Nov 09 2010
Sparkles. Glamour. Fashion.
Vancouver Fashion Week ran from Nov 2 – Nov 7, ending on a pleasant sunny Sunday morning. There were Cameras flashing, models strutting their walk, designers smiling and the audience clapping with delight. Without a doubt, Vancouver Fashion Week was an extreme success, and everybody who came and participated will already be planning their next visit in 2011 for the spring/summer collection. I was a volunteer in this amazing event, and i would like to share my experience of it with you, both from a personal and a marketing perspective.
Not all things the end well start well. The chaos backstage; which i was a part of, will be to this day kept behind the scenes. Many people would be surprised at how much effort, time and evergy is spent every minute of every day getting everything prepared so that when the show starts, there will be no complications. And trust me, up to the last second before the first model got on stage and began each show, there was always something that had to be done, changed or corrected.
I was a backstage and a front door helper for all of Vancouver Fashion Week. Fashion has always been my passion and being able to help out was by far one of the most amazing experiences that i have had in my entire life. I was responsible for so many errands; like finding the suitable models, fitting those models, tapping shoes (not as easy as it sounds by the way), steaming outfits ( a very careful task), handling the designers clothes, ensuring that the designers were properly attended to, quick changing the models when the runway started…
All of these things were always fun and interesting, but i must admit that at times i felt the strain and pressure on me as i fought hunger and fatigue.
Admist all the craziness; i thought about how this related to marketing. Many people think of marketing as the part where you promote a good or service through the media, using advertisements, commercials, brochures and many more. They do not consider what goes behind the scenes. In other words, they are not aware that marketing also involves the “Place” section of the Marketing Mix- the 4 P’s. I myself was not aware of that untill i started Marketing (Comm 296) in my second year of the Sauder School of Business. Being involved backstage during Vancouver Fashion Week make me realise and think of a lot of topics talked about in Marketing. From the backstage settings to who would sit where in the audience; everything had a marketing aspect to it. I had to connect with the designers backstage, remember the models that the designers wanted and make sure that the models knew their order, what clothes and shoes they were wearing, and how many changes of clothes and shoes they had. This took a lot of communicating with almost everybody involved in fashion week, from another volunteer to the director of the event. Everything had to go through someone – it was the supply chain of management.
Through my experience in Vancouver Fashion Week, not only did i get to live out my passion (a commerce student aspiring to work in the fashion industry and in the future open her own boutique); but i also learnt firsthandedly; so much about the supply chain of management that is widely talked about during our Marketing classes.
For those who are into fashion, who heard about Vancouver Fashion Week and went to the shows, or wanted to go to the shows but werent able to; even those who had no idea that this was going on; come and check out all the glamour that was Vancouver Fashion Week by clicking on these links below! Get to know the designers who make Vancouver Fashion Week such a success, and enjoy viewing the fantasic collections as well as the poise and elegance of the models on the runway.
http://www.vanfashionweek.com/
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Photos+Walk+catwalk+Vancouver+Fashion+Week/3786591/story.html
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Fabulous+designs+from+Vancouver+Fashion+Week/3773569/story.html