1426 Curves Swim Week 2015
-Behind The Scenes-
Three days of fashion, networking, purposeful learning, and instruction began in the city of Sugarland, Texas at Club Blaunsch. The ladies and gentlemen who were to walk the runway on Sunday relaxed Friday night on the dancefloor, under flashing lights, and danced with the beats that shook the walls of the elegantly decorated club. For a moment the anxiety of walking the runway for the first time was drowned out by introductions, spending time with new friends, and losing one's self to the music...
On Saturday morning
at 12 noon, there was a four hour model workshop that took place at
the Art Institute of Houston (North). Speakers from across the United States, even Toronto, Canada were there to share their stories and
encourage everyone in attendance, educating all of us about business
and entrepreneurship, fashion, design, runway presentations, acting,
and the inside workings of the modeling and fashion industry.
The workshop began
with exercises led by John Mitchell of PHAT BODY GYM and it was a
great way to initiate our minds and prepare us for this wonderful
workshop!
Overseeing the
workshop and also providing additional information was Debbie Shannon
(Plus America LIFETIME QUEEN!). What stood out to me from Debbie's
introductory presentation was that anyone interested in being a part
of the fashion industry needs to be aware of what they are posting on
social media; a subject echoed by every other speaker present!
(Find Debbie on Facebook HERE)
The first panelist
to speak was “Ms. Camay” McClure (OFFICIAL SITE HERE) who traveled all the way from
Seattle, Washington for this event! She described the Biblical background of pageantry and preparing and presenting one's best self whether it be on the runway or in life, to be a fierce competitor and represent yourself at all times. She encouraged us to always be ready to perform or do our part, readily follow instructions and also be ready to learn with humility. The importance of being service minded, that we are all a role model to someone, and to build trust by
consistency in your work, to be dependable and you'll be respected. Always be business minded, it should be our #1 priority, and lastly to BE YOUR BRAND! So many of these points spoke to me and I encourage everyone to follow her on social media because Camay is doing some really great things!
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| Ms. Camay interacting with attendees after her presentation |
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The
second speaker was Curtis Von! I had the pleasure of meeting him at
the previous 1426 Fashion Week in October 2014 (FULL RECAP HERE) and
he was also the emcee of #CurvesSwimWeek! He is an actor and acting
coach. He encouraged all of the models to pursue other artistic
avenues besides just runway modeling, perhaps participating in plays
or musicals. He also encouraged everyone to have confidence and to be
disciplined in order to be successful in whatever industry you work
in. He is a dynamic and captivating speaker and it was a pleasure
hearing from him and seeing him at all of the weekend's events!!
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Continuing the
conversation about social media's impact on the world of fashion, Georgia Greenwood of Toronto, Canada said, “I
will stalk your social media.” She is the designer behind
GIGI JORIE. In order to decide whether she wants a certain model to represent her
brand, Georgia Greenwood, said that she and many others will not
blindly accept someone who wants to walk on the runway for them, but will study them. She
gave us an insider's look at the mind, motives, and life of an
international designer and entrepreneur. NEVER STOP IMPROVING, she reminded us of the importance of communication, to ask the designer what they want from you. She told us to follow people
and pages we want to emulate, not just anyone, because your followers, tagged
photos, etc. are public and will be judged, seen, scrutinized. Research the
designer you are walking the runway for. Research and knowing how to maneuver around the internet is very important as well as knowing your craft/runway/modelling. She told horror stories of models who didn't know what they were doing, were unprepared, were not clean, and didn't know what to put in a model bag. Humility is important when you're working for a designer and it's important to not just model their clothes, but invest in the designers you like and want to support or believe in.
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| Here's Georgia with Michael Wood (his panel discussion is a few paragraphs below!) |
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Ron Mayes is a professional photographer who is very passionate and serious about his business. I found his panel discussion very inspiring as an aspiring and beginner photographer! He talked about the importance of being mentored by other people and to always look for ways to learn something new. He told us to set high
standard for ourselves. As a photographer, he has in his vehicle a mobile studio complete with pop-up changing station, lighting, and other important tools he can use to not only make it easy for those he's taking photos of, but also to make things more efficient for him. VERY IMPORANT: He told us some horror stories of photographers with bad intentions who have physically harmed the women in front of the camera, taken money and never returned the photos, and he encouraged everyone to NEVER go alone to shoots with photographers, to always have a signed contract and if the photographer doesn't have one and you don't already know them, then beware! He told us to study
the photographers' work and get to know who they are before shooting, know the turnover, price, edit, costs,
release information and always sign a disclosure, discuss revenue, perhaps pay half up front and half when you receive the photos. Always do a background check and ask for references, look up their associations and contact past customers. This information could save people's lives and at the very least help you avoid embarrassment and lawsuits.
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| Here's photographer Ron Mayes imparting his wisdom to the crowded room! |
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Short and to the point, designer CJ SCIZZORHANDZ spoke some serious wisdom to us when she
explained the meaning of being “poor”.... Passing Over
Opportunity Repeatedly. I was really inspired by this!
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| CJ SCIZZORHANDZ & the one and only Linda Scott founder of #LS1426 #CurvesSwimWeek! |
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The entrepreneur behind ALLL 4
U BOTIQUE Shareece Gregory shared with us tips on how to look good on the runway in
any size, reminded us of the importance of body foundation and good
shoes – but not shoes that take away from the designer's outfits.
“You can be a barrel, but be the best barrel you can be.” I was
really encouraged by her message to men and women of all sizes to be
confident and comfortable with their body. The last and possibly most
important part of her message was encouraging us to gather around us
a team of people from hair, makeup, photography, and also moral
support.
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Motivational Speaker, Life Coach, Corporate Spokesperson & Writer Lindsey Higgins gave us a thorough tutorial of Runway modelling and also encouraged all of us to be our best! Here's some photos from her presentation!
I really enjoyed Lindsey's passion, enthusiasm, and the way she connected with everyone in the crowd. She has the unique gift to captivate a large crowd. Instead of feeling like the room was crowded with people, she made it feel like we were in a safe place, and answered questions, gave illustrations, and passed out booklets that we could fill out along with her message which was a great tool to keep everyone's attention as well as asking for audience participation!
I look forward to hearing from Lindsey again because I think her story and passion are inspiring and interesting and I hope more people can hear from her! Let her "Speak For You" by following her on social media!
One of the last
panelists was Michael Wood. (intro, links, who he is) “Everyone”
he said, “Is buying or selling something.” Some important
rhetorical questions he asked us were; “What is your time worth? Do
you want to be popular or get paid?” His homework to beginning
entrepreneurs was to create and copyright a business name, get your
own website and domain, register a tax ID, and then open up a
business bank account. After doing this, he encouraged us to delete
at least 20 people from our social media, those people who never
communicate or participate with our postings or if they serve no
purpose and don't buy or support out business. Another subject he
touched on was to not only know, but show our worth and demand
respect. “Social Media” he said, “is Access...”
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To wrap up the
workshop, there were representatives from Farmer's Insurance who
answered questions and offered assistance to anyone interested in
business or personal insurance policies or legal questions.
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| The Panelists, Linda Scot, and the support staff of 1426 #CurvesSwimWeek! |
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Hours before the runway show, all of the models and designers were getting ready behind closed doors with the help of makeup artists and hair stylists. Here's some exclusive behind the scenes photos of their preparations!
And then the lights dimmed and the music played... the runway show had begun...
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