My Fashion Show

On Thursday 21^st May, I held my very own fashion show in the Radisson Blu Letterkenny. I couldn't believe the moment had actually arrived after months of planning and preparation. A lot of people said to me, “Do you realise what you are taking on?” “Are you sure you will be able to do it all on your own?” I was sceptical for sure, but had a feeling it would all work out and that it did.

Firstly, it has always been a dream of mine to have my own fashion show, and I felt there was no time like the present seeing as I was finished university and had the time on my hands. I was aware that if I kept putting it off, I would never do it. I always had it planned that if I was ever going to organise a show, the proceeds would go to the Donegal Hospice. It is a charity close to my heart as my Granny would have stayed there for a short time before she came home to spend her final few days amongst family and friends. They are a self funded charity, and it was a really proud moment handing over the cheque totalling €640.

The night itself was so much fun and I will talk about that in the next section, but what was most enjoyable for me was the learning experience. That was another reason I took on the project as I knew it would be an in depth learning curve. Mistakes are lessons learned and I love making mistakes which a lot of people think is very strange. The way I see it is if you don't make mistakes, how else will you learn, grow and develop as an individual? Dealing with different personalities, business meetings, styling clothes, model fittings, delegation, organisation, knowing when to stand up for yourself and being let down a few days before the show are some experiences to name but a few that I encountered. They were great life lessons that I will carry with me, and a great stepping stone in preparing me for the cut-throat fashion industry.

I had lots of great shops on board and these included H&M, New Look, Wallis, Vero Moda, Exhibit, Quiz, Topshop, Menarys and one independent desginer, Sharon Mc Daid. I loved the styling aspect to the show and seeing what the clothes looked like on the models when we got around to doing fittings. It was amazing how long this actually took, because sometimes you have an image in your head of what you think something will look like on, and then it's a totally different story in person. I had no divas thankfully so I have to thank the girls for their patience. They all looked amazing on the night and struted their stuff like true pros. Naomi Campbell watch this space ;)

The day of the show went in SO fast. We had a few final fittings in the morning, the clothes were brought over, it was then time for rehearsals and not long before they had to go in to hair and make-up. I used that time to get myself ready, have a practice of my speech, make sure the running order was correct and also to take the moment in. It wasn't long until people started arriving, the pop up stands were setting up, the DJ had the music playing and the show was ready to take off! At this stage, I was more or less running around like a headless chicken but thankfully everything went smoothly, and it couldn't have been done without Marty Friel who presented the show, great job!

At the end of the show, I had my thank you speech to make and it wasn't until that moment that I realised I had another dream ticked off the list. What made it extra special was looking down and seeing my family in the audience smiling back, it is a moment I won't ever forget and for that, I am so grateful. A lot of people keep asking me when the next one is haha but never say never ;) It is definitely something I would love to do again now that I have the experience, and it also gave me an insight into a career in Events Management, so hey, who knows! :)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank once again, all of the people who helped make the show possible. All of the shops for taking part, the Radisson Hotel Letterkenny for listening to all my requests, my sponsors for the amazing prizes, the models for their fantastic work and time, my helpers back stage, Marty Friel the host, Kieran the DJ, Gabrielle for doing the media coverage, Healthwise Pharmancy and Mc Faddens pharmacy for the goody bag treats, my pop up stands Equivalenza, Juice Plus, Stevens Jewellers and Beautyland, The Edge for the amazing hair and make-up, David Craig and Liam for providing and setting up the catwalk lights, Stephen Mc Callion for his photography and last but by no means least my mum and sister who gave me an unbelievable amount of support and encouragement throughout the whole journey.

Enjoy looking at all the pictures! :)

Emma

Putting the finishing touches to the goody bags :)

Some Goody Bag treats!

Meetings galore!

Celebratory drinks!

Giving me a big head haha

Claudia wearing one of Sharon Mc Daid's amazing headpieces

The amazing raffle prizes !

On stage doing my thank you speech, it was a proud moment haha

My two door ladies ! :)

Maria strutting her stuff in Quiz Clothing

Lisa also modelling Quiz

Sharon Mc Daid independent designer section

Rachael in a Vero Moda suit which I am definitely purchasing!!

Rachael in Topshop

Claudia in Topshop

Clara in Topshop

The Compere for the night, Marty Friel and myself

Sharon Mc Daid, the models & myself

Claudia in Quiz Clothing

Lisa in New Look

My sister roped into doing the raffle on stage haha

Claudia and Caroline in H&M for the finale

It took a lot of pushing and persuading haha, but we finally got Sharon on stage for a quick interview about the fascinators and head pieces she designed, amazing job!