Miami Swim Week Wrap Up!
Swim Week in Miami is finally over! My first ever time walking in the Swim Week shows was pretty incredible!
Here's a little idea of the crazy prep involved and I'll take you through a couple of Swim Week shows from the models perspective!!
Castings: Girls start prepping months in advance for swim week. No alcohol, clean eating, LOTS of working out and stepping up the healthy lifestyle is a must along with a good spray tan the day before the castings start. The clients vary as to whether they want tall, short, curvy, sporty or waif, but they all want tanned, toned and lean.
Hundreds of models are in Miami for swim week. The competition is INSANE. You can turn up to a casting 40 minutes before it's scheduled to start and you're still number 180 in line (this happened to me on the first day). 300 sweaty models in a hallway with no aircon for 3 hours? Not nearly as appealing as it sounds. You wait and wait and wait and when it's finally your turn, you give in your comp card, walk a couple of times, listen to them whisper about your flaws in different languages and then you're done! Sometimes you get a good feeling from the client and they never book you, sometimes you feel like you did crap and then come home to confirmation email from your booker. It's impossible to pick!
I booked 4 clients (not bad for a first timer) and walked in 3 shows for 4 separate designers. One of my bookings had an issue with the fitting day and I missed it :( Here are a few of my favorites. I'll add in more info and photos as they come but it's hard to find because I don't know the photographers!
Backstage: This is where the madness happens. Anywhere from 15-30 girls (and sometimes guys) will arrive into hair and makeup at once. Teams of hairstylists, makeup artists and manicurists will run around transforming each girl - depending on the brief for the look - in record time whilst photographers, bloggers, reporters and TV presenters all run around getting backstage photos, videos and interviews.
You tend to have a walk through if everything is running on time, where the designer will tell you how they want you to walk, and you can practice going out in order. Usually catwalks are extremely slippery and you have to score or tape the bottom of your brand new, ridiculously high shoes so that you don't stack it.
Then you get changed into your first look while 3 or 4 dressers fuss over you and take some pics with the backstage photographers.
People running the show backstage are all in high stress mode, so you want to be paying attention to when and where you're supposed to be, and be ready. You line up nervously, the music and lights kick in and then you're sent down the run way - spaced out so that you're not too close together - and blinded the whole way by stage lights and photographers flashes everywhere. Hopefully you don't slip in any way and fiercely stomp all the way back up the runway where you calmly turn the corner and, once out of sight, break into a run, tearing off your outfit as you go. You've honestly never seen anything like it! :) It's always a mad rush to get changed and looking normal as you step out again, but just like that, 15 mins after the madness of the show has started, it's all over for another season!!
Who knew such a sweet, conservative-looking little Spanish lady could be capable of making such SEXY swimsuits?! I was in love with her very unique designs. They paired perfectly with our dramatic hair by the Tresemme team and the Bronzed Warrior-Princess look that the team from Divine Image Cosmetics gave us.
Stomping it out:
This was a fun runway put on by Cosmopolitan en Espanol - the American publication of Cosmo for Latinas. It featured several different designers and even some male models too.
Just when we arrived in hair and makeup, there was a HUGE storm. Very typical for Miami summer, it absolutely bucketed down on our very long catwalk which was not only outdoors, but also in the pool. You can imagine how were were feeling about walking down that in heels....
Luckily when the rain stopped, they squeegee-d it off for us, so no one went swimming that night :)
Pantene and Olay gave us super beachy looks with bronzed skin, tousled side braids and summer’s hottest Boho accessory – the jewelled headpiece.
So far, I’ve only been able to find screen shots of the catwalk, and these pics from Exclusive Access – but here’s also a link to a video so you can see myself and the other models strutting our stuff!
http://www.cosmoenespanol.com/summer-splash/744163/mejor-del-evento/
And some more Behind the Scenes stuff:
Now that it’s all over, I can get fat! (just kidding, gotta keep at it while I’m on a roll and actually have abs!)
That's it from me! Besitos!!
Lauren xoxoxo
