Backstage pass - fall 2010 runway show

Clothes on racks, ready to go!

Most runway shows, especially when featuring a single designer, don't last very long but the outward appearance is deceptive.  What shows up on the runway is really the 'tip of the iceberg' compared to what goes on backstage prior to the event.

Obviously, the first step is the design and manufacture of the garments, which may take several months, culminating in the designer working18 hour days - or longer - leading up to the show.

Six of my models in pre-show chat mode

As for the area backstage, preparation starts up hours before the actual show.  The garments have to be dropped off, the show has to be organized, the models have to be prepped in makeup and hair styling, and everything has to work with precision.  As the Head Stylist remarked at the show I participated in, the last week in September, it's really amazing how a group of people, who have possibly never worked together before, can come together, put on a show and have it go smoothly.

In the photos with this blogpost, I'm once again taking you behind the scenes, showing where the clothes were prepared for the various segments (this was a multi-designer show) and also the models who wore my particular designs, waiting to go out on the runway.

Five minutes to showtime!

In my next blog post, I'll take you out into the audience and show more photos from that perspective.

One minute to showtime

In the meantime, if you'd like to view all the designs I showed, use this link: http://canadawears.ca/2010/the-clothing-show-fall-2010/photoset-482.php

Not so supportive - the inside scoop about interfacings!

Puckering from interfacing

People tend to forget that, inside every great garment is something known as interfacing.  Interfacings are the unsung heroes of garment construction; without them, most jackets, coats and the like, would not hold their shape; at the same time, if you buy ready-made outfits, you really have no idea interfacing has been used at all, as it is not something you see.

That is, until you've had the garment while.  And, if it's washable, once you have tossed it in the machine a few times,  you'll often begin to see the presence of the interfacing.  And it's not a pretty sight. Bubbles and puckers start to appear on the surface of your garment.  This is because nowadays, most interfacing is what they call "fusible" - that is, the interfacing is ironed on. 

Bubbling at side seam

Once upon a time, there was only what is known as woven interfacing, which had to be stitched into the garment.  A great leap forward - supposedly - was the introduction of  the non-wovens or fusible interfacings as they are known. These are just applied with a hot iron.  Problem is, such fusible interfacings often have their own ideas about how long they will do their job, sight unseen.  And once they start acting up - or perhaps I should say bubbling up to the surface - you may find an item of clothing you really love becomes unseemly and you have to stop wearing it. 

Fabric after ironing

In the photos I'm showing, puckering is what's happened to a white summer vest that I've had for some time.  For most of the time I've owned this, there haven't been any problems.  But, after the last washing, the interfacing began to act up.  As the vest has decorative trim, interfacing has been used extensively to give the vest shape. 

Luckily for me, this problem can be corrected with an iron, but it's not always possible to do that; it depends on the fabric and the heat that the fabric will tolerate.

This suggests that when you're buying a piece of clothing, especially if it's a major investment, you need to investigate how the garment is made to determine how well it will stand up to standard care.  As they say, better to be safe than sorry!

Unravelling unseen

Those of us who live in the northern hemisphere are preparing for the fall. It's after Labor Day and the weather is starting to cool down. Time to get out our sweaters - or woollies, if you prefer - and prepare them for the winter.

Usually, during the summer, I wash all my sweaters that are washable, turn them inside out and stash them away, ready for the cooler weather. This is how I happen to know that one of my sweaters is slowly coming apart.

Usually, when you make a sweater - or any knit garment - from two or more colors, as one color of wool is phased out and the second color is added, the end of the first wool is supposed to be 'knitted out' and the second 'knitted in', so the wool doesn't unravel, ever.

Due to the way garments are now made in factories, this finishing off process doesn't happen. In the sweater I'm showing, knots were tied instead, where the white changes to black and vice versa. The only problem is, when the sweater went through the washing machine cycle, the agitation started to loosen these knots, because they weren't very tightly tied.

Had I not spotted this, my sweater would have started to unravel beyond the point of repair or possibly left me with some embarrassing moments, out in public, as gaps started to appear in the body or sleeves of the sweater.

I purchased this sweater at a very high profile, high-end women's wear chain, which has stores throughout North America. I won't embarrass them by naming them, but caution anyone else buying sweaters that have more than one color of wool in them, to check the inside frequently, so that your lovely turtleneck or cardigan doesn't unravel on you.

You may also want to consider looking for sweaters made by an artisan, by hand, so that the workmanship should stand the test of time!

Needless to say, in any garment made by my company, Harobed Designs, we strive to make sure that these sorts of accidents don't happen.