Canadian Fashion Designer : Phoenix BA
Working with Claris
It was a great experience working with Claris and CCA, and I am grateful to
have them produce the show of my archive at Fashion Circuit Series 2023.
Claris is a very passionate fashion lover and a professional show producer.
She understands me on both the artistic level and personal level. She
listened to my concerns about producing a show while going through
difficult time of my personal life, and she managed to handle all preparation
of the show. Claris works closely with me on promoting the event, recruiting
models, assigning looks, and securing every detail of the show day and
night. She also put many thoughts into the creative editorial shoots on the
day of the show trying to produce content that is never done before.
CCA's Team
CCA is a very professional team for show production. The crew managed the communication, coordination, and logistics that as a designer I did not need to worry about any of these. The team was at the venue with everything needed sorted and labeled, ready for styling and fitting for the creative photoshoot and runway show. The models were managed and instructed with the work in details, and photographers and hair and makeup artists were well informed with the creative needs for the looks. CCA also
designed the choreography that maximized the exposure time for each look and every model on the runway, conducted rehearsals to familiarize the models with the sequences and positions, and delivered a none traditional runway story with structures.
Production
The team also assisted me after the show with more photo taking and garment returning. It is usually quite a chaos after the runway when all the models undress. However, CCA was there offering help on sorting and packaging even the main work for the runway was done.Post event follow up was also an important part of the production that Claris puts many thoughts into. She spent a lot of time on going through all the photos and footages of the shoot and the runway show, giving professional editing suggestions, and working out the plan on publications and promotion on social media, making sure every piece of content produced and put out there is up to the high standard CCA has.
Production Manager : MEGHAN DURNFORD
I first met Claris in 2017 when Furne Amatao debuted his couture collection in Toronto.
Claris and Couture Culture and Arts (CCA) were producing their two runway shows and I was asked by my cousin if I wanted to volunteer backstage. It seemed like a fun opportunity, and having always been a fashion lover I could not pass it up. During the Amato show, I did little things like helping to dress the stage with
cedar trees, and steam-cleaning clothes, as well as more involved tasks like helping organize the models’ order. The experience was so positive and I really liked a lot of the people involved with the event. I was hopeful that I would get a chance to work with
them again. Claris and I chatted during the day and we discussed my interest in writing and she made a note of that. The runway show was the first of many events that I would work on with Claris
and CCA, every time we collaborated together, I had different roles and with each event my responsibilities grew. I always enjoyed getting to be a part of the excitement and glamour that CCA brings, and began to build a friendship with Claris and some of the other team members.
The Inaugural Editorial Model Search for CCA
We produced a few photo shoots and a runway show on a cruise ship, and with more moving parts involved with these events I
stepped into a bigger role of assisting with choreographing the runway show on the ship, keeping track of timing and order during photo shoots, and began to make connections with some of the models and the crew that were all part of the Model
Search events. After the first Editorial Model Search shoots and show, Claris asked me if I would be interested in writing about them and my first three stories, I wrote for her were published in SMJ Magazine. I have continued to cover Couture Culture and Arts events and efforts over the past few years, and at present nearly thirty of my stories have been published in outlets that Claris has professional relationships with. It has been a tremendous experience getting to not only see my work in print, but also to have the opportunity to grow as a writer and improve over time working with different outlets and editors.
The CCA Team
Since that first event in 2017, I have worked on multiple photo shoots, runway shows, and events with Claris and the CCA Team, and have enjoyed every minute of it. From writing to handling PR duties, initially assisting to now working more formally as the Production Manager, I have worn many different hats and have gained invaluable experience working in the fashion world. I love being a part of the chaos of a backstage moment, or the glitz and polish of a professional photo shoot. The best part for me and probably my strength is the preparation and organization leading up to these types of events. I am so glad and grateful that Claris not only has given me these chances but mostly that she has honed in on my strong suits and sees where I best fit into the CCA family.