FASHFEST tickets now on sale!

Posted on 28 March, 2015

This is it. The day tickets are officially on sale for Canberra’s biggest ever, red-carpet fashion event. FASHFEST promises excitement and delivers with spine-tingling effect. This year’s event, 13 to 16 May, will be at the National Convention Centre, in heated space, so get shopping for special attire now. No need to rug up in this venue.

FASHFEST isn’t your typical fashion show. It’s a fashion event—four days of curated entertainment, with more than 30 designers launching collections on the runway, worn by about 80 models who will be glammed up by a small army of hair and makeup artists. The music, pulled together this year by new music director Ashley Feraude (Magnifik), is just as hot, with a whopping 14 live musicians on deck, covering rap, hip hop, soul, silky sounds of jazz and other genres.

“We divide the nights into themes,” says co-founder Clint Hutchinson, “and design what transpires on the catwalk around them. This makes sure guests have a different experience each night, especially important for those buying four-night packages. Last year, VIP seats and the packages were the first to sell out.”

The activist, inventor, cartographer and engineer are this year’s themes, all described on the FASHFEST website.

“One of the challenges in curating the event,” says producer Steve Wright, “is to select the designers who best represent these themes.”

This year, tiered seating will be erected on both sides of the 50-metre runway. VIP seats are front row, gold second row, silver third to fifth rows, and bronze the remaining rows. Single tickets range from $75 to $130 a night.

The top-two ticket levels offer an ‘experience’ package which gets guests a special deal, including a guided tour backstage to watch the action as it unfolds ($150 to $170).

“It’s chaos, but controlled chaos backstage,” says Nick Ellis, co-producer.

Nick, who is seen backstage wearing his signature cowboy hat—so he can easily be spotted in the crowd when someone needs him, and that’s often—is responsible for ensuring everyone is fed, watered and, well, happy and focused.

It’s a massive task.

Hair and makeup activities never stop backstage. Last year’s looks were created by a team of 33 hair artists, from top-notch local salons, with stylists curling, teasing, scrunching and straightening to get the models ready for show time.

The makeup teams were just as frantic, with 25 hair artists transforming the models’ faces in line with fashion designer aesthetics. This year’s new director of hair, Darren Jones and creative director of hair, Craig Rhodes, are already on the job. So too is new director of makeup, Diana Cheetham.

The controlled chaos isn’t just backstage. It’s out front where guests are seated for the show.

Darren Russell, from platinum partner Elite Sound and Lighting, is in charge of hauling about 20 tonnes of equipment to the National Convention Centre for FASHFEST. Elite handles a massive number of show components, including video, sound, lighting, screens, projectors, rigging, staging and power.

“We have a crew of 14 or 15 on site for two days to bump in, a show crew of four for all nights of the event, and 14 or so crew to bump out,” says Darren.

For 2015, FASHFEST is hiring a massive portable, stadium seating system from a Melbourne company.

“It’s the same seating used for major events like the Australian Open and the Opera on Sydney Harbour,” says Darren.

“It will be transported from Melbourne in huge trucks and has its own crew in charge of building it.”

Andrea Hutchinson, also a co-founder of the event, promises this about 2015: “FASHFEST will be bigger, better and even more exciting than ever before.”

The FASHFEST website has full descriptions of which designers and musicians are on what night. Tickets on sale: www.fashfest.com.au