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Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Resort 19'
To define our inaugural debut show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, is to define all your biggest desires, fears, emotions and passion into a single sentence. Impossible right? Jasmine Gescheit, our founder and designer, recaps the whirlwind experience.
Rewind the clock to March, 2018. It was a gloomy Melbourne morning and I had just parked my car outside my favourite cafe to get my morning coffee. I quickly checked my emailed to see what might be pressing for the day ahead before stepping out, and there it was “Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2018 would be thrilled to invite JASMINE ALEXA to participate in the ACTIVE runway.” I stared blankly at my screen, my brain not registering what I was seeing. After re-reading it 4 times, to make sure I was in fact reading it correctly, it finally hit me! I got in and I was showing at MBFWA! The shock and excitement kicked in, then came the panic and stress, and then naturally, the tears. The tears of joy and happiness.
I had 6 weeks to get organised and so begun the crazy and amazing MBFWA journey.
A model waits in the wings before stepping out on the runway
The next 6 weeks consisted of hard work, sleepless nights, long days, endless coffee and countless pep talks. It was relentless and intense but it was also the most memorable 6 weeks, because I was doing what I loved for an event that I had dreamed about being part of since I was a teenager. It was a surreal feeling, and it was soon to become a reality.May 17 came around in the blink of an eye – it’s amazing how fast 6 weeks can go by.
It was a clear, crisp morning in Sydney and a strange sense of calm had come over me. I had done all I could, and gone over every little detail in my head over and over again. I was as ready as I ever was going to be.
Arriving at Carriageworks, the home of MBFWA, I was blown away by its structural beauty and remnants of its history. The vast expanses of space felt grand and I was honoured to be showing in such a special place. Backstage, the familiar smell of steamers and hairspray filled the room. One by one, the models, volunteers, production team, designers, photographers etc piled in, filling up the large space. It was an organised chaos. Everyone new their role and what they needed to do and before we knew it, it was call time. The butterflies erupted in my tummy. This was really about to happen. The models were lined up in their outfits and ironically it was the first time I had seen the collection as a whole. I was really proud of myself and what I had created. As most creatives do, I battled self-doubt throughout the entire process, but seeing it before me, I was at peace with myself. Our epic runway song, created by Mild Minds, started to play, and it was go time.
The line up of models waiting for their turn.
I went into a whirlwind and before I knew it, and before I had time to wrap my head around it, it was over. It was quick, not even 5 minutes. The models had graced the runway, the music was played and my work was shown to the world. It was now open to critique and judgement and the opinions of everyone who has witnessed it. It was scary and elating. Part of me was nervous about what they though, and the other part was overwhelmed with happiness. I was shaken back into reality and was pushed out on to the runway in front of the large crowd. To my surprise, everyone was cheering and clapping, I was taken back by the shear amount of people and the noise that was facing right at me. I ran off the runway (quite literally- you will watch it in the video below) and burst into tears. Tears because it was over, tears because I was so tired, tears because I had just faced my fears, tears because I had bloody done it! I showed at MBFWA and that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Thank you to everyone who helped me along this journey. You all know who you are xx
Below is the full runway plus a bts video captured by Rubin Utama that sums up the experience. It is a day that we will never forget.
