ICYMI (and our live stream), on the Saturday of NZ Fashion Weekend we presented our Miss FQ show in collaboration with the skincare gurus at Goodness. 4 Kiwi designers, 15 models, and 30 looks later, here’s how the magic happened…
Putting together a Fashion Show is like making a new issue of Miss FQ, it requires serious planning, plenty of creativity, stylists, photographers, social media gurus, a room full of readers, new season style arrivals and beauty products by the… well, goodie bag load!
Four weeks before
*Ring, ring* we’re on the phone to a few of our favourite Kiwi designers of the minute, RUBY, Interval, Sylvester and Lonely, to ask them if they’ll show in the Miss FQ section of #TheFQEdit Fashion Show during NZ Fashion Weekend. Last year, we had a separate show to our big sister brand, Fashion Quarterly, but this year we’re doing it together, making it bigger and better than ever! All four brands say yes and we ask them to each send us 15 looks so we can pick our favourite eight outfits for the show. The garments must be here in two weeks in time for model fittings. There’s no ifs, buts, or maybes when it comes to deadlines for a fashion show! Speaking of things arriving, we confirm with Goodness that we’ll have 15 models in the entire show – they’re sending a range of skincare for each of the girls to use in the lead up to the big day so their skin is healthy and glowing by the time they hit the runway.
Three weeks before
Line up, babes. It’s casting day! As the models get ready to give us and every other designer their best walk we spend a moment flicking through the model cards to see if there’s any exciting new faces or internationals who have arrived in town. Seeing as we’ve done two issues of Miss FQ magazine, we always love to support the girls who have been in a photoshoot in the magazine or have worked with us before but casting day is a great way of seeing some fresh talent. It’s also a good opportunity to scope out girls for upcoming editorials. Hundreds of models later, we have our shortlist. Now it’s time to confirm with Managing Editor, Sally-Ann before calling the agencies and booking our wish list!
Two weeks before
A long day ahead of fittings and makeup trials means skincare is the focus for the Miss FQ team’s morning routine which consists of Goodness Every Day Cream Cleanser, Every Morning Moisturiser SPF 15 and Twice-A-Day Eye Cream. Due to the early morning start, makeup is kept minimal but we’ve all got our Be Cool Mist Toner to freshen us up throughout eight hours of model fittings… yes, eight! Each model tries on her allocated outfits and we take a photo to attach to her hangers on the day so the NZ Fashion Week volunteer dressers know how the looks should be styled on the day of the show. The girls all walk away with a pre-Fashion Week skincare goodie bag courtesy of the lovely team at Goodness and many comment on how important it will be for them to get a good routine in place before the busiest week of the year.
One week before
Seven days might sound like a long time but seeing as the Miss FQ team is attending Fashion Week all week, there’s no time to spend on the show… other than reminding everyone of their call times and drop off deadlines for garments of course! The key to a big show like ours is organisation and we’re feeling under control ATM!
The day of
Four hours before show time, the van pulls up outside Miss FQ HQ to load in the garments, shoes and accessories, ready for transportation down to the Viaduct Events Centre where Fashion Week is being held.
With the models’ amazing skin looking fresh and glowing (despite back-to-back shows and sleepless nights – thanks, Goodness for the skincare hook ups!), the incredible MAC Cosmetics team are able to prep the girls’ faces with Every Morning Moisturiser before applying their bold berry lip and flushed cheek looks. 
Half an hour until show time
The previous show is running half an hour late so we’ve only got 30 mins to put all 600 of our goodie bags on the seats for our lovely show attendees to take home. It’s all hands on deck to get them out but we get there in the end thanks to the crew and volunteers. Everyone who sees the show receives a full size Goodness product in their goodie bag – lucky!
Meanwhile, the show producer and stylist are getting the models dressed and in order. It’s a tight ship to run but our team are the best in the biz!
And just like that it’s lights down, music on, Instagram up and we’re ready for show time…
