Another year, another successful New York Fashion Week. For fashion gurus, it’s one of the most exciting times to witness designers showcasing their newest designs; a time for creativity to be expressed.
Photo from brigeidagency.com
For high-fashion model, Colin Grams, NYFW is electric. VALLEY took a moment to chat with him about the best week of the year and what it’s really like behind the scenes as an NYFW model.
Life can get busy when you’re living in the Big Apple and modeling for Stella McCartney — that is the life that Grams is living, and it’s a pretty sweet one, at that.
“[Models’] whole lives are lived on the fly. There’s no ‘daily routine’ for most models, and we usually don’t know if we have a casting or shoot until the night before,” says Grams.
The castings vary from season to season; when we’re talking about the week before a fashion week, a model may have between 20 and 30 castings.
So what is a casting, and what does it consist of? “Castings usually consist of standing in line for an hour or two, handing the director your card, doing a quick walk, taking a few pictures, and if you’re lucky trying on a few clothes,” says Grams. “The atmosphere of castings varies but usually everyone’s tired.”
On the other hand, while not preparing for NYFW, Grams averages two or three photo shoots a week — and while you’d think there would be a “typical shoot” feel, each photographer has their own way of working the casting, so typicalities don’t exist in this realm.
“Some days you’ll shoot a clothing line in the studio and others you’re on a 90-degree beach shooting an all-black winter line,” says Grams.
During NYFW, Grams feeds off the creative chaos that rocks the runway. “There’s an energy about the city that you can really feel when so many beautiful and creative people come together to create and show their art,” says Grams.
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“I think the number one emotion felt during NYFW is probably anxiety. There’s just so much to do and so many shows/castings to stay on top of.” While there is beauty, madness is typically not far behind.
Imagine walking down the runway as Anne Hathaway sits at the end of the stretch. No big deal — just Grams, the runway, and a few close friends.
“When I’m walking down the runway everything just kinda goes blank. You have to hype yourself up and have confidence that you’re the bomb.com while walking because that confidence really shows!”
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