Rachael Gray

We’re doing last minute things today so that tomorrow we can send those girls down the runway at noon. I would say that this show was the reason I came to New York, but I was actually more interested in learning all the steps that lead up to the show. Fashion Week is just icing on the cake. 

Tomorrow I’ll be backstage, making sure the right shoes get taken off one girl and quickly put on another girl before replacing them with something else for the final walkaround. I will be doing last minute repairs if the girls damage the shoes, and helping to keep everything in order. Hopefully there will be no big drama, just hilarious drama I can giggle about. 

See you on the other side (of Sunday).

Whew! A solid 12 hours of work at my internship today. Ah, fashion week approacheth! 

Yesterday I was given a huge responsibility that is usually reserved for the actual designers. It’s a complicated matrix of information I need to hold in my head while editing and creating three separate documents that will be given to the factories, so if I mess up…. well, I can’t mess up. So I’m going in early today to double check my work and fix any mistakes before they end up in production.

It was also an interesting day because the creative director asked to see my sketches. He sat me down and opened our little meeting by saying that since the last time we spoke (one month in for a difficult and largely negative review) he has seen incredible improvement in both the quality of my work and my professionalism. He’s seen me catch on quickly and become a useful, reliable part of the team. And though they do not have a position for me and cannot hire me, he does feel I am ready to look for a job. But first, he wants to help me create a portfolio worth showing. 

He looked over my sketches and gave me honest feedback. It was amazing because I was so stuck that I asked him to help me find good ideas amongst my sketches and figure out how to expand on them. And he did! He gave me direction and critique and some compliments. I have a solid idea of what I need to do now. Yay for constructive criticism!

I have to say that I am quietly proud of myself. I promised myself that despite making a bad first impression I would change their opinions of me and prove that I am a dedicated, hardworking, trustworthy professional. I think I proved that despite my brightly coloured hair and tendency to dress a little funny and wear a fake moustache on a chain around my neck, I am a good designer and a good worker who is willing to put in the time and effort to get things right.

I feel good.