There’s a lot of pressure lying on the shoulders of up and coming designers these days. With an industry competitive and brutal as never before, each moment could become the defining one for your career, putting you on the global fashion map, or giving your brand just the kick-start it needed. And while we mostly only get to see the perfectly composed runway and lookbook pictures or hear the too good to be true success stories of seemingly endless creative newcomers, what often provides for the most interesting, raw, and honest stories are the things happening behind that Instagram polished curtain, the struggles prior to a show when good to nothing seems to run smoothly, the long nights spent on your bedroom floor trying to get your garments, and therefore your life, together. This fashion week, apart from looking at the fun and exciting shows and parties, we also wanted to give voice to those exact challenges a new designer faces – from the preparations and fittings to the backstage excitement before the show. And with his first runway show completed just last friday at Berlin Fashion Week, Gianpaolo Tucci, founder and creative director of Berlin based brand Atelier About along with his co-designer Giulio D’Alessio, is one who experienced this rollercoaster of a time first-hand – see his Fashion Week diary, filled with honesty and great ambitions, below.
“I’m warming up for Fashion Week and doing an interview with Genie Kuhne for Detuschlandradio Kultur. Talking about ATELIER ABOUT and the social and political approach of the upcoming collection and show, called TERROR(ism). I’m feeling very emotional about the whole situation.”
“Casting, fitting, styling. Time is running. Feeling full of energy. My dog is all over the place, I start to realize it was quite a bad idea to have him here. Yet another thing we need to find a solution for. My phone is never stopping. Collection, music, visual installation, runway, after party fashion performance. Why did we decide to do it all!? STRESS.”
“Defining the looks for the show. Filling the board with the models, many faces change, new ones coming in every second, it’s an ever evolving wall. Everything goes too fast, yet it’s a dynamic, beautiful moment.”
“I’m in love with the perfect melt between the models and the collection’s color palette. AMAZING. It’s a beautiful thing for the human eye, like a frame, which makes me very happy.”
“A final look at the details, accessories, shoes, and doing some last minute changes. We keep telling ourselves to stay focused, but the days are just too short and we pretty much work every night. I need to drink something. Luckily we don’t even feel the tiredness anymore.”
“The big day arrived. We’re all at the location together, the full team is helping. But we are also running very late, so we need to rush from the 5th floor to the catwalk with the collection, which pretty much equals hell.”
“Defining the Make up, setting up the faces with signs of war, fear, agony.
The moment in which I realised it all comes together and connects in the end.”
“Rehearsals and syncing the video and audio installations with everything that is happening on the runway. I am very anxious and stressed. But I also know that everything is going to work out.”
“Finally it’s time to ENJOY. In the end I feel very satisfied. And I can see people having fun, which makes me very proud.”
Photos by Marlene Wehner
By Trisha Balster
