How To Run A Fashion Show For Prom Dresses

A fashion show intended to showcase prom dresses is different from an ordinary high street fashion show. Not only will it take much longer for models to get into their outfits (which rules out quick changes) but the value and delicacy of the items means that a great deal of care needs to be taken.

 Timing your show

 You need to allow around two minutes per model. This is enough time to walk down the catwalk, pose and walk back down the catwalk.

 In terms of back stage timing you need to allow ten minutes for a girl to get a dress on for which she will need at least one helper.

 Boys

 If you can, its great to have male models accompany your female models down the catwalk. A local hire company may be willing to lend you suits if you give them a call.

 Announcer

 Ask someone with good presenting skills to compere the show. Their role will be to announce the name of the model and give a commentary about the dress that they are wearing. For example 'This is Amy, she is wearing Bella, one of our pink prom dresses. This dress features stunning genuine crystal beading with a flowing tulle skirt'.

 You should provide your compere with a script for each model/dress. This script should be organised in the same running order as the show.

 Music

 You should choose music which is both popular with the students in the show and appropriate for the occasion. Pay attention to the bpm (beats per minute) of the music. Your models will walk in time to the music and if the beat's too fast they may end up half jogging down the catwalk (ruining your timings!).

 Vet all music before hand to ensure that it doesnt contain expletives.

 Walk Through

 Its a good idea to have a walk though of your fashion show. While it is common to do a full dress rehearsal (wearing all the outfits), you should think carefully about doing this. Every time a prom dress is handled it runs the risk of being damaged. It is therefore not advisable to do a full dress rehearsal.

 Backstage help

 You will need at least one person to help when a girl is trying to get into her dress. If you can stagger the girls putting on their dresses then you won't need as many helpers.

 You also need a stage manager and an assistant stage manager. Both of these people should have a clipboard with details of the order in which the girls will go down the catwalk.

 The stage manager stands in the wings and is responsible for ensuring that the right people go on stage at the right time.

 It is there responsibility to make sure the girl starts putting the dress on in time and to make sure she is down in time. They need to be female so they can go into changing rooms.

 Changing rooms

 Ideally you need two rooms close to the stage. At least one needs to ensure privacy.

 As prom dresses are worth hundreds of pounds each it is important to ensure they will not get damaged in the course of a fashion show.

 One way to ensure that this doesn't happen is by ensuring that no food, drink or make up is allowed into the changing rooms. Only the girls themselves and people helping them to get ready should be allowed in the changing room.

 Ask girls to take responsibility for dresses

 Begin by explaining to the girls involved that they will be personally responsible for taking care of their dresses. Each girl should formally 'sign out' the dress when she takes it off the rack. At the end of the show, someone needs to be appointed to check the dresses back on to the rail. A girl's name should only be checked off the list when they have brought their dress back.

 Enjoy it!

 Running a fashion show can be great fun so finally, have a great time!

Fashion Photographers

Craig McDean had been trained as a car mechanic before studying photography. He began as an assistant to Nick Knight and did editorials for i-D and The Face, before getting noticed by Jil Sander, Calvin Klein, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, W, and Another Magazine. He now shoots campaigns for Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, and Este Lauder.

 Peter Lindbergh is a fashion photography icon, interpreting the medium ingeniously in both commercial and fine art capacities since the late 70s. He got his start at Vogue but was quickly noticed by The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Allure, and Rolling Stone. He shoots mostly in black and white, inspired by early German cinema and the Berlin art scene of the 1920s. In 1988, he shot Anna Wintour for her first cover of Vogue. In January 1990, he shot the iconic Vogue cover featuring Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford, and Christy Turlington. Besides his commercial work, his 1986 exhibition put on by Comme des Garons was a massive hit, his 1996 book 10 Women by Peter Lindbergh sold over 100k copies, and his shows and retrospectives at Bunkamura Museum of Art, the Met, and the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art have broken attendance records. He's ambitiously ventured into film and other genres of photography, always knowing how to create a classic image.

 Alasdair McLellan's work can be found across publications, from W Magazine to Self Service, Vogue, V, LOVE, Another, i-D, and more. He's shot ad campaigns for Emporio Armani, David Beckham for H&M, Equipment, Calvin Klein, Y3, and Longchamp, and in 2012, he photographed the popular image of Kate Moss smoking a cigarette for Supreme.

 David LaChapelle was put on in the photography world by none other than Andy Warhol, who noticed his talent, and assigned him work for Interview Magazine. His work hasn't been strictly fashion or commercial, but much of his success can be attributed to his blurring of editorial, fine art, and fashion. He's shot iconic spreads, covers, and ad campaigns for Italian Vogue, French Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, and i-D, in addition to a plethora of celebrity portraiture. His style has retained its hyper-realistic, highly saturated aesthetic, often making social commentary.

 Karl Lagerfeld is mostly known as the head designer and creative director of Chanel, but his photography career is lasting and impressive. Among his notable projects are Visionaire 23: The Emperor's New Clothes (series of nude models and celebrities), a 2005 V cover of Mariah Carey, a 2011 VMAN cover of Kanye West, and his 2012 Little Black Jacket exhibition.