Backstage, after the spectacular Gyo Yuni Kimchoe unveiling, we interviewed show stylist Rebekah Roy to get some insight into the collaborative process that helped to shape the aesthetic of the brand for this season.
What brief were you given for the show?
One of the things I was told about by Gyo and Yuni was military, and that theme being juxtaposed with floral, but also about how military and flowers are sort of similar in some ways. Like how the bees are fighting to keep the flowers alive and the military are fighting to keep somebody else alive, and how this can come together. We really wanted the girls to be strong, the designers really like strong women and so we wanted them to look really fierce going down the catwalk. But because the garments still have all the draping and the flowers it's still really feminine. I particularly loved our machine guns with the watering cans, it was really fun!
What do you enjoy about Gyo Yuni Kimchoe's aesthetic?
What they do, and do really well, is a mixture of fabric and we saw that in their graduate collection. What mostly interests me about them is all their philosophy behind everything that they do and I think that's what quite inspirational about them.
How collaborative is the process of styling a designer's show?
You have to work with the designer. It's all about the designer. If a show becomes about the stylist then it's not a fashion show, it's not a show for a designer. Plus this is the Merit Award so they really know what they want and what their vision is and what their philosophies are so it's for me to work with them on that.
You also styled the Ones to Watch show. Was it quite tricky to work with four different designers in one show?
It's always a challenge because you never want a designer to compromise. With the Merit Award show I never wanted them to compromise. I wanted them to have everything that they wanted and everything that worked for them. So on the Ones to Watch, even though you don't want it for your designer, when it's a group show everyone has to compromise, but the key is that everyone compromises the same amount. Some of the designers had very feminine looks and some of them had very androgynous looks so it was really about finding the balance between all of that. You don't want one designer compromising 75% while someone else compromises 25%, you have to make sure it's all equal.
What has been your impression of Fashion Scout so far?
Well I've worked for Fashion Scout for so many years and it's always a pleasure to be here. I love working with Cat, every show works so smoothly with the team backstage and I just really love being a part of it.
Have you seen any trends developing so far?
I've seen a few things actually, a few hair trends. I've seen a few 60s bouffants lately. Also there's a strength thing going on where women are looking a lot stronger.
Looking forward, what other shows will you be working on at Fashion Scout?
Now I'm just going to be seeing shows over the next few days. I'm all done doing my styling so I can just go and see and enjoy Fashion Scout now!
By Clarissa Waldron, (@thisisclarissa).
Photos by Elizabeth Hodson.