#PerfectDiaries: Amber Later recounts behind-the-scenes of Fendi Baguette 25th Anniversary fashion show in New York
On the first day of New York Fashion Week, Fendi Roma held a resort show in midtown Manhattan, in which I modeled one of the twelve looks designed by Kim Jones in collaboration with Marc Jacobs. My assignment from my modeling agency for the day was to document my backstage experience in a series of short videos for their Instagram account. I used to think my voice and disposition, which have always tended toward flatness and restraint, were neither expressive nor enthusiastic enough in the right way to pull off making those kinds of videos. Then when I did a similar diary for Perfect during the Gaultier couture show earlier this year, a commenter gathered from my attitude that I was behaving as a sort of satire or “piss-take” of a model. While I am fairly certain the comment was meant to be critical, I was kind of delighted by how well I’d pulled off the role in that person’s eyes. They seemed to think I was an exaggeration of all the qualities I thought I was failing to resemble.
The first part of the show was all Fendi, with the Marc Jacobs collaborative looks near the end. My look was a white monogrammed denim jacket and pants with a clear, plastic outer layer that floated behind me like a cape. In one of the still photos I saw after the show, the plastic almost looked like it was waving like fine tulle or an even stranger light, synthetic fabric. At the fitting, I was immediately attracted to the sound it made as I walked in it, a sort of crinkling like crisp snow crushed underfoot.
Everyone in a Marc collab look wore heavy recycled fur hats that covered most of our faces. The trade-off for being unrecognisable was that because my hair would be fully obscured, Guido Palau’s team opted to lather it in olaplex and tie it in a tight knot instead of applying layers of hairspray and other product. It was the first time my bleached hair has ever left a show feeling more refreshed than damaged. Another model and I discussed which were easier to walk in, the platform sneakers we were styled in or heels. I said the platforms, which were stable and easy to land on. They said heels, which they found easier to make turns in.
As a designer, Marc was particularly involved with adjusting and approving each look, reshaping the brims of our hats, and twisting accessories to catch the proper angle. The entire time we waited backstage, we listened to the outro of the song “Sunshower” by Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band on repeat. A few people voiced complaints the soundtrack was becoming grating, in the way any refrain looped endlessly in a stressed, hot, and crowded room will become grating, but especially, somehow, an otherwise cheery and calming refrain. Marc, in contrast, sang along and recalled it being a favourite come-down song played in clubs in the nineties at 3 AM. As the heat became more of an issue, especially for us in the fur hats, Bella Hadid retrieved a large stack of boxed water and went down the lineup passing them out to each model.
During the actual show, I could only see a few feet ahead clearly and walked through a dark hall following the twists of the lit-up central path, which gave the experience a sort of quasi-mystic undertone for me (following a path of light without being able to tell exactly what it was leading toward). After the runway, we lined up behind the mirror, which was actually one sided. We could see the audience while they saw their reflection. For the finale, where the designers joined Linda Evangelista in front of the crowd, lights lit up us models waiting behind them. I don’t know enough about physics to explain how or why, but redirecting light at us reversed the one sided mirror so we were revealed to ourselves at the same time as we were revealed to the audience. During rehearsal, these lights were so bright and surprising that I almost shed tears and ruined my makeup. During the actual run, I caught it in advance and squinted, figuring no one would be able to see how my eyes looked under the heavy hat.
The next day, I saw a video of the show’s intro where a curtain was pulled down to reveal the giant mirror, falling in massive, fluttering ripples. I found its motion captivating and continued to watch the video over and over (though not as many times as I’d heard the “Sunshower” outro) and was reminded of the motion of my plastic rain jacket, another piece of fabric that surprised me with its fluidity. One of the many pleasures of walking in fashion shows is discovering new qualities in familiar fabrics, like turning on a light and finding something in a mirror beside a reflection.