1. Decide how many garments to show. For a 30-to-40 minute show, this organization recommends 50-to-60 garments. Other experts suggest 45-to-50, and some believe that as many as 75 can be shown in a fast-paced presentation. Set your limits in terms of your message, the time available, the number of models you can afford, the help you will have backstage, and the pace that suits your audience.
2. Arrange for models. A professional can work about 50 per cent faster than a volunteer model. You will need only two-thirds as many if you use professionals, and they will need less coaching and rehearsing. If you deal with professionals, get a clear understanding of price, including fittings and rehearsals, if any.
Usually you will need both misses' and junior size models.
Try to get a color photograph, preferably Polaroid, of each model as you engage her or accept her as a volunteer. Note her size, name, etc., on the back. Include shoe and glove sizes.
Give each girl a note when you want her to come, and where, for fittings, rehearsal, and the show itself. Include travel instructions, if the show will be held outside the store.
If you use volunteers, begin planning what gifts you will present them with, and decide whether or not you will offer them an opportunity to buy the clothes they have modeled, and at what discount.
3. Inspect the auditorium. Plan background and decor with your display director, so that the background will enhance, but not overpower your merchandise. (If you are in a small store, consult the freelance display man who does windows in your area. He will earn his fee!) Check on runway facilities. Ideally, the runway should be at right angles to the stage, should be at least three feet wide, and should be from 16 to 24 feet long. A "T" crosspiece, parallel to the stage, is good, but not always possible. Carpeting is preferred.
Check on lighting. You want it soft and diffused on the runway, so that everyone can see the models well. Watch out for possible color distortion. Your display director can help you if the show is in the store.
If you use an outside auditorium, he can explain your requirements to the electricians there in their own technical terms.
Check on the public address system. Can you have the microphone placed so that you will be in a position to see the models on stage and in the wings as you speak? Can you have your hands free while using the mike?
Arrange for music - piano, accordion, small combo, phonograph, or tape. Decide where you'll place them, and how much volume you want for the size of the room, the nature of your audience, and the character of your show.
4. Select the garments. Pull from stock all those you consider showing, including some "maybe" numbers.
Group them in fours and fives for your scenes, or aspects of your message. You will probably call each group on stage at once, for full impact, and then parade each model individually down the runway while the others remain in sight.
Match your garments tentatively to your models. Will each girl have adequate time to change between one appearance and the next? If not, adjust your assignments.
Weed out redundancies and second bests. Settle on the sequence.
5. Arrange for fittings. To keep confusion down, call in a few models at a time. Schedule them throughout the day. Try hats on the girls who will wear them. Make sure head size and facial contours are right; if not, choose other hats. Ticket each garment with its number in the show, the name of the model, the hat to be worn, the model's shoe and glove size. Hat, shoes and gloves have to fit.
6. Print the program. Your selections are finalized, your sequence is set, and your groups or scenes are planned and given titles. Consider including an order blank. Consider dressing up the program to give it souvenir value. Consider a general message to be included - a fashion story from the store, a word from the chairman of the charity sponsoring the show, etc. If you are giving door prizes, decide if you want them mentioned on the tickets or in the program or both.
7. Arrange for publicity. Through your store's publicity director, or on your own if you are in a small store, canvass the opportunities to get advance publicity plus reportage. Consider:
- opportunities (before the show) to photograph the committee, if there is a sponsoring organization of socially prominent women
- briefing local news media on the fashion message you expect to convey, so that they can write advance stories
- inviting the women's editors for the local papers to attend the show, with someone assigned to get them whatever information they need
- checking with local TV station for possible use of excerpts from the show, interviews with distinguished committee members or commentators, etc.
8. Accessorize. Select accessories with all the care you gave to choosing the garments. Segregate and number the accessories for each model and costume. Put each group in a box or shopping bag, labeled for model, costume, and sequence. Inspect tickets on the merchandise and decide early on the best way to get these out of the way - in pockets, in linings, etc.
9. Write the commentary. Preferably, keep it in brief notes, on numbered cards, so that you can speak rather than read to your audience.
Remember that you are not writing mail order copy. Your audience can see the color of the dress, the shape of the hat, and other details. Mention only those that are fashion news - for instance, "Notice how bright and clear the reds are this season", instead of, "A red dress..." Normally, you don't mention price in your comment. Let the program carry that, along with the location of the departments from which the merchandise came.
A fashion show is a visual presentation. Your comment should not be a description, but a reminder to look at the points of greatest significance.
10. Check the dressing room. Post the program, so that each model can see what she is to wear and when she is to come on stage. Provide chairs; check that there are washroom facilities and mirrors at hand.
Hang garments on a rack, with a section assigned to each model. Make sure every garment has its label with the model's name and its program number.
Prepare for emergencies: iron and board, pins, needle and thread, scissors, spot remover, paper and pens, plastic bags to hold little things, marking pens, masking tape, aspirin, coffee, drinking water.
11. Assign dressing room crew. You will need one dresser for every four models, to assemble, accessorize, and check each costume. At least one fitter, too, for emergency repairs and adjustments. And you will need a traffic manager to oversee, organize, and get the girls on stage in proper sequence. The calmest, most confident people you can find!
12. Rehearse. You may not need this with professional models. Volunteer models need not dress for rehearsal, but should walk on stage and down the runway a few times to get the feel of things.
13. Zero hour. Check the microphone. Check the lights. Be the calming influence on everyone around you. If anything goes wrong, keep cool. Small slip-ups will not disturb your audience and your crew as much as an obvious show of irritation from you.
