Eco Fashion Week- Guest Blogger Amy Kulcheski

Day 1 of fashion shows: I arrived at the Storyeum building in Gastown, the location looked so chic and had so much culture. I proceeded to check in, get my wrist band and I headed backstage. After walking through the building to get back stage I landed directly in front of the runway, it looked great! Suddenly I started getting more and more excited!

Backstage has a life of its own, pure chaos. Models were getting makeup applied, getting their hair styled, and working with designers to get clothing fitted. People were sitting, standing and running around. There was tons of media snapping pictures, which was a little uncomfortable because we were all running around half naked most of the time. Although, you begin to get accustom to it and barely notice them. My show did not start until 7 pm so I had time to talk with some of the other models and get acquainted. The Real Housewives of Vancouver were filming a segment backstage. The ladies stood out like a shiny bling encrusted sore thumb! I was originally walking for a jeans wear company called Second Denim Co. but after too many models arriving I got placed in a very dramatic show titled Unlokk, designed by Eason Wang (the show went wonderfully). During my fittings for Eason, Jeff Garner approached me and said he would love to include me in his model line-up. Jeff’s show was the finale, everyone was talking about how he was going to top last season and close Eco Fashion Week. I was really looking forward to being included in his show, Prophetik.


Day 2 of fashion show: After going home the night before and doing a little research on Jeff Garner, I learned that he had dressed Colin Firth’s wife for the 2011 Emmy awards, Colin was nominated for The Kings Speech. He has shown his collections in Paris and London, he has been photographed with the super famous Khloe Kardashian and has done work with the band Kings of Leon. Very impressive!

We did two run-through’s, each taking about 30-40 minutes. Jeff had the most models and he is known to be theatrical with his shows so it was necessary to practice as much as possible. After run-through’s I did my fittings for him and learned that I did not just have 1 look but 3! This is a good thing. Then it was back to hair and makeup for Shefelt, my first show of the night. I opened the show for this designer and had 3 looks as well. The pace for Shefelt was really slow, hair and makeup was very elegant and the garments were constructed beautifully. Her designs were generally dresses and all the outfits were made out of felt.

After hours and hours of waiting, the finale had arrived. The looks had a country vibe but were very elegant. Jeff’s inspiration for his collection is his hometown of Tennessee. The hair and makeup was dramatic! Everyone was excited. The singer performed her live melody and exited the runway. The music started, lights dimmed and it was show time! I watched the first model begin to walk. I was second so I had time to get nervous. My first walk went well and my nerves disappeared, so the second and third just followed. Overall the show went great, none of the models tripped and the media seemed to love it. After the show we had to go straight to the media wall for an interview with Fashion Television. After FT, several pictures were taken and two more interviews were conducted. This was definitely the event of Eco Fashion Week and worth the wait. I am so happy to have been a part of it! Until next season everyone…..