  How would we describe RR style? Eccentric, colorful, and girly with a grungy gothic touch.  Each look was entirely different, but we tried to make the show sequence cohesive.  Our general theme was “Yin and Yang;” a strange but harmonious cohesion of tough and feminine vibes.

The day of the show, Lesley and I crawled out of bed at 7 am, bleary-eyed and nauseous from a mere two hours of sleep.  Today was finally here, but there was SO much left to do….too much left to do.  We spent our waning hours printing promotional event flyers, finalizing our banners and business cards for Eagle Prints, meeting with Her Campus coordinators, grabbing supplies in Cleveland Circle and dropping event notices by every dorm possible (you probably found one under your door or taped to your mod  – sorry to be creepy, but you’re welcome).  We arrived at Cityside around 6 pm looking like we were moving in for life.  The bartenders and bouncers watched curiously while we unpacked our supplies in the secret handicapped bathroom downstairs, explaining that we were having a fashion show.  Luckily, the bar staff was very gracious and accommodating.  While our models filtered in one by one, our lovely assistant Kristina and I began steaming garments while Lesley taped the runway upstairs and set up shop to finish some last-minute jewelry.  The space was perfect, and a run-through with the girls confirmed our expectations that the space would be PERFECT for a fashion show.  The next hour flew by; the girls changed into their outfits and Amanda (one of our senior models) and I started on makeup while Kristina handled hair.  Before we knew it, it was 8:45 pm – showtime.  Lesley and I did a super-fast change into our dresses and made a quick introduction to crowd; we were literally holding onto each other because we were so nervous, excited and tired.  We were bummed that we wouldn’t be able to watch the show from the runway, but we knew we had some excellent photographers and videographers to bring us full documentation of the event.

Our makeshift runway turned out to be the perfect size and shape.

DJ Nick Kaz gets situated before the show. (Photo by Stone Yu)

DJ Kaz and MC Jason Feldman in the DJ nook. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Models line up on the stairs for a practice run. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Model Annie Pemberton walks on a practice run. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Our makeshift changing room. An explosion of clothes and accessories. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Lesley navigates a sea of clothing and shoes to get to the jewelry. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Lucy works on model Tracy's makeup. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Model and makeup-assistant Amanda works on Marion. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Lucy works on model Chloe's classic red lip. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Lucy choosing a lipcolor for the models. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Models get situated in our "nook" downstairs. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Amanda getting ready for the show-opening outfit. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Chloe wearing a vintage Tocca dress and fur coat in her first look. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Tracy in her first look. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Models + Lucy lined up to start the show!

Our lovely models in their opening looks.

Amanda and Chloe get ready to round the corner to start the show.

MC Jason "dougies" his way down the runway. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Lucy and Lesley peek around the corner to make an entrance. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Waiting to enter. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

(Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Lucy and Lesley introduce the show. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Amanda starts the show to Kanye's "Monster" in her first look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Chloe Green-Vamos in her first look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Caitlin Mann in her first look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Corinne Tingir in her first look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Annie Pemberton in her first look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Another model in her first look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Lauren Anter in her first look, styled by Lesley (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Marion Halftermeyer in her first look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Tracy Teiko in her first look, styled by Lucy (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Amelia Green-Vamos in her first look, styled by Lucy (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Amanda in her second look, styled by Lucy (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Caitlin Mann in her second look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Chloe Green-Vamos in her second look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Corinne Tingir in her second look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Annie Pemberton in her second look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Model in her second look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Lauren Anter in her second look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Marion Haltermeyer in her second look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Tracy Teiko in her second look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Amelia Green-Vamos in her second look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Amanda Tjan in her third look, styled by Lucy.

Chloe Green-Vamos in her third look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Annie Pemberton in her third look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Lauren Anter in her third look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Amelia Green-Vamos in her third look, styled by Lucy. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Amanda Tjan in her fourth look, styled by Lesley. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Chloe Green-Vamos wears a Rent The Runway dress from Pencey in her fourth look. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Caitlin Mann wears a Tibi dress from Rent the Runway for her third look. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Annie Pemberton models a Rent the Runway full length gown by Helmut Lang in her fourth look. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Lauren Anter wears a Rent the Runway dress by Hervé Leger for her fourth look. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

Amelia Green-Vamos wears a Mark & James by Badgley Mischka dress from Rent the Runway in her fourth look. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

The lovely ladies in charge of Her Campus BC: Brittany Lewis, Kathryn Fox, and Jess Salpietro, all seniors. (Photo by Elaina Donofrio)

Lucy poses with some of the crew: Stone Yu, a friend of ours and fabulous videographer, Kathryn Fox, Brittany Lewis, and MC Jason Feldman.

We would like to extend a thousand thank you’s to the Her Campus BC staff for making this event possible, as well as volunteers Allison Lantero and Kristina Mayne for helping us behind the scenes.  A HUGE thank you to our photographers Stone Yu, Kylie Montero, Abby Peterson, Elaina Donofrio, and Michael Saldarriaga — without you we wouldn’t even have known what our own show looked like.  We would also like to express our appreciation to our friends, family and readers for their constant encouragement and support for our ambitions, and to all who attended last week’s show.  And how could we forget our DJ Nick Kaz and MC Jason Feldman? Working with these two was so fun; though the guys are friends of ours, they were super professional about everything, going above and beyond what we expected of them.  Jason’s urban-redneck ensemble was a definite crowd-pleaser, and Kaz worked with our musical preferences to play some certified jams before, during, and after the show.  Lastly, we would like to thank our models: Amanda, Chloe, Caitlin, Corinne, Annie, Amelia, Lauren, Tracy, Marion, and Kelli.  You guys remained calm and confident considering some difficult circumstances.  For those who couldn’t see the downstairs, consider 31 outfit changes (each including an intricate chainmail jewelry piece) in a 5′ x 6′ handicapped bathroom with no rolling rack and minimal intermissions between two floors.  You guys are amazing.

Video footage of the show is coming soon!

Rusted Revolution making its exit. (Photo by Kylie Montero)

All we can say is, look forward to Round 2, everyone. It’s gonna be a GREAT semester.

xoxo

Lucy and Lesley

Filed under BC Events, Campus Style, DIY, Entertainment, Her Campus, Her Campus BC, runway, Rusted Revolution