I spy with my little eye... Fashion Forward, Backstage.

There was the event. There was the crowd. There were the shows. And then there was the backstage.

What I love about Fashion Shows is the Couture and the Show more than the buzz and the media. When it comes to Couture, I like Fashion Shows that look like Shows. They need to be original, surprising, grand, or completely traditional but there need to be something about them that will be remembered. 

That being said, a Show is nothing without the people behind it. And I say people, as a plural, not just the designer. I learned this during my Couture years in Paris: the day before the show I wouldn't leave work without visiting the "Flou" and the "Tailleur" workshops, climbing up and down the wooden stairs to support the seamstresses, check they had everything they needed, have a little chat to help them evacuate the stress. On D-Day's morning, the first thing I would do is climb those wooden stairs again up and down to check up on them, share a cup of coffee, listen to the stories of the night: who is late? Who had to redo their hem? Who was short on fabric and had to improvise? Whose piece was not behaving and was being difficult? I like the people behind, I like the stories. Those moments were priceless... and also gave me the bad habit of sneaking backstage as often as possible. What can I say, I am spoilt! 

Obviously with Fashion Forward I couldn't help but have a look behind the curtains (and the big security guys... hello soldiers!). The glimpse I got was surprisingly calm. I am used to seamstresses running after their pieces, dresses being stapled directly on the models... The rehearsal I saw was pretty organised and choreographed, a few details were being corrected but there was no shouting and no excessive stress. Please note that in the Fashion World, warning the models with a: "no messing up tonight, otherwise murder" is not considered overboard as long as it is said with a smile. And remember that the runway is a jungle: being a model comes with risks. The heels are high, that's a fact, but most of the time they don't even get their size, which inevitably results in memorable falls. So yes, I witnessed a few joyful stumbles, always managed with a smile, just to remind us that Fashion has a sense of humour too.