AW16 London Collections Men - Day 3

The third day of my LCM experience was the fullest of them all, it consisted of dressing 2 shows, Belstaff in the morning and KTZ in the evening.  Belstaff was a presentation, I wasn't sure how it would go, usually with a presentation models have to stand for up to 3 hours, so I wasn't sure if we could get them dressed and then leave, or would we have to stay the whole time while the presentation was going on and then undress the models after.  A bit disappointed, it was the later, sit around and wait for them to finish.  The presentation was inside a car park, so it was a bit cold, but the stuff from Belstaff is amazing, super warm, and models had to wear multiple layers.  My model was Look 11, his look was really warm!  I loved all of the leather mixed with shearling, fur, and printed nylon.  The set was really cool making the car park look like a winter wonderland, with faux snow and boulders.

Backstage images that I took

Top 5 Looks, see the whole collection here

The KTZ show was next and it was a big one.  I had heard that there would be 45 models and 45 dressers, a lot of people in one small backstage space.  When we arrived the clothes hadn't arrived yet so it was a bit of standing around and waiting.  I was assigned to the quick change room where I would get a model that had 2 looks, there were about 10 models that would need to have a change during the show.  My model would be Eliot.  After becoming familiar with her 2 looks, I got her in the first look, there was a rehearsal where we went through the quick change, which went really great.  This was Eliot's first fashion show, she had a good energy, excited but a bit nervous!  She was really nice and we worked great together to be sure she was ready on time.  Because there were some many models, dressers, and KTZ team members, there was a crazy energy backstage.  We were not able to take photos backstage, so sadly I only have a few photos from after the show.  But again KTZ delivered a great show with great clothes!  There were ton of sports references from the helmets to the stitching design, mixed with leather, and oversize shorts.

Top 5 Looks, see the whole collection here, the first model is Eliot

Photos taken backstage, I only learned at the end of the show that Eliot was actually the daughter of Sting and is a great musician in her own right.  These 2 guys below are the designers.

AW16 London Collections Men - Day 2

I was so excited for Day 2 of the menswear shows, because on day 2 I would be dressing for the YMC show and going to watch the Maharishi show.  Both brands I had never heard of, so it was also exciting for me to get to know these brands through the shows.

First up was YMC (You Must Create).  On Friday I was asked to head the dressing team, which would be to manage a team of 16 dressers.  What an opportunity and one that definitely brought me back to high school and college when I worked as wardrobe head for several shows and as a stage manager for large productions.  It was really great, but also a bit nerving to be in this position again!  When I arrived I met with all of the necessary people, the creative director and the head stylist of YMC.  Both were so nice, everyone was so nice really.  After getting familiar with all of the outfits, assigning dressers to each specific look, and letting the dressers know what was going on we were ready for the models.  The models were really great.  I had Chi, a lovely guy from Hong Kong, we chatted a bit, he tried on his shoes, and went off to rehearsal.  Music during the show was provided by a live band, which meant a bit more rehearsal time in order to get the timing right.  After the rehearsal it was only a short time before the start of the show so Chi got into his first look.  

The whole collection had a very seventies vibe.  Almost every model had a hat and long hair. 

Below is my model Chi looking great in his second look!

Some backstage pictures

Favourite looks from the show, view the full collection here

Next up, in the evening was the Maharishi show.  Between the shows I had plenty of time to go home and get ready.  With invitation in hand I made my way back to the same venue as the previous show, this time entering through the main entrance instead of the backstage entrance.  I got some water before the show and waited to be let in.  Once able to go in I took my seat and waited for the show to begin.  The show began and the music was pumping, a great mix of hip hop.  Models were quite swift walking the runway.  There was a definite military/jungle vibe showing camo prints, greens and browns.  I loved all of the hoods, and the use of red.  They also had these great alligators on some of the looks, see below.

Below are pictures I took during the show

These are some of my favourite looks, view the whole collection here