A perfect weekend...

Everything was perfect.

That pretty much sums up our exciting Fall fashion show weekend.  On the weekend of September 9, 10, and 11, Bliss presented three hugely spectacular fashion shows.  Here is a look inside our weekend!  Early Friday morning, Bliss was featured on a short 21/2 minute segment on the KHON morning news.  I was interviewed live by Trini Kaopuiki as Tia Morales and Taiana Tully looked fabulous on the runway in Bliss, Bead Girl Heaven, and Wishing Bridge jewelry.  Thank you Tia and Taiana!  Such beauties! :)

Backstage stylists Tina Koike & Leah Fukuyama as well as Shannon Nii & Erika LaPuente, Fashion Booth Assistants arrived and were quickly briefed on the model's line up, the model board, the model's clothing rack, and what to do backstage by super organized, lifesaver of the weekend Stage Manager Angela Choy.

Soon after, make up artists and photographers started arriving.  Photographers Keoki Kim and Brice Kurihara of Local Hawaii Magazine arrived and set up a photo studio in our make up room to take headshots of all of the models. Photographer Noel Curammeng also arrived and immediately started documenting our night.  Thank you to Noel for the awesome pictures in this blog and on our website!

Finally, the model call time had approached and Angela busily directed all of our beautiful models to the make up room where they were assigned to a make up artist, followed by a hair stylist. Super sweet model Tia Morales, who is also a make up artist and hair stylist, even stepped in to do hair on a few models.  The make up room and our booth started to buzz with excitement as the models shuffled from make up artist to hair stylist to wardrobe to photographer!  It was an exciting flurry of activity as we anxiously awaited the fashion show.

  

Meanwhile, super awesome Leah Fukuyama and Tina Koike quickly set up our backstage by bringing over our rack of clothes, our Bliss banner to take on stage, and our model board. 

As we approached the 8:00 hour, Angela gathered all of the models in the make up room and gave her last minute directives then escorted them to the backstage area where they patiently endured a 20 minute wait. Finally!  It was show time and the girls sure knew how to turn it on!

  

They were amazing to watch as they left me from the top of the stage.  I watched from the back of the curtains in awe as every single one of them worked the runway like a true pro.  Until the amazing finale choreographed by Nathalie Kim, these girls kept the audience at the edge of their seats.  Then, after 20 seemingly brief minutes, our "Opening Night" fashion show was done.  Everyone (models, make up artists, assistants, stage manager, and myself) was smiling from ear to ear because we all knew that we had pulled off a flawless show. 

Then, we all went home, came back the next day and did it all over again...three perfect shows.  Truly amazing work by all involved and I have so so so much gratitude for everyone.  I will post a list of ALL of the people who helped make this happen soon.  What made me most proud was that this was truly a team effort in action.  Everyone worked together and worked super hard to make this a success and in the end, everyone felt (I hope) a sense of pride that they had made this happen! 

I've already asked for a spot next year, so if you missed this year's show, make it a point to not miss next year's!! ;)

Bliss Fall Fashion Show Backstage Experience by: Jessica Cheng

My first time being backstage at a fashion show really sparked me. Being able to watch all the models get their makeup and wardrobe on was so much fun. I was even able to talk to some of them and meet them for the first time. My main focus of that evening was to learn more about photography. I really had absolutely no idea how small little things could impact the picture by a lot. I want to thank the photographers Keoki Kim and Eric Jordan for teaching me some basic camera skills and letting me try shots myself with tips and tricks on how to make the picture better. My first project that day was shooting models on the runway. Hardest thing ever. Sometimes they would walk out so fast, I didn't have time to shoot it, or the lighting would be bad and I would have missed the shot. I didn't think taking the shots would be that hard and I learned so much from it. Lighting also makes a huge difference in a photo. Overall, this learning experience was a bit tough, but something I got to try and maybe get better from there on.

Jessica Cheng is a very sweet, articulate, and pretty high school student whom we had the pleasure of hanging out with on Saturday September 10.  As a part of her high school project, Jessica joined the models, make up artists, hair stylists, stage manager, two professional fashion photographers, and myself as we prepared for Saturday's fashion show.  I asked Jessica to blog about her experience.  Thank you Jessica for hanging out with us!  Everyone enjoyed having you there! :)

Fittings, fittings, and more fittings! :)

Our fittings continue!  Pictured here are beautiful models Nicole Chiemi and Jenna Kamei.  They are not only gorgeous, but so truly nice, as are all of the other models in the show. 

I've been so amazed by the quality level of the models that will be walking in these fashion shows.  They are stunning, poised, and ultra professional.  I'm so blessed to be able to work with them and am really excited to see this fashion show come to fruition next week.  Last orders have been placed and the 30+ pieces in the show are really amazing.  I think there is something in the collection for everyone and the pieces are very comfortable and easy to style with other pieces.  I think you will all love it!