Blog Post No.1 - Time To Write

Backstage at On|Off London... Lee Lapthorne... Fashion...
​Thoughts and Musings...      

Text - Dom Read   Photography - Gloria Ogunyinka

Me and Jimmy Paul Dressing his Model.

On the coach home from helping out backstage at On|Off London, a fashion show which celebrates emerging designers set up by Lee Lapthorne.

I first heard about On|Off London when Lee gave a lecture at my University! It was an electric and exciting lecture in which Lee talked us through his very diverse career that meandered and developed as he progressed through life. 

As Lee talked about his life he offered advice and encouragement to us budding young designers. I was reminded that, despite my classmates and I having chosen to specialise in a particular avenue of the creative industry, that being Fashion design, no doors were closed to us. In fact quite the opposite; we have the luxury of learning an immensely diverse subject which has gifted us with a plethora of transferable skills and has offered us a taste of many different subjects that we can explore and develop if and when we choose. 

Lee graduated MA Textiles after uni and despite still being a practicing and producing textiles artist now nearly twenty years later he runs multiple businesses, scouts the hottest Fashion talent and showcases them as part of London Fashion Week at the show he started,  On|Off London. That is skipping an incredibly diverse CV but the point is Lee could have never gone on to be a talent scout and business owner if he had limited himself to focussing solely on textiles design for the duration of his career.

If your drive to learn and grow never falters then you can go anywhere - nothing is ever wasted! The same can be said about any course or job undertaken. Perhaps whatever it is doesn’t turn out to be what you expected or hoped, you can guarantee if you think hard enough there will be something you learnt and some avenue worth exploring more!

A dear friend volunteered to help back stage at On|Off in February and said it was absolutely sensational. It was a shame I didn’t come along, I kicked myself and promised I wouldn’t miss the next one which brings us to now.

The 17th of September 2019 national express journey home from London 23:30 writing in notes on my phone for my first blog post for a blog that I conceptualised starting some time back in 2015...a cup of tea with Dread. 

I don’t know what held me back from putting pen to paper, or rather finger to screen. Perhaps it was laziness, perhaps it was fear - perhaps it was both. Either way doesn’t really matter, all that does is something about On|Off today got my thumbs a tap tap tapping!

In the past I have been backstage at Graduate Fashion Week multiple times, I’ve been in the audience multiple times and I’ve even shown my graduate collection there. I’ve seen my friends from different universities show their work on different catwalks and in different contexts. I’ve seen friends sell and stock the wears in different shops. I’ve been to high end designer shops and I’ve been to high end designer shows and yet none of it quite tickled me in the same way... Inspiring none the less, please do not get me wrong. The thing was today, helping out backstage and being in amongst industry professionals doing there thing and being a cog in that machine was just something so special!!!

There’s something quite electric being there in the thick of it, in the pandemonium, the panic, the mayhem and the madness! In amongst the concealer and the lipstick, the headdresses and the heels. The smell of excitement, anticipation, sweet sweat and  perfume hanging thick in the air!!! You are backstage; away from the lights of the runway and it’s hot. The curtain between the lines of people and the lights, the curtain between the glitz and the glamour hangs glamorously heavy. It's not like the movies back here, it's not calm and collected, the cameras clicking don't show the heat, the hysteria, the heightened emotions or the hell of untangling a terribly packaged incredibly, fine silver necklace with ten thousand delicate shells attached to it. The camera's don't catch warm smell of fart coming from the beautifully sculpted girl in the glittery leggings and they don't quite capture the B.O of that guy squeezing past. 

Don't get it twisted though, I'm not complaining or bitching, this was it, this was real! There were people running left, right and centre!!! Everyone knowing what they were doing and also not at all at the exact same time. There was roughly about fifteen volunteers like myself; we were briefed so much as help out and left to our own devices! It was get involved or get out the way. The decision was up to you sit around chatting or on your phone all the whilst most likely taking up space under someone's feet.. Or you could make yourself useful, roll up your sleeves and offer your help to the various designers. I ended up hanging up clothes, pairing up high heels and putting them smallest to biggest in a line and handing out water here, there and everywhere! It is amazing how many people forget to keep themselves hydrated when under pressure. Remember kids drink more water!!!

​My favourite moment helping out as well as throwing away his banana peel was working side by side with Jimmy Paul dressing a model. He instructed me how he wanted the look to be worn and how to make sure it was perfect. It was incredible seeing his energy and excitement as he saw some of his clothes being worn together as a full ensemble for the first time.​
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There was lots of coming and going backstage and a bit of waiting around, making sure everyone was cared for, fed, watered, knew where the toilets were etc etc etc. Then suddenly it was go time... 

"Models get dressed!!! You need to line up! IT'S TIME TO GO!!"

Models were pulling on clothes, hair was being finalised, the last bits of make up were being done, the photographers were getting in the way hovering round like flies to shit! Many a model needed their shoes pulled on and done up as they didn't want to mess around whilst wearing such long nails or smudge their nail varnish. I've never buckled up so many high heeled shoes in my life! 

"GO GO GO, YOU NEED TO LINE UP! FINAL CHECK!! ANYONE WHO ISN'T A DESIGNER, HAIR AND MAKEUP GET OUT!!!"

The models were herded into a room before the runway, the line snaked around the whole room and back up the corridor. There was a buzz of final inspections going on. The music was thumping loud through the walls....

It really was show time!!! Strike a pose!!!

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