Backstage Report: House of Fraser Mini Fashion Show

Last week I had the fortunate opportunity to manage backstage at a Fashion Show at House of Fraser, organised to aid the promoting of their Personal Shopping Service.

The idea was to create a mini show using pieces from House of Fraser's concessions.  

It was great to be a part of this project and compared to the larger shows that I have worked on, particularly London Fashion Week shows, this mini show really was a "walk in the park"! Even though there were a few moments of mania backstage, generally, it was a lot slower paced. There was also a lot less planning and general co-ordination to do than I'm used to!

I arrived at House of Fraser in the afternoon and my priority was to ensure that we had all the necessary items to create complete outfits along with other logisitics as well as helping with co-ordinating the rehearsal.

When it was "show-time" I was backstage managing the dressing of the models, putting outfits together and cueing them for the catwalk.

I had the pleasure of working with a great team of gorgeous models who, thankfully, kept the diva-esque behaviour to a minimum!

A range of beautiful pieces were used from the following collections: Day Birger, Anya Hindmarsh, Biba, Warehouse, Oasis, Ted Baker, Stefanel, Bastyan, Pied a Terre, Label Lab, Hugo Boss, Linea, Episode and a few others.

The items selected were catergorised into 4 different looks or collections: Casualwear, Workwear, Occasionwear and Eveningwear.

Model behaviour: The lovely models - Julia (left) in halter-neck bead-trimmed dress and wide-brimmed hat by Ted Baker. Alessandra (middle) in leather shorts, silk Safari shirt and silk scarf by Biba. Arna (right) in long tassled dress,  cardigan and necklace by Day Birger - All from the Casualwear Collection.

I simply loved the Biba outfit (modelled by Alessandra - middle). It is the type of outfit that is perfect for those hot summer days spent, for example, on an excursion whilst on holiday, or a friend's BBQ and such occasions.

Here's a closer look at the pieces:

Biba beige, silk, safari blouse - £66
Deep beige, leather shorts  - £75

Style Tips: The fluidity of this fabric is preferable for those with a curvaceous upper-body as it will comfortably flow over the curves and the loose fit allows for ease of movement.

The structured shorts can be proudly donned by those with very shapely, toned legs.

I also fell in love with this beautiful Ted Baker silk bead-embellished maxi dress that was showcased as one of the Eveningwear looks. I unfortunately was unable to get a shot of it being modelled but found an adequate one on the Ted Baker website:

Orange delight - Ted Baker - £249.00

I am contemplating purchasing this dress as I think it would be ideal for a friend's wedding I am attending over the summer in Italy. This would also work well for a summer ball or a gala evening.

Style Tips: As this dress is loose fitting and flowy, it works well for those who either do not have a defined waist but are, rather, straight / angular-figured or those who have unwanted weight surrounding the waist area as it will obviously conceal this.

If you have very broad angular shoulders, a strapless dress will only serve to emphasise them. Therefore a dress with thick straps will work best for very broad angular shoulders as it will give the illusion of the opposite, i.e. narrower shoulders. 


To my dismay, it was not possible to get any images of the outfits on the catwalk on this occasion. But here's a snippet from backstage:

Myself with the fashion show organiser, Vicki (leopard print dress, blonde hair) and the lovely models

The show ran relatively smoothly with good feedback from the organisers and audience.

[Images courtesy of tedbaker.com and houseoffraser.co.uk]