Behind the Scenes: Vauxhall Fashion Scout: Merit Winner x Leutton Postle

In this industry, it not always about what you know, but more of who you know that gets you places. As I've mentioned in previous posts, my chance meeting with talented blogger Farrukh, from The Implausible Blog, completed my SS12 London Fashion Week. One stroke of luck saw me behind the scenes of Vauxhall Fashion Scouts One to Watch & Merit Winner Shows. 

This was a totally new experience for me, watching the rush before the show, even though I'm no stranger to the talents the showcase in VFS. In 2010 I did a summer internship at the leading commercial online fashion forecasting company, MPDClick/Mudpie. While dabbling in fashion forecasts for the upcoming seasons, I was also given the chance to contribute to their online monthly publication. My first effort was focused on the Merit Winner of Vauxhall Fashion Scouts at the time, Eudon Choi. To see my article click here, but I will be adding it in a later post to archive it here too.   

So before I publish my report on the actual show, I thought I'd share my backstage experience. The below pictures were all for the SS12 Merit Winner, Leutton Postle, even though I was wondering between rooms and weaving my way through models for the Ones to Watch show too. Reports for all shows will follow shortly: 

Leutton Postle is a luxury knitwear label that experiments with riotous colours and surface textures, creating unusual statement patterned pieces for the daring and bold woman. The lip make-up for this show mimicked the colours in the actual collection, with haphazard application, often uneven and spreading onto the face. 

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All the models clothes were ordered, packed and labelled at the back of the room ready for when make-up and hair was complete.

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If the models weren't getting their hair done, they were sat at the mercy of the make-up artists who had inspirational pictures of the desired look they had to create. With little room to maneuver, artists and models alike were working in very close proximity - I tell you, there wasn't much glamour in that! Especially when it came to the models getting changed into their designated outfit for the show...

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Last minute adjustments and mends were being made all over the place!

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Backstage I could get a little bit more up close and personal with the collection - just look at these shoes! So utterly random, and dare I say, not very durable, these shoes were another mimic of the whole collection with a mass of different surface textures and a mash of colour. Every pair had the be repaired before the models headed out onto the runway as the yarn kept unravelling. We also had one model face-plant in the practice walks backstage! Luckily, the final show ran perfectly.

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Before the show, all the models were posing for the media. One guy asked these two models to blow a kiss - I don't know where he was from or where the picture/video of this is - but as he was taking it I swooped in and took my own sneaky pic. 

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When getting in order just behind the scenes of the runway, ready for the trial walks before the audience was let in, the team was literally on their hands and knees making very last minute alterations - those shoes did not want to stay intact!

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Still in their own gear, the models are waiting for the trial walk down the runway. All are wearing the shoes belonging to the collection as to get used to walking in them for the actual show. 

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The venue is more or less empty as the models do their practice run. All the make-up and hair team are out front to watch, with most of the photographers already set up and waiting at the end of the runway.