What it’s really like to stage a mega-fashion show in Paris

This story is part of the December 2 Edition of Good Weekend.See all 19 stories.

September 30, 2023, Zimmermann studio, 2nd Arrondissement, Paris, France

This is me with Linh Nguyen, senior design director, ready-to-wear. Linh’s worked with me on two shows in Sydney, all through New York Fashion Week, and now, in Paris. When the model comes in, we all start working. We’re under pressure, doing it quickly, while also trying to get it right. We might go, “Well, we thought this was going to be a long dress, but let’s pin it up and see if it looks better as a three-quarter midi-dress.” For this show, we had 48 looks. If I’m lucky, I’ve got maybe 30 to 40 minutes with each girl. We’re doing a million things, watching them walk, putting on the jewellery, working out the shoe. Another person will take notes and it will be sent downstairs to the alterations room, which is a really busy hub of people hand-sewing.

Shooting style

From left: senior design director Therese Rawsthorne, Nicky Zimmermann, stylist Romy Frydman, model Tian Yi, first stylist assistant Daria Di Gennaro, photographer Jonathan Bookallil. Credit: Dave Tacon

Order of the day

In our studio here, near our head office in Paris, I was feeling dreadful. I had a chest infection, but it doesn’t matter if you’re not well: I had four days in that studio to get the job done. I’m standing at a table of Polaroid photographs. It’s what we use for the running order, but it’s a work in progress; the order moves around. It’s actually really important for keeping things moving efficiently. I don’t like things to be too hectic. It’s an incredible thing to do – to do a show in Paris – and I want to enjoy the ride. Credit: Dave Tacon

She’s got the look

This is stylist Romy Frydman and me, trying outfits on different girls. I’ve known Romy for about 25 years and we’re great friends. We pre-selected at least 20 models in Sydney through our casting agent. I’d say we saw at least 150 to 200 models over two days of casting. It’s great when you pick out new girls that you haven’t used before, plus those that you know really well. The model is Cara Taylor, who we’ve used in campaigns a couple of times. We select about five looks for each girl and then work out which one’s the best for them. She didn’t end up wearing that look – she wore a jumpsuit. Sometimes we can be waiting until 1am on the day of the show to cast a model. Sometimes we’ve had people cancel and had to recast on the morning of the show. Anything can happen. You have to be really well prepared. This season was a pretty easygoing one – I was able to go and have dinner, which is really rare, and an early night before the show – but there were people in my team who still had to work late into the night. Credit: Dave Tacon

Final adjustments

Model Anna Bicanova with Linh Nguyen and Nicky Zimmermann. Credit: Dave Tacon

October 2, 2023, Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Finishing touches

Hair and make-up is intense: the girls are in there for hours. You do all of this work and the actual show is 10 minutes long, max. Credit: Dave Tacon

Stepping out

Every show starts with a distinct theme. This collection was called Natura and was about ways of looking at nature through different art forms: sculpture, painting … It was about wanting to create a clean, fresh expression of colour through sculptural silhouettes. Palais de Tokyo [a modern art museum] was the perfect venue for the collection. That’s where things came together. The skylight was fantastic and the room played a really important part in expressing the collection’s theme. This is US model Grace Elizabeth, who’s also done a campaign for us, coming around the big, sweeping curve of the runway, which was really beautiful. Credit: Dave Tacon

Front-row seats

This is something I never see – the guests out the front – since we’re doing the line-up check backstage, making sure things aren’t on backwards or inside-out. You don’t want to keep people outside waiting. That’s (from left) Australian model Gabriella Brooks, Christine Centenera from Australian Vogue, Australian model Shanina Shaik and Portuguese model Sara Sampaio. Credit: Dave Tacon

Light moves

It was really important for us that there was a lot of transparency with the garments; they almost felt like they were floating, there was light coming through them. When you do a show, the storytelling of the inspiration is crucial. Credit: Dave Tacon

Feels like team spirit

Backstage, directly after the show, all the girls gather for a photo together. I remember I was somewhere else when somebody yelled out for me to come and I just jumped in the middle. We get photos and have a bit of a chat and get to say goodbye before they run off to the next show. It’s a wonderful thing to bring together this beautiful, eclectic mix of people and personalities and looks. Credit: Dave Tacon

It’s fun to create something that’s beautiful and joyous, and that is very much what the show’s about. There’s that excitement and jubilation and adrenaline – for the girls coming off the runway as well as for us backstage. You can tell a lot about how it went by how the girls come back – the mood and the reaction in the room. For me, it’s immediate relief and definitely excitement. And I’m really excited for my team.

It’s a massive achievement, putting all of this together. At any point in time, anything can happen: the music can stop, a girl can trip, a strap can fall off. We’re sort of going, “Yes, we did it!” It’s an incredible feeling.

To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times