With the fashion show fast approaching (it’s already tomorrow!), I thought I would recap on the process of Model Fitting Day. Last Monday, we were all given a time slot to come to the Great Hall to fit our garments. My time was 12:30, so I got there at 11:30, as we were asked to get there an hour early. I could tell by how many of my classmates were still there that they were running late on the schedule. We had a little more of a challenge than some of the other specializations because our garments are right next to the body for the most part. As the models came in, our professor was selective, trying to best match the model’s body type with the style. Some of the more loungewear/sleepwear pieces that were loose could take almost any model whereas the foundation pieces needed models that had the right assets to fill them out.

Basically the system was that whichever models came in when it was our turn were the ones we had to choose from (not us specifically, but our professors and the show director). We waited…and waited…and waited. There was a long span of time where no models were arriving. Finally, at 3:30(!!), I was called to the back. I could tell from how the day had gone that it would be crazy back there, and it was. I was introduced to my stunning model, Jing, and with the help of one of the dressers, we put her in my slip. She’s extremely slender and I could tell from the start that I would have to take it in pretty significantly. My professor thought I might be able to get away with not doing it, but then when she walked the dress was riding up in the back. She did look really great in it otherwise. It’s so different to see the garment on a real person! So in the end, I had to take it in over an inch in the center back and sew in bra pads to help fill out the cups a little bit.

Although I only had a couple corrections, I’m still terrified that it’s not going to fit right. I’m going to be holding my breath until it goes down the runway. (If it even does…if it doesn’t look right and it’s still riding up I’m worried they might cut it from the show.) It’s just extremely difficult because we only get one model fitting. Note to future intimate apparel girls: NEVER DO SHAPEWEAR. It might seem like a good idea until you realize that you fit it to a dress form and that it has to go on a real person with completely different proportions.

Here’s a (really bad) photo from my model fitting. It was too chaotic for me to get a better one, and right when I snapped the photo a professor was fussing with the back:

So I’m crossing my fingers for tomorrow, hoping that everything goes okay and that my alterations fixed all the issues.

The show is being aired live in the Katie Murphy Amphitheater at 4:00pm and 6:30pm and streamed live at 6:30pm online here! Check it out if you can. As for me, my parents are coming in from Pennsylvania for the 4:00 show, and then the 6:30 show is for industry professionals and the critic award winners. It should be interesting. Good luck to everyone tomorrow!