| DAY ONE: EVERY STORY HAS TO START SOMEWHERE. |
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| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 1:00 P.M. |
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The past few weeks have been an intense whirlwind of chaos. Max and I are the only designers who show three different collections during New York Fashion Week. Producing three shows is a challenge on its own, but when you have to fly a team of 30 across the United States to make everything happen, the situation really starts to get interesting.
After a crazy week of prep, I was excited to finally get some rest on the plane. That was until Jack, our pilot, asked me, “How the heck do you get this thing to go?” I was pretty sure he was joking until I saw him reading a step-by-step instruction manual titled “The Pilot's Guide to Flying a G4”. Needless to say, I didn't fall asleep as quickly as I would have liked.
We spent the first hour of the flight to New York rehashing all the insane things that have happened during previous seasons. Who can forget things like having to book a Swiss Airlines ticket for 10 pairs of stockings? Or having to send Max's Don Corleon-looking driver to Queens to rescue two interns from a disgruntled shoe repairman?
One time, we cast our show based on whether or not the models could fit into our last pair of salmon colored crocodile platforms. Another season we literally lost four of our sewers—after landing at JFK, they just disappeared...along with nine unfinished pieces from the collection. (It turns out they took a cab instead of our shuttle and ended up arriving at the showroom before we did. Now we do roll-call. It’s kind of fun, like summer camp.)
Sure, we remember the clothes, but not as much as all of the chaos that happens while trying to create them. Fall 2009? That was the season when most of the Hervé Léger shoes snapped in half during rehearsals (now we make four sets of extras). Fall 2008? That was the year a certain model kept us waiting 'til 3:00 A.M. the night before a show because she didn't want to go outside in the rain. Mind you, the Town Car we sent to pick her up was outside her hotel, and the driver was holding an umbrella. For the kind of money she was being paid, most people would have been happy to walk the 10 blocks to our offices, even if it were raining spiders. Last season, a number of our models came to the Max Azria show covered in black Sharpie marker. Two seasons ago, someone lost the four-foot-wide Hervé Léger logo that was supposed to be the backdrop for the show. I could go on like this for days.
Every season we come back to New York stronger and more prepared than the last, but every season we find new and creative challenges waiting for us when we land. At the end of this season, we will have shown 23 collections in the tents at Bryant Park. The fact that we’re all still learning is what makes this job so special. Things are constantly changing and the challenges we face along this journey keep us inspired and filled with passion to reach new heights. That being said, I haven't a clue what this season has in store for us, but I do know that Fall 2010 will live on forever in fond memories, funny stories, lessons learned and dreams come true.
Big Kiss,
Lubov
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