Marketing Students Reflect on Working Their First Fashion Show

Recently, the Toronto Film School participated in Fashion on Yonge, an amazing fashion show organized by the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area (BIA).

But, it wasn’t just Fashion Design students who took part. Instead, there was an incredible collaboration by students, faculty and staff across programs.

Three Fashion Design alumni had their collections featured prominently on the catwalk, as well a number of current Fashion Design students had their garments displayed at the event. The Toronto Film School hosted a media booth, which was styled beautifully by a visual merchandizing instructor and an incredible team from the Marketing for Fashion and Entertainment Diploma program manned the media tent, handed live social media updates and more.

In addition, there was an Acting for Film, Television and the Theatre alumna interviewing fashion designers and Film Production students who recorded all of the activity.

It was a truly collaborative event and below you will read some reflections from Toronto Film School’s Social Media Instructor as well as two of her students who participated.

Emma Fenton — Marketing for Fashion and Entertainment Student

Recently, I had the chance to attend the Fashion on Yonge event and be part of the Toronto Film School media team. It was a great opportunity, as well as an amazing experience.

I got to work alongside fellow classmates in the Marketing for Fashion and Entertainment program, as well as work with school faculty like Amy Wong (Social Media Instructor), Keith Richards (Fashion Design Instructor) and Erin Hatfield (Toronto Film School Communications Specialist), among others.

I was part of the Toronto Film School digital marketing team at Fashion on Yonge. I was in charge of live tweeting the event on Twitter, as well as assisting with Facebook. I got to work alongside my classmates; Taylor Bazinet, Jennifer Williams, Kyla Jorgensen and Sarah Gomez. I really enjoyed being able to take what I’ve learned from classes such as social media and digital marketing, and being able to apply it to real life scenario. It was nice to be able to work –and work well- with such an amazing team.

Working with Toronto Film School and Fashion on Yonge also gave me the chance to see my first ever fashion show, that wasn’t watched on the computer. I got to see live and in person the amazing collections from Lana Kuidir, Lama Hajj and Daniel Thompson. I was blown away by the collections made by the TFS designers.

Overall the experience was AMAZING and I can’t wait to work with the team and Toronto Film School again.

Jennifer Williams — Marketing for Fashion and Entertainment Student

On September 7, 2016, my classmates and I had the opportunity to work the social media for our school at the Fashion on Yonge fashion show.

One might assume that when you say “work” what you’re really saying is, I sat for eight hours staring at a screen waiting for my eyes to pop out of my head. And, bot, did my eyes sure pop out…from staring at so many amazing creations.

In this situation, my job was covering the social media for my school, the Toronto Film School, for Fashion on Yonge, working with our teacher Amy Wong and Erin Hatfield, who does the social media for Toronto Film School. The show itself consisted of apparel from the many stores in and around the Toronto Eaton Centre. Let me tell you, if you like to shop, stay away from this show. It had me wishing I was a millionaire. The outfits put together for this event went from the cosy and warm, to spunky and fun.

The show itself was held at the Holy Trinity Church. Now, not only am I attending my first fashion show, but I’m attending a fashion show in a church. Incredible. The interior of the church was the perfect setting for this show. With the stained glass and wooden pews, I couldn’t think of a better place to watch this event.

However, my personal favourite were the three designers who showed at the end of all three shows. And, I’m not biased or anything, all three of these designers were graduates of the Toronto Film School’s Fashion Design Diploma program. I can’t remember seeing such beautiful and just cool garments up close. And I got to film the whole thing. Literally, I got to hang out, feast my eyes on incredible clothes, all while showing it on Periscope. What could be better than that? I mean, besides owning a jumpsuit with a cloak.

My classmates and I got to spend an incredibly hot evening snapping photos on our phones and filming the goings on of the event. Basically, I just walked around with my phone on a tripod filming strangers. But, it was so awesome. At one point we even managed to get super behind the scenes. Accidently went to the wrong door and somehow ended up right on the runway. I kid, of course. We walked to the side of the runway.

As we were covering the social media, this meant that we had to spend time in the terrifying media pit. Usually, a pit refers to some kind of whole or cavernous opening. In this case, it was a bunch of people with cameras on an interesting type of platform. To say I was nervous and intimidated is a bit of a lie. However, the excitement of being at the show and working with my friends made me able to conquer my fear.

At first, there was a bit of a struggle to get comfortable. It wasn’t a huge platform, but it was sufficient in holding us all. Although, when you’ve got to plant a tripod in that one perfect spot, it gets a bit tricky. I was amazed that all three times we were able to get probably the best spot and angle.

I will admit, wearing a hat with your school’s name will get you things in the “pit”. People offered to move for us to make sure we had the shot. At the last show, I had a guy who offered to kneel down so he wouldn’t block the camera on my phone. I felt bad, but at the same time, I didn’t think our viewers wanted to watch him for an hour.

At around 7:30PM, it appeared that the heavens opened up and decided we all needed a shower. Instead of the feeling of sweat from the heat, we were all drenched in what felt like a torrential downpour. I can only say it was amazing. And, very refreshing. But, as you can figure, rain and electronics aren’t the best of friends. And we had a lot of gadgets. Lucky for us, we also had a tent over our station. Which was forming puddles of water looking for an escape route. Three of my classmates and I ran into the church, along with most of the attendees to escape the rain. I felt like I had just stood in my shower with all my clothes on. But still, I couldn’t stop thinking of the fun I was having.

Overall, I don’t think I could have asked for a better experience. It was exciting to be working behind the scenes. A glimpse into the future, I hope. As much as I was overheating and wishing for some A/C, I wouldn’t change it. The experience beat out the negatives, and all I can think about is how much fun I had at Fashion on Yonge.

Amy Wong — Social Media instructor in the Marketing For Fashion and Entertainment Diploma

What a great opportunity Fashion on Yonge presented for everyone who participated! My heartfelt congratulations to the Toronto Film School. I send high five’s to the Toronto Film School Onsite Social Media team – Job well done.

We spend so much time in the classroom teaching the fundamentals of Social Media. We ruminate over strategies and deployment. We drone on about the “How-To’s”, the “Do-be’s” and “Don’t be’s”. However, there is nothing better that a real live event to demonstrate why I love this subject matter so much. It is the hands-on experience that breathes life into all the classroom subject matter that we spend endless hours sifting through.

The “So-Me” Team was prepped and polished. They were ready for any eventuality – even torrential rain. Nothing phased this extraordinary group. I am so very proud to have had the distinct opportunity to work with the next generation of Social Media mavens.