By Mark La Monica
The aura of "Backstage" goes something like this: When you're not there, you yearn for the opportunity to be there. When you do finally get there, you wonder why you wanted to be there.
For all the jokes and truths about backstage being overrated, Tuesday night's experience behind the curtain prior to the start of the Heatherette show was enlightening.
I've had backstage access before, but this one taught me quite a few things about the fashion world.
[Quick disclosure before we proceed: I've been covering sports for the past seven years. The fashion world is, um, a little different.]
From the typical vantage point of those at a fashion show, it seems so easy. Just put the clothes on the model, send the model down the runway for 15-20 seconds, repeat.
No, no, no.
There's the makeup and hair. The organizing of the clothes and the accessories. The last-minute spray painting of shoe straps. The quick touch-ups of whatever needs touching up. The general craziness stemming from 200 or so people in one small room. The shuffling of models from hair to makeup stations to their proper clothing area. The photographers. The media. The celebrities. The hangers-on. The BlackBerrys and cell phones.
It's an absolute madhouse.
At one point, I got dizzy. And my only responsibility was to take a few photos (you'll see those on Thursday evening in a special photo essay) and make mental notes of the experience. I can't imagine what the people actually working for Heatherette must have felt like.
At a second point, I began to wonder just how much money was involved in making this show happen. From the buckets of makeup and hair spray (retail pricing, that is) to the payroll for those stylists, it would likely cost quite a few bones to produce. Not to mention the cost of the fabric, the tailoring and the modeling.
Heatherette designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains built their line around the clubgoer. It's attracted quite an array of followers, ranging from the Hilton-sister end of the spectrum to that of the everyday New York City drag queen. It was all an eye-opening experience.
They no doubt work extremely hard at their craft, like all the other fashion designers. We the regular people rarely think about that. We just see the end product hanging up in the stores and make split-second decisions concerning its wearability on our bodies and its affordability on our wallets.
There is so much more that goes into the clothes we wear than the fabric. I'll think about that next time I go shopping for new gear. Thanks, Heatherette, for the new appreciation of fashion.