In the run up to the biggest and most anticipated charity event of the LUU calendar, The Gryphon has a chat to Anna Rhodes, one of the LRFS Directors, alongside Issy Croneen, to see what it took to organise such a fantastic event and what it took to get the designers, sponsorship and models together to create the Leeds RAG Fashion Show 2015.
How are you feeling in the run up to the show? Is everything running smoothly?
The run up has definitely had its ups and down but in general it’s all going fantastically and we are very excited for everyone to see the final product!
Due to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved it has been running fairly smoothly and although we have had our fair few stressful moments, the team are working flat out to ensure LRFS is the best year yet and we have no doubt that we will succeed in these aims.
You must be incredibly busy juggling everything for the show plus your degrees; how are you managing it all?
To be honest the degree side of uni has been somewhat sidelined in recent weeks and its been impossible for the fashion show not to take over. Plus it’s definitely more fun! However we are both third year students so keeping up with deadlines alongside the fashion show has been a challenge but one we have been forced to do. Time management and keeping a level head have been very important! Who needs sleep anyway…
What sparked your interest to get involved with the show?
For myself (Anna) I have been involved in LRFS since first year and pretty obsessed with it since that point. In my second year I was one of the stylists and absolutely loved the experience and enthused to go for director in my final year. I also love fashion and would love to work in the industry someday! For Issy she has always been very passionate about fundraising and is very talented at organising things outside of her degree, having been a key member of the hockey committee in previous years. She loved watching the show in 2013 and as a keen member of RAG was interested in becoming involved as director.
As the directors you have to select all the members for the committee including models and sponsorship? Tell me about this process?
Back in November we advertised for committee positions and sifted through about 150 applicants and interviewed about 54 of those applicants. It was a long process but eventually we chose 30 of those to become part of the LRFS team who have been absolutely amazing. Shortly after that we held 5 days of model castings, from which we selected about 80 models.
Sponsorship was very hard to secure but mainly we just contacted anyone and everyone to see if they were interested in being involved. We have a very professional sponsorship package and adapted it to many of our sponsors so it was best suited to them.
We’ve all just seen the promo video, which looks fantastic, for ‘Through the Looking Glass’. What sort of looks can we expect to see in the show?
We have 8 scenes which demonstrate a journey through a fairytale where all is not what it seems. Our stylists have done an amazing job; the outfits and designers we have on board are incredible. Whilst not giving too much away, the looks will allude to some strong male and female characters, avant-guarde illusions, and etherial beauty.
You’ve got some fantastic, well known designers for the show. How did you go about getting them involved?
The stylists developed a wonderful package for designers which illustrated to them the benefits of being involved with LRFS. They also contacted lots of small boutique designers which suited our theme well.
You’re chosen charities are The Richard Mayne Foundation and Leeds Mind. They are obviously charities quite close to the hearts of Leeds students. Do you think you will be able to exceed the money raised last year?
With our success of our fundraisers and added seats in the house we would love (and hope) to exceed the amount raised last year. Our charities have always been at the absolute forefront of everything we have organised as we know that this money can make a huge difference to them. By purchasing a ticket all attendees can feel a part doing something amazing for these charities. The night is set to be fantastic; starting from 7pm with stalls in the union selling merchandise, food and and our after party tickets (which are available to anyone who attended the night) and then moving through to the seating at 8.30pm where you will enter into our whimsical world. We hope that the evening will be an all-encompassing experience from start to finish, and one that will be thoroughly enjoyed by all who join us.
Emma Clark