PDA’s Fashionista Side
Yet another Charleston Fashion Week has come and gone. It’s fun to look back on our involvement over the last five years, so let’s take a trip down memory lane….
Production Design Associates has been involved with Charleston Fashion Week (CFW) since its inception five years ago. When we were first approached by Charleston Magazine about helping with Charleston Fashion Week and heard the entire idea – we wondered if something like this could even work in Charleston. When we found out they really meant a week long event, we thought she had lost her mind.
But, after the initial shock wore off, PDA jumped on board to help turn this dream into a reality. And, needless to say, it worked! In five short years, CFW has grown into something much bigger than anyone could have ever expected – with celebrity guests, innovative ideas and high-level production design. It is now the South East’s premiere fashion event. When we look back at pictures and compare them to the event now, you can instantly see how it has matured and grown more technically advanced – for one thing, there are no longer tent poles in the middle of the runway like year one.
For the past five years PDA has supplied labor, production gear and video services for all of the fashion shows. The video component has grown bigger and bigger with each year. When CFW first started, we did a few commercials, which have now grown to daily interviews, show clips, sponsor intros, web postings and feeds to media outlets.
Recent video content we’ve produced includes commercials, featured and emerging designer videos, retailer videos and behind the style videos. But, it’s not only the videos we produce before fashion week, since 2008 PDA has served as the documentary crew for CFW, too.
We were there to interview Carol Hannah Whitfield, Lindsey Carter, Barbara Beach, Ashley Reid and Marysia Reeves as they surfaced as competitors in the Emerging Designer Competition and we have watched with pride as each has carved out her place in the greater fashion community. It’s nice to think our video profiles have played some small part in their success.
In 2011, we increased our video commitment by producing our content in near real time. As the net of casted designers grew bigger, so did the miles between their geographical locations and Charleston. Our solution? To film and edit all 16 emerging designer videos in two days.
This was a new approach for us and CFW. Typically, we would shoot our videos of the emerging designers in advance and Ayoka Lucas, Style Editor of Charleston Magazine, would post daily VLOGS via Flip camera.
In 2011, we combined those efforts by having our crew follow Ayoka for the entire Charleston Fashion Week and create documentary webisodes. What resulted was a marathon of interviews, microphones, fashion shows, hairspray, cocktails, red carpet, expensive cameras, fashionistas, all access passes and uploads. In all it resulted in seven behind-the-scenes videos with Ayoka.
All told it was a huge challenge but we are thrilled with our footage and our ability to capture the size and scope of this event. Some highlights include our interviews with Fern Mallis, founder of NY Fashion Week and Anne Slowey, editor of ELLE magazine.
Fifty-two videos later for 2011’s CFW, we have hit fashion overload. But, we’re already eager and excited for the 2012 Charleston Fashion Week. It only keeps getting better year after year.
This year the Vimeo channel has already reached an impressive 10,000 views. You can see it here: http://vimeo.com/channels/91839#21537552