Episode 21: Fashion Show History & Evolution | Mastering the Production Series, Part 1

0:01 Hey, hey, welcome back EdVenturous Educator. We've been talking about fashion week for the last two weeks. Okay, so now we're going to transition into talking about fashion shows. It's such an easy transition, because Fashion Week consists of several fashion shows, and we get to see like a glimpse of the shows and collections of designers. They last about 15, 20, 30 minutes at the most. Some may last a little longer than that, because they have a lot of theatrics and things built into it. But a fashion show is gonna last really somewhere around 15 to 20 minutes. And that's just a glimpse of the collection that is coming out. And everything that the designer has done over a long period of time. Fashion Show production itself takes time, months of preparation. And just depending on how big the theatrics and things are, like, let's look, look at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. That takes like a whole year of production or even more, because you're looking at the design of the wings that the girls were wearing. You're looking at so many aspects, the securing the location, all these different things that have to come together for it to show a show that lasted really about 30 minutes, but with TV, they stretched it into an hour, hour and a half, two hours, however long it was. We're gonna break it down. As a fashion marketing teacher for 14 years, I produced and oversaw the production of 12 fashion shows. These were student-led productions. There were several high-level positions that the students had. And then they came together as a team to create these fashion shows. So I'm going to break those down to you and talk to you about how to produce a fashion show.

2:11 I thought I was going to do this in like a three-part series. As I sat down and began to do the outline, it turned into 11 parts. Okay. And who knows, by the time I'm finished with this, it may expand into other parts. But it's going to be an 11 episode series that's going to cover the history of fashion shows, it's going to cover the type of fashion shows; the roles within a fashion show; the theme development; how to host a model call; the models and merchandising area; how to develop your segments (once you've determined like what your theme is, and everything); stage coordination (that's going to be the stage manager; promotions; sourcing; and then logistics. So those are all the areas that are gonna be covered in the series. So grab your pen and paper and get ready to take some serious notes on how to develop a fashion show. Let's go.

3:19 You're listening to Marketing EdVenture, the hub for business, fashion marketing and other CTE educators who integrate marketing into the learning experience. I'm your host, Jacque Walker. Each week, I'll cover marketing, education concepts, strategies, tips, trends, frameworks, and other information to equip you to connect your classroom to digital natives while cultivating an engaged learning environment. So come on into the room, where your favorite beverage snacks and even your cell phone are all welcome.

3:58 So as we begin to talk about, you know, breaking down the production of a fashion show, let's just talk about the purpose. Why do fashion shows exist? Fashion shows exist really four I can think of three main reasons but there could be more added on but the main reason is to showcase merchandise. That's how it all started with showcasing merchandise that designers created. So that is the main reason for a fashion show. And another purpose of the fashion show could be to introduce a new designer. Nowadays we have so many designers out there and so they create a line of fashion so that they can introduce who they are to target their market and let people know I'm out here creating fashion just for you. All right, and then fashion shows can be created for charity events or just for whatever type of event you want. And you want to have some type of special event within your program or whatever you're doing. So a lot of times people will throw a fashion show for instance, for charity to make money, and things of that nature. So those are the three main reasons that I'm going to use as far as why fashion shows are produced. But it ultimately is to move merchandise to make money for the designers and the companies, the manufacturers and all of that to sell merchandise for profit.

5:38 Okay. Now that you know the purpose, let's just take a look at how it all began. So fashion shows have been around since the 1300s. But it will be interesting to note that fashion shows didn't always involve real life models. Fashion shows have their start with dolls, right. And so you might be like dolls, why? Well just think about it, you can dress a doll up in an outfit, and easily show it to someone. And if you really think about the 1300s, think about transportation and access, it was very limited. And it was very hard. It took a long time to get around to different places because we didn't have our modern transportation like we have now. So access was one of the issues. And it was also limited to royalty. So it was Koons in the royal court that had access to designers who were creating things specifically for them. And those designers showcased what they were creating for that person on a doll, a fashion doll, they would create a design. Make the design, put it on the doll, ship it off to the person for them to see the design and if they liked it, and you know, they may have done several of them if they would choose which one that they wanted. And then the designer would make, of course, the full real life size outfit for that individual that started in the 1300s. Like I said, with royalty.

7:32 All right, and then eventually it moved into having real mannequins. Now it took some time because it wasn't until the 19th century that real models came about. And this started with Charles Frederick Werth who created the first known fashion house, Charles Frederick words created individual clothing items. For individuals. It wasn't mass production, it was for individuals. And he also began to showcase the clothing on models. And since he was the one who opened up a fashion house, he invited the person that he was designing for it into his fashion house for personal fittings, and a personal showing of the merchandise on a real live person. And they gave a better idea of how that item was going to fit on them. So he is the first person that introduced a live model.

8:40 And then you had in the early 20s, where there were three main designers that began to change the landscape of how fashion was presented. And those designers were Paul pourrais. Mme, Paul Quinn and John two. So Perrey, what he did was actually begin to have several models to showcase the clothing within his house, his fashion house, and also at various locations. So he began what is called the parade of mannequins. So mannequins originally were the doll, and it eventually became a live person, and they call them mannequins. And so he would take his group of model mannequins around to different locations, and he would have fashion shows to showcase the fashion that he had created. And that became a thing. This next person is Madame Paquin. So she also was in the early 20s. And she continued with the parade of mannequins, just as parole I had done. And she also introduced what we now know as the finale. I mean, you can't have a fashion show without having a finale walk, right. She was the one who introduced that to us. And then you had John Patou, who came along during the 20s, as well. And he took things as far as the parade of mannequins to a whole nother level by introducing the press to like a pre-show of the fashion show. So whenever they had their rehearsals, he would invite the press to come out and see what fashion was going to debut at the fashion show. So this would generate a lot of interest, a lot of talk and a desire for whatever was coming out. And it was just a lot of hype built around the fashion show because the press is gonna take it and run. And they want to be the first to talk about it right? And then it just generates all of that interest in the fashion show. Now, he also is known for using American models in the Paris fashion shows, it was said that American people complained that they couldn't really tell how the fashion was going to look on their bodies because French models' bodies were different from American American women. And so they really wanted to see how things were going to look on the American body. So he started using American models in the Paris Fashion Show. And he also is known for the dramatic openings of the show. So Madam Paquin introduced the finale, but Jean Patou introduced the dramatic openings that we see for a lot of fashion shows nowadays. So those three people really had an impact on the growth and transition and development of fashion shows starting in the early 20s. So as you can see, the parade of mannequins became what fashion shows were about with those parade of mannequins or the models walking down a runway, and showcasing the merchandise?

12:23 Well, in the 40s, things became a little bit more theatrical, let's say, Christina Dior introduce the actual performances where he wanted the models not to just look, you know, straight, walk straight, be all minimalists on the runway, he wanted them to have emote, expressions in in gauging the audience and doing various things to really bring the fashion to life. So he is known as the one who introduced theatrical performances in fashion shows in the 40s.

13:01 And then Mary quaint came along in the 60s. She's a British designer, who decided that models who were photographic who usually just did print work, she felt like they would be better on the runway, because they knew how to move their bodies to make things look good, because they did it for photographs. So she felt like they would be good on the runway and live in living color. And so she used photogenic models on the runway as her models and she also introduced the use of props in dance to make the fashion shows more energetic and lively.

13:47 And then in the 70s, a Japanese designer by the name of Kenzo introduced stage performances. So you may think, okay, well, we already thought it was stage performers, but no, this was more like a theatrical production as far as a Broadway show kind of performance, okay. And so, he introduced that and from there fashion shows just really took off and became whatever the creative mind of the designer wanted, you know, so it was no more no longer limited to just a straight walk down the runway, turn around and come back. It started encompassing so many aspects to entertain, not just showcase.

14:36 And then so by the early about 80s, fashion shows became global, not just restricted to a region and with you know, TV being around, of course, people had access to seeing what was happening over in Paris, what was happening over Milan, London and everywhere, so they weren't just restricted to seeing the fashion and That was happening just in their region. So fashion shows became global, it took fashion global, and it was no longer limited to just private events. So previously, fashion shows started off with just royalty having fashion made for themselves and being introduced by a designer. And it still kind of remained private, and invitation only kind of like, until it became global in the 80s. Whereas now, no privacy, everyone has access, I mean, to a certain extent. So everyone has access.

15:39 And then in the early 21st century, of course, things became media oriented. You got the internet and all of that going on. So you have fashion shows that are now internet shows, you don't have to be there in person to see the actual fashion show, you can go watch it on the internet, youtube. I mean, right now you pull up YouTube, and you can watch any fast show. And actually, they'll tell you, we're going live for our fashion show and Fashion Week. And you can actually tune in to either live on Instagram, live from YouTube, or wherever, whatever platform and watch the actual Fashion Show live. So that really takes fashion shows to a whole nother level. So that is the evolution of the fashion show, from fashion dolls, to now live fashion shows on whatever platform the designer chooses.

16:40 Alright, so now that you know the history of the evolution of the fashion show itself, let's talk about the models. So once they began to use live mannequins, there was an evolution of who these people were. So initially, it started off with women in high society, they could be the wives of millionaires, of you know, people who were high in the societal environment. So they were and also could be actresses. So they were people who were well known at their social level, and are accepted at certain social levels. And those were the people who were the mannequins, and they had a name that they called them. They were Mannequins de monde. And that's just equivalent to saying world models. So they were elite. And these were the people who were demonstrating the clothes at the fashion houses, and on the runways.

17:47 Now, as we moved into the 50s to 70s, it became very popular. It created a desire for a lot of women to want to be a model because they got to see this life of glitz and glam that these models had. And they wanted to be a part of that. So you had women flocking to the major areas like New York and Paris, and London wanting to be fashion models. And so agencies were developed to help these women transition into modeling. And so you had your first agency that really was developed in the 20s. Because there was a model who decided she wanted to create an agency. She and her husband were out of work. So they decided to create an agency because they modeled and they wanted to help other women learn how to do that as well. And they can make money by having people to pay them to teach them how to model. So their agency was birthed in the 20s. Although it didn't grow, like the agency world didn't grow until like the 50s to 70s is when it really boomed. And you had a lot of agencies out there helping young ladies become models. Now as you can, if you can think about it. And I remember myself, I always used to say my mom's gonna put me in charm school. I used to say that when I was in middle school and high school. Charm school was simply a modeling agency or not a modeling agency, but a modeling school that taught you how to walk, like a model, and the mannerisms and everything. So some of these agencies turned into charm schools. And this was just grooming women to be models. And how many girls do you know say they want to be a model? Let me tell you, as a fashion teacher, every girl practically that we interviewed for our program, wants to model. That was their reason for wanting to be in the fashion program. We were like so Sweetheart, we don't teach modeling here unless you try out for our fashion show. And then we help you learn how to walk. But we don't have classes on modeling. So every young girl wants to be a model. So charm schools became very popular. And so you had your agencies that were developed. You had your charm schools that were developed. And then you had your high end, big model agencies that became a thing.

20:27 Like in the 70s, when you had your supermodels that became known, I mean, you had Cheryl Tiegs, and your Twiggy that became like these iconic models. And so modeling evolved from it just being exclusive to high end social elite, women, to mass models, through agencies, charm schools, and then these high end model agencies that we see nowadays. That's how models kind of evolved. And also, as you can see, they didn't have to be actresses anymore, they became the everyday person that people could relate to. Now you see that models really take on a celebrity of their own nowadays. And then you see some models transitioning from the model world into the acting world. So it kind of has reversed. Instead of actresses becoming models, you have models becoming actresses. And that's all I have about the model.

21:39 So, as a recap, for our first episode of fashion shows, which consisted of the history of the fashion show, we talked about the purpose of fashion shows: to sell merchandise primarily; to promote the designer; and for events. And then we talked about the show itself, and the evolution of the show from fashion dolls being used to showcase the merchandise to live mannequins, to parade of mannequins to the theatrical fashion shows that have no limits. And then we talked about how the models had gone from being just, high-end social elite women as models to it being for the everyday person who has gone through maybe a modeling agency, a charm school, or what have you. And now we have models who are now big celebrities. Now they are going into acting or whatever else they desire to do because of their face being widespread and really well known. So that wraps up episode one of the history of fashion for our fashion show series.

23:04 Stay tuned for Episode 2. We're going to talk about the different types of fashion shows. Yes, there are different types of fashion shows. Come back next week to learn more about it. I thank you so much for being here with me today. And I hope you have a wonderfully blessed day.

23:26 I do hope that you find value with this fashion show production series. It's something I've wanted to do for years because fashion shows have so many moving parts. Of course, when you're managing students who are doing it as well, it really is a project management situation. So what I intend to do is have video series for Fashion Show production, along with documents that I used when I was overseeing the fashion show production. And even some snippets of when I was actually managing my students and a highlight of the fashion shows that we actually did with pictures and video. So there's just a lot of things that I plan to release once I'm done with this whole series about fashion show production that I will make available. So stay tuned for that bundle of resources and information to be made available. I look forward to you having access to that. And I also look forward to hearing about your fashion show productions and seeing them on Instagram. So be sure to connect with me at Marketing EdVenture on Instagram so that I can see all the wonderful work that you're doing with your fashion program.

25:02 Thanks for listening to Marketing EdVenture. Remember to subscribe, rate, review and share this episode with someone you think would benefit from the information shared here today. If you have any questions or want to connect with me, find me on Instagram at Marketing EdVenture. All links and resources discussed in this episode can be found in the show notes at marketingedventure.com