San Antonio Fashion Week

As an intern for Sergio Guadarrama, the designer of the brand Celestino, I had the opportunity to take part of San Antonio Fashion Week. We arrived the day before and spent the whole evening and the next morning putting the final touches on the collection.

Then came time for the show itself, an exhilarating whirlwind so to speak. Backstage, a narrow hallway that led to the runway, was filled with models, interns, and fashion week personnel. In a flurry of activity, we dressed models; styled them; tied bows around their wrists; and began lining them up to walk the runway. The hustle and excitement became stronger as the personnel and interns realized that the show was starting and we had to finish dressing and start sending the models out.

Decisions had to be made quickly but artfully. Every jewelry piece lent to Celestino for the show had to be used and there was one necklace that had yet to be utilized. Long and layered, others had avoided it due to its difficulty to work with the style of the garments. Amidst the chaos, I saw one model with no jewelry; it was almost her time to walk and I glanced down at the necklace. I grabbed the necklace and put it around her, at first in the traditional manner hanging down the front but it interfered with her look. Thinking quickly I decided to switch the necklace so it hung down her back and serve as an intriguing component to her look. The other intern with me looked at me unsure of what I had just done, “I don’t know if that works, it’s unusual.”

I was a little unsure myself but it was time to send the model down the runway, so I trusted my instincts. “There’s no time, let’s send her down the runway.” I turned to the model, “Go ahead, it’s your turn.” And that was that. The night continued on and the show was a fantastic success.

Back home the next day, I was sitting in my living room and scrolling through Instagram when a post from Celestino caught my eye. It was the model that I had styled! It was the picture that was used in their official social media and it was captivating. The way the necklace hung off her back without obstructing the garment design was perfect. It told a story and I was proud that trusting my intuition had been rewarded.