from start to finish

I used to not understand why there was such importance placed on the position a model walked in a show. An 'opener' or 'closer' was considered incredible, engendered with prestige, beauty and success. But i never quite understood it because i never saw the shows in full, never watched the grainy videos uploaded on style.com as soon as they were posted. All i got were the fragmented runway pictures slightly delayed when the air freight 'runway special' issues (february and august respectively) were sent down under. And, now i understand, you can't really get a comprehensive idea of the shows from just those pictures, there is no sense of movement, no sense of the excitement and adrenalin palpable in a runway show.

And, of course, there is no full sense of the collection as succinctly and completely outlined by the opening and closing looks.

I suppose it goes without saying, but then, perhaps it is subtler than that, that the first and last looks of a runway show are the most important. Because they are the first and last thing seen they are often the ones remembered, and because of this designers usually send out the looks that are thrilling, innovative or downright beautiful to begin and end. But, more importantly, the first and last looks of a runway show should be a capsule idea of the show itself and its themes, inspiration, trends and importance. With these two looks a designer is bracketing the entirety of his or her collection, they stand as book ends to hold up the rest of the looks, signalling what is to come and what is to be remembered.

As i came to realise this it was groundbreaking. Firstly because it saved me a lot of time, sometimes when i didn't have time to watch a whole runway show i would zip through and check the first and last looks, nod knowingly to myself and say, hmmm there's a definite sportswear influence to this collection. But it also showed me why walking first and/or last is of extreme importance to a model. Often they are given the showstopping outfits as the last look and thus will ensure their face is reprinted in catwalk reports and magazines for a good four months, giving them much wanted exposure. Models are also acutely aware of the power that they hold as an opener or closer. Handpicked by a designer they have been deemed worthy to begin and end a show, to herald in the new looks and leave a lasting impression in the minds of the audience. It's no surprise, then, that the vast majority of campaigns go to the girls who opened or closed the show.

And it's also like getting top billing in a movie, you come out as number 1. It's almost as if you're more important than the other models, and though to a certain extent that's not true (all models are equal, just some more equal than others haha), there is a great level of responsibility hefted upon the stick thin shoulders of the opener and closer. They have to, in essence, be able to carry the whole show. They must be able to embody completely the look that the collection is going for, and then translate that look into movement. And you thought models were stupid!

With the Fall Winter ads dominating pages, the september issues about to be dropped and the new season moving ever closer let's take a walk down memory lane and revisit the best opening and closing looks of the season.

a real delight from start to finish.
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P.S are you aussies counting down the days till the newstand release of vogue australia like me? tomorrow i will get to bask in all of cate blanchett's radiant glory, and can't wait to see the abbey lee and cat mcneil swimsuit ed that is supposed to be hot hot hot. :)

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