WORDS BY NFC STUDENT, JAYZII CHAN
Photography: Luke Foley-Martin Studio
If you ever get the chance to work an event by Jacqui Brown, jump on it. That was the advice from Matt Jordan, director of MFPR and my Expert Educator at NFC, during our Event Management class. So I searched my inbox for her name. One email. A Myer event, and Jacqui Brown was asking for assistants. The dress code read “Slick, polished, all black. No heels. Hair and makeup should be polished. Wear practical clothing you can comfortably bend, move and sit in. Pants are recommended; no short skirts.” That was all I knew. I applied.
The details came closer to the day. The New Bloom was Myer's Spring Preview and a takeover of The EVE Hotel in Redfern, with the show and party at Olympus, the hotel's restaurant. I was one of six Fashion Assistants for the show day, Wednesday 7 October, 10am to 11pm. I got there at 9am.
The EVE Hotel was full of details. There was art on the walls, books on the lobby coffee tables, small decor in every room, and even the lift tiles were worth a second look. Each room had its own metal “Privacy Please” tag.
Photography: Jayzii Chan - Eve Hotel details
On the day there were two teams, styling and event. Some of the fashion assistants moved between them. I stayed on the event side under Bella Blake, Jacqui's assistant (you might know her Rodd & Gunn story on this blog). That meant everything that had to be ready before a single look walked.
The first job was the robes. I steamed and styled Myer-branded robes for the VIP guest rooms, ready for other students to take up and set out, and more for the models' behind-the-scenes content. There’s something really satisfying in seeing the creases disappear. And while we're on steamers, there must be a better way, surely. But steaming is a rite of passage for every fashion assistant.
After the robes came the furniture. I moved the VIP tables, chairs and bar tables into place following Creative Director Lucy Caldwell's plan (Lulo Studios). Then I fluffed the curtain draping over the stage lights until it sat right, and chatted to the guys building and painting the runway while I was at it. One of them had the coolest jeans, upcycled himself.
My learnings:
Steamers: Big steamers are way better than the handheld ones. The small travel size is great for one or two garments, but it needed a refill every 1–1.5 robes, and when you have 30+ to do, steaming becomes a bottleneck.
Steaming: Pull a little for tension to make sure you get the creases out. Even the top of sleeve creases and belt creases need to go!
Tying robes: Keep to a side, measure the ends to be even, and tie the first knot tight so the robe doesn’t move too much. Then tie the bow and fluff the robe inside to sit right.
The bow: a skill earned at my friend’s dress-up birthday party, paying off in real life.
Event decor: The little things really count. The fluffing of the curtains, the positioning of the chairs to the stage, and the calla lilies on the tables carrying on from the runway throughout the event.
Photography: Jayzii Chan - BTS setup
The professional photography from Luke Foley-Martin Studio really shows how the BTS comes to life. In each room, a GRWMYER decal sat on the mirror next to the hanging robe, ready for a get-ready video.
Photography: Luke Foley-Martin Studio
Turns out, an event day is all ebbs and flows, at least for fashion assistants. Waiting, then rushing. The slow parts are where you catch the cool things, like the rooftop poolside session the styling team ran with the models before they switched into their runway looks, and the models filming their looks down the arched corridor in the daylight.
Photography: Luke Foley-Martin Studio
Next was the dress rehearsal. The runway wasn't a straight line. Models walked a circle around the real tree, so one was still finishing as the next began, and every entrance had to be timed.
In between everything, we had a sandwich run at lunch and a sushi run at dinner for the models and staff. Then the moments arrived all at once. Mine was the windows. When the cue was called, we pulled them open by hand, fast, and taped them back, and orange light from the courtyard poured through the corridor arches. After the show, Olympus became the party. I spotted a few influencers and took snaps for guests on their own phones and digicams. We left at 9pm. The party was still going.
Photography: Jayzii Chan - Model dress rehearsal, waiting for the cue and the media wall.
My big learning is to keep a thread. By the afternoon the orange was hard to unsee. It ran through the Myer brand wall, the calla lilies, the drinks, the lighting and the staff's neckerchiefs. Orange is the new black, except when you're behind the scenes. Then it's all black and no heels. And even the smallest details can be threaded. The orange calla lilies sat throughout the night, from the rooms to the tables to the runway to even the bathroom!
Thank you to Jacqui, Bella, Lucy and the Myer team for having us, and to Matt for the tip. He was right. When you see an event by Jacqui, jump on it!