MY FIRST EVER FASHION SHOW EXPERIENCE

Dress: H&M
Coat: Pretty Little Thing
Shoes: Rubi Shoes
Scarf: Bruh idk it's my mum's shawl
Purse: Target (it's actually a pencil case and I got it for $7 on sale!)

I attended two shows: The Ae'lkemi Fashion Show and the Closing Night Fashion Show (I've got a separate blog for this here.). I'll split them up into Part 1 and Part 2 respectively.

NEW BEGINNINGS

As you may or may not know, I uprooted my life in Brisbane, Australia in Aug 2018 to move and work in Perth, Australia - permanently. Things have kind of changed now and I'll be once again uprooting my life in Perth, Australia to move and work in Brisbane, Australia - permanently (lols). But anyway, that's besides the point - you didn't click on this post to witness my ramblings!

A BIG part of me getting this opportunity is because I moved out of home and decided to exercise stepping outside of my comfort zone. As a brown daughter of immigrant parents in the West, it was always a struggle work up the courage to ask for my parent's permission to go out. And once you did, it led to the myriad of (sometimes) irrelevant questions that ended up putting you off from going out and enjoying yourself (I still love you mummy & papa 💗). Having 'fun' was out of question. I ended up finding ways to be content staying at home and became comfortable in that cocoon of naivety. Once I moved out of home, I wanted to burst that bubble. You don't realise it, but it's actually super difficult to live the life of a hermit and then all of a sudden expose yourself to the entire world; it's taxing for the mind and body. 

SO, I'd heard about this Telstra Perth Fashion Festival (TPFF) coming up in Perth at the Optus Stadium and was keen but also hesitant about attending. I had to factor in the cost of transport (I have no car), whether or not I could attend a show late night and be able to work the next day (NEED.SLEEP) etc. Logistics. These were some of the hindrances I faced that put me off but eventually I forced myself to just go for it.

Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia.

PART 1: THE AE'LKEMI SHOW (12th Sept 2018)

This is me awkwardly posing before the Ae'lkemi show.

There was a couple of shows on that week and I had attended Ae'lkemi show as an attendee, paid for the ticket and was in absolute awe of everything about it. It's like attending an art exhibit but everything moves! I know for sure that I would never be able to keep a face as straight as a model's or be able to walk with that much confidence in front of a room full of critics. It's truly commendable. 

I quickly got home from work, painted my face real quick and took a $30 Uber to the venue at 6.00pm. But wait, rewind to earlier back to 7.00am that morning - I was on IG and commented on a girl's post about the TPFF and she messaged me saying that she knew someone selling 2 tickets and that if I was keen, we could go together 😃.

She couldn't pick them up so I did on my lunch break at 12.00pm. So basically, I found out I was attending the show on the day of it happening lols.

The show started at 9.00pm so I had some time to kill, luckily, the place was filled with cool things to experience! There was a wall filled with balloons of different sizes, a mirrored photo booth room with fresh flowers hanging from the ceiling, a nail painting station, a hair and makeup station and various skincare booths. This place was so cool. 

Of course I needed a backshot of the details and a good excuse to hide my double chin.

LITERALLY FRESH HANGING FLOWERS.
Whipped out my Calibar Collection sunnies so I could look as extra as my b/g.

Here I am pretending to be cool.

Here I am getting distracted by someone walking past and (friendly) hollering at me.

My ticket included access to a VIP room with a complimentary drink (time 2 get wilddd...jks I'm muslim) so I made my way there. And OMG, imagine a scene from Gossip Girl where they're at some party decked out in floor length gowns and tailored suits- that's exactly what it was. There was a live DJ and there was all these coloured lights doing that strobe-y thing they do. Waiters came around with carefully crafted finger foods that I usually couldn't eat cause what is halal again?

I couldn't stay for long but my oh my did I feel out of place! I was in awe of it all but at the same time I just knew that it wasn't me. I think this event actually taught me a lot about where I stand. You always deep down wonder what it would be like to hang out with people that are 'up there' and think that maybe you'd enjoy.  But I guess that's not always the case. 

I rushed down to the foyer and handed over the extra ticket to my newfound fashion show buddy and we made our way into the 'entertainment area' where all the hair and makeup was being done.

Eventually, the hour was nigh, although we waited half an hour before anything happened. Apparently, it's a normal thing for fashion shows to be late.

Post-show. Everyone's rushing out the door and I'm taking it all in.

The night ended late and everyone seemed to leave as soon as the show finished but I was reeling and hyped up on adrenaline - it was such an experience for lil' ol' naive me. On the way out, I actually ended up meeting with Perth blogger Jo Goh (@theglamwhisperer on IG) in the parking lot and we exchanged numbers. This was so unexpected and I was like could this night get any better? It didn't really...Leaving for home at 11.00pm wasn't ideal and I was royally rekt.

Makeup Selfie as soon as I got home 4 da memz. Jks I was feeling cute das why.

I was exhausted by the end of it but I took every chance I got! Find Part 2 to this story here where I find myself attending a fashion show for free & getting smuggled into the VIP After Party. Good times.

much love,

Afra