Alyssa continues her discourse from her work on the Sara Shepherd fashion show a couple of weeks ago….

Here we are the day of the show. We all have not slept more than a couple hours the past few days and look like a bus ran us over. Coffee, cigarettes, and junk food fuel over diet. Yet, when I wake up this morning I am overly excited about the day’s events and anxious to see the final product.

This morning I finish up a couple of last minute hems and buttons. We also have to get everything ready and packed for transportation of the collection-outfits in garment bags, tags labeled, shoes in their proper places, and making sure we have all the necessary supplies for backstage. The truck to transport the collection arrives a couple hours before the show to pick up the collection, we have a 1:30 p.m. call time for the 4 p.m. show. One of my jobs of the day is to go with the collection and make sure it gets into and out of the truck and to the correct location.

Once at the venue, we unpack the collection putting each outfit on a rack to their assigned model. This is where the cards we made for each model come into play. There is a dresser allocated to each model to help her change, put shoes on, zip & button her up during the show. We go over each outfit with the dressers to answer questions and make sure everything is alright. Also, each garment needs to be pressed or steamed before the show. While I am pressing, the models prepare for the show in hair and makeup.

Before I even realize it, it is 10 minutes before the show. Read more…

Alyssa documented her days in New York leading up to Sara’s show…

It is my first working day in New York with Sara. I arrived at the hotel at 9am to go over our list of jobs to accomplish for the day. Today is mostly a waiting game. I have a few errands: buying hangers & lint rollers, coffee runs, getting organizing supplies (it’s easier and more cost effective to buy some things here in NY instead of bringing them with us), but it is mostly down time for me today taking notes, shooting photos, and watching as we roll through appointments. I guess you could say it is the calm before the storm. Even though I have confidence that Sara and I are very prepared, after everything is settled and resolved tonight, the ball will be running in the morning and we will be running around trying to get things finished.

The first appointment of the day was the stylist. We have been sending her photos during the whole collection process, so she already has a good idea of the inspiration and what Sara is looking for in terms of styling. The stylist went through all of the looks putting garments together to make complete outfits. She also talked with Sara about other pieces she thinks we would need. Read more…

At Fashion School Daily, we’ve been following the adventures leading up to Sara Shepherd’s very own Fashion Week debut. For the insider scoop, we have her design assistant Alyssa Prentice to thank. Well, yesterday was the day when all of their list-making, pattern-cutting and drip-drying paid off!

Alyssa’s recount of the show is on its way, but in the meantime, here’s a first look at Sara’s spring 2010 collection including the infamous rub-a-dub skirt once hanging in the shower.

Photos by Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sara Shepherd

As fans of Sara’s designs for some time, we were tickled to see her signature blend of fitted and flouncy out in full force. The effect on the runway was a serious reworking of women’s suiting. In Sara’s vision of power dressing, there would never again be another plain pantsuit or boring blouse.

We especially love her sheer peek-a-boo top that’s strategically designed to flaunt but cover up your naughty bits. If you’re lucky enough to have Sara as an instructor, ask her how to make one of your very own.

I was digging through the bag I usually take with me to Sara’s trying to clean the junk out, and I stumbled across a little something from earlier in the summer:

It was a fortune from a cookie I broke open when we eating Chinese at the studio one night. I chuckled as I thought of the irony of writing “The Alyssa Diaries.” I never would have guess writing was in the cards for me…

Click here to read more from The Alyssa Diaries.

I met Sara (pictured left) over two years ago when I enrolled in her CDFP 4 class (Construction, Draping, Flat Pattern 4).

I had always enjoyed my CDFP classes very much because I felt more comfortable working 3-D rather than 2-D. Even though I struggled with new concepts and gaining a grasp on constructing my own designs, it was a turning point in my education. It was, as they say, “when the light bulb went on.” I never thought I was naturally talented at design, so it might have taken me a little longer for the bulb to light, but I was extremely tenacious in my pursuit to learn and excel in my chosen field. Sara was there to answer my endless list of questions, to challenge me to find the answer, and broaden my knowledge of how to engineer my garments. She also handed me the idea that there were many ways to sew and construct and that even though every way might be correct, that I had to find which way worked best for me. As a result I developed stronger sewing techniques. Her teaching style was also very structured, something I welcomed with open arms. It also became something I adapted into my regiment and work ethic.

One day in class Sara mentioned she was working on her collection and looking for future interns for the summer semester. I was elated. I had been looking for an internship not only to fill my credits for upcoming summer school, but I also to fill an empty spot I had mapped out on my resume. A week or so later backstage at the Academy fashion show, I asked Sara if she would consider me for the position of an intern. She said yes. Another classmate of mine also inquired about the position, so Sara not only adopted one but two interns. Read more…

Sara has created another crinkled garment – a pair of trousers this time around.

She went through the same process as the skirt-sewing the garment, washing it, twisting & tying it up, and then letting it dry. The effect was the same. There might be a couple of these pieces in the collection to demonstrate the the story-surviving the earthquake, a girl waking up during the aftermath and what her clothes look like as a result of the event-all rumpled and crinkled, completely disheveled.

Click here to read more from The Alyssa Diaries.

Sara handed me a sketch (of the Lloyd Trouser). She had done and asked me to draft the trouser. We went over what she was looking for in fit, shape of the panels/inserts, length, etc.

Read more…

We drafted this toile of a draped silk blouse that I am working on. We drafted it from scratch, sewed it together, and fit it. Yesterday I was making the alterations we agreed upon during the fitting where we pinned out excess, marked changes to seam lines, etc.

I checked the toile one more time on the stand, and cut it apart from the seams. I laid down the fabric pieces that are being used to make the shirt and drafted new patterns from them. Even though there were previous patterns, the garment had changed so much during the fitting that I decided to engineer new patterns. Read more…

We give the garments names not only for organization purposes, but to tie the inspiration into the collection. Also, when people see the garments listed in the program during the actual show, it doesn’t say things like “navy blue trouser,” or something boring like that.

A couple of names we currently have are The “1906 dress,” “The Sunburst Trouser,” “The Lloyd Trouser,” and so on. The names on the piece of paper scanned in include “The Dandy,” “Cecily,” “Merrimam,” “Algernon,” “Miss Prism,” and one we ended up using last week, “The Bracknell Dress.” The nicknames come from The Importance of Being Ernest; a literary inspiration for the collection.

Click here to read more from The Alyssa Diaries.

More pieces and outfits filled the boards once we had the fittings. We got an idea of the outfits as a whole. We also saw how lone garments could work with others and worked out the fit/alterations as well as fabric choices. The board is made up of photos of the model wearing the outfits during the fittings so we can visualize the outfit and go back to use it as a reference. It also helps to give us a concrete visual of an outline of the collection. Each fitting helps us add or delete garments and outfits, move positions in the lineup, and add styling elements.

Click here to read more from The Alyssa Diaries.