Student Bloggers

Recently, I worked as a volunteer at Sydney Fashion week, an event hosted across the city by Mercedes Benz. I was assigned to work with a fabulous swimwear line called “We Are Handsome.” The company’s swimmers are brightly patterned in a diverse array of colors and cuts. The patterns are inspired by the owners’, a husband and wife duo, travels. The wild horses print is one I would love to wear and have as my own if they weren’t so expensive!

In order to get a strong snapshot of what my day with We Are Handsome was like, I have embedded the 300-400 word reflection my internship, Time Out Sydney, asked me to write:

“This Tuesday, I volunteered for the We Are Handsome fashion show during Sydney Fashion Week. We Are Handsome is a funky and free spirited clothing line that features bold patterned swimmers for both women and men.  In a personal letter written to all VIP attendees of the show, We Are Handsome’s power team couple, Jeremy and Katinka Somers, explained that their latest line invokes a desire for an endless summer with the help of bold, creative and fun prints.  As a volunteer for the show held in the Paddington Reservoir Gardens, I did more than just show up and wear all black. Volunteers were broken up into two main groups—putting together gift bags, handing out a light lunch provided by Luxe and ushering guests to their seats or dressing the models at lightning speed during the 22 minute show.  I personally put together gift bags which included a wide array of goodies including Frends headphones, a look book of the new line, a Spotify gift card, lipstick, spray tan and hairspray (to name just a few things) and then, to my excitement, standing guard at the door to the models dressing during the pre-show photo shoot. This responsibility gave me a front row seat to the show itself but also a background look into the incredible primping the models undergo. It was a complete transformation from when I initially saw the models, nursing coffees, dressed in street clothes, that morning.  They took the runway confidently in purple zebra print and an array of neon.  One model even walked the entire show with a large yellow snake wrapped around her (it had a penchant for wiggling its head into her long, blonde hair.) The show ended with even better, groovy beach tunes as the models assembled in front of the press stage for a final pose and blown kiss. Meanwhile, the volunteers scurried to begin cleaning up and to take stock of the apparel in the dressing room so that none of it was stolen. Waiting for the bus home, I watched some of the models, now in street clothes but glamorously made up, chow down on Magnum ice cream bars.”

Ultimately, I enjoyed volunteering in and experiencing the fashion world. I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand the extent of materialism and consumerism of the fashion world– how much money people pay to watch, in particular, women who are very thin, model couture clothing and accessories. I could think of a quite a few other things the money spent on hosting these events could be put toward. But that’s another story!