Fashion journalist and public relations specialist
Planet Chic is a fashion show production and media relations campaign created and produced by Alexia Hill as part of her ASU Barrett, The Honors College Thesis.
The Chic Daily is a fashion journalism club on campus that I've been involved with since my Freshmen year, and every semester, the club hosted a non-profit, themed, fashion show. Over time, I began to notice that our production quality was decreasing. Time was slipping by too quickly, and student members were too busy with classes, work and real life to be able to execute a proper show.
Simultaneously, I was becoming increasingly involved with the organization, moving up from a general member to the Magazine Creative Director, Vice President, and ultimately President starting in the Spring of 2023.
When our Fall '22 fashion show, Cirque De So Chic, happened, I was not able to play a big part in production, but I wasn't proud of the event our organization had put out. I knew that when I became President, I wanted to make the difficult decision to change our club's tradition of a show every semester, to once a year. This came with challenges, confusion and people asking about a show in Spring 2023.
Ever since the Spring of 2023, I had known that I wanted the next show theme to be other-worldly. Separately, I had to start deciding what I wanted to do for my graduation project. I had originally pitched starting my own magazine, and in response received criticisms and critiques that I needed to be solving a problem with my thesis, or answering some sort of question. The possibilities are endless, but I felt like I had nothing to work with at the same time.
With time to think, reflect, speak with mentors, professors, faculty and gain insight and guidance, I finally found a clear path for my Barrett, The Honors College thesis:
PLANET CHIC: A COSMIC FASHION SHOW
RESEARCH QUESTION:
What is the impact of messaging and branding on fashion show outcomes?
2. Interviews
To gain even further insight on the previous Chic fashion shows, I conducted multiple interviews with former Chic executive leaders to gain their insight on what went well, what needs to be improved, and overall reflections. Overall sentiments were to stay focused, give yourself time to plan, promote ahead of time, and take it seriously. Consistent issues include venue spaces, and models and designers dropping out last minute.
5. Executing the brand vision
In order to execute the brand vision, I had to bring on trusted creatives with skills I didn't have in order to creatively direct my vision. I was able to direct two different photoshoots to recreate the Planet Chic aesthetic, as well as get photographers for our fittings and ensuring the team involved understand the vision.
6. Model Casting
In November, I organized The Chic's first ever official model casting to help legitimize the event, as opposed to taking online submissions only, like we've done in the past. About 30 models were in attendance, and we had a streamlined process including: Check-in, headshots, measurements and their runway walk.
7. Logistics and Project Management
All throughout the nine months of planning, communication, coordination, honesty and weekly check-ins within different departments was crucial to the shows success. Logistics included venue paperwork, rehearsals, fittings, funding paperwork, sponsorship and partnership coordination, and printing the magazines.
Media Relations
For our media relations campaign, we knew that we wanted to reach local press as well as local and potential regional/national influencers. I carefully crafted separate messaging for press and influencers, doing outreach via email and social media to reach a wide scope of those in the fashion community. Below you can find our Media Advisory that was sent out to over 60 contacts.
Event Calendars
500K+ monthly visits
332K+ UVM
50K+ monthly visits
5K+ monthly visits
Live On Air!
3.5K+ UVM
Notable Social Media Coverage
Posted/Reposted by...
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Fashion on First (84)
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PHX Fray (6K+)
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ASU Cronkite (5K+)
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Style Line Magazine (900+)
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Daryl Bland (3K+)
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Melanie Alvarez (600+)
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University Street Market (6K+)
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Risa Kostis (9K+)
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AZFW (4K+)
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Shannon Love (12K+)
46K+ potential viewers!
Collaboration with Mia Perry (75K+ Following)
12.3K Views
68.1K Views
14.9K Views
Post-Show Coverage
The Planet Chic Magazine
Following my initial thesis idea of creating a magazine, I knew I wanted to create one for this show. Following an industry trend I saw in Denver Fashion Week, I loved the idea of a magazine acting as a playbill on each attendee's seat. Paired with my love of graphic design, this was just another way to ensure the vision of Planet Chic came across to both our guests and our team.
Day of show Preparations
01
Hair and Makeup Station Set-Up / Coordination
First order of the day was getting the doors open at 8AM sharp! From there, I needed to bring equipment in the building, and set up chairs, tables, mirrors and extension cords for our hair and makeup team that was set to arrive at 9AM. With 15 hair stylists and 18 makeup artists, and over 60 models to work on, we also improvised and realized we needed to make a space for models to wait for their hair and makeup to be done. We also set up a snack table with fruit, granola bars, rice Krispy treats, and lots of water!
02
Chair Arrangements, Gift Bags, and Magazines
We would not have been in the position we were in on the day of the show without our volunteers. Chic Daily members came together day of to help re-arrange the guests' chairs for the runway, putting together general admission and VIP gift bags, as well as placing the gift bags and magazines onto the chairs. A team of three was able to execute this efficiently and with great care.
03
Decorations
A separate group of 3 was delegated to work on decorations. This included hanging up star decor, placing window stickers, getting the red carpet and banner put up, and making the check-in desk visually appealing. One of the decoration highlights, and something I really wanted to make sure was implemented was creating a collage from my inspiration photos for Planet Chic in the restroom. This way, guests can have another small photo opportunity by taking mirror selfies with the collage in the background. From the all-chrome mannequin in the front to the bathroom walls, we wanted the user experience to genuinely feel otherworldly.
04
Dress Rehearsals
Our runway choreographer and model/posing coach, Kim Covert, has expert experience on both sides of the camera, making her a great fit for this role. Kim coordinated with models throughout the day, once for a rough rehearsal where she posed each collection of models on the couch, and once more closer to showtime for a full-run dress rehearsal. This dress rehearsal was also a test to see how our chrome vinyl runway would hold up against high heels.
05
Audio/Visual/Lighting Set-Up
The final stretch: Simultaneously as we were finalizing set design for the runway and practicing walks during the dress rehearsal, we were trying to coordinate with our scheduled DJ. Unfortunately due to a miscommunication, this DJ didn't come with any equipment and our A/V system wouldn't suffice for their needs. Due to the time crunch, we asked this DJ to build a track less for intermission and that we would use our personal back-up playlist for when doors opened and for after the show. Even though we wish we could have had a live DJ set during the intermission, it all worked out okay from guest's perspectives. We had two volunteers working behind the curtains to coordinate the music with each collection as well. This was certainly our biggest obstacle of the night, but we were able to improvise, persevere and continue on with a quality event.
A glance at the statistics
1
350+ Guests
My goal for guest attendance was 200 people. We confirmed some VIP guests from Phoenix Fashion Week, 303 Magazine, Green Living Magazine, The Atlantic, Denver Fashion Week, Barrett, and micro-influencers in the front row. We sold out of our 200 tickets, and began selling a discounted standing room ticket, coming to a total of about 363 attendees total.
2
12 Designers
Although this may sound like too many designers for one show, we showcased a wide range of student designers, all in under an hour. 10 of the 12 were students, and the two 2 non-students had previously shown in Phoenix Fashion week, and Arizona Fashion Week. Our lineup focused on the students, but included well-rounded professionals in the industry as well.
3
100+ on production
Including myself, the 12 Chic team members, 33 HMUA, ~65 models, 12 designer/stylists, 3 internal media team members, and 5 volunteers, I am incredibly grateful to have been able to lead such a large team to its overall success. This involved a lot of checking in with different groups throughout the day, and ensuring each team was on track.
Social Media Overview
+16.3%
+31.8%
+68.5%
294 new followers
104K total impressions
4.5K engagements
(( Last 90 Days, Dec. 28 - March 26 ))
TOP PERFORMING POSTS
I created 18 feed posts in total, starting with the official launch and teaser of Planet Chic on Oct. 30, 2023. Top performing as filtered by the most engagements.
Alex Soto, Model
"Thank you for creating a space I could express my alien superstar form. This is all I've ever wanted and now that it's here I feel like I'm entering a new chapter in my life! Such a special night with even more special people!"
Jake Quenon, Vendor
"Thank you so much for providing the space last night! I barely got to see it but I made a lot of money, best market of the week. It was so cool to see everyone in one place your show was like, bigger than AZFW."
Nicole Johnson, Model
"This was such an honor to be a part of, thank you for choosing me. Seriously one of the most organized productions I have EVER been involved with."
Post-Show Takeaways
Guest's Perspectives
01
Positive Sentiments
Overwhelmingly, the sentiment was positive in regard to the show and the production. Friends, family, and even employers have continually said how proud they are of me.
02
Unaware of backstage issues
After talking to people about all of the mistakes I felt we made during the production, no one had even noticed the minor details or mistakes I had mentioned, a major reminder that we are our own worst critic.
03
Audio & Lighting
The biggest concern I heard from guests perspectives was that the microphone for the host, Shannon Love, was of really grainy quality. That being said, next time we should consider renting or purchasing a quality mic as opposed to using the one that comes with the space, or just testing ahead of time to resolve A/V issues. The lighting was also a bit inconsistent.
04
Seating Arrangements
For an event of this caliber, it would make more sense moving forward to allow people to buy tickets with assigned seating, to ensure everyone who buys a ticket has a seat. Because it was all general admission, if someone with a sitting ticket was late, a standing ticket might have taken their spot.
Post-Show Surveys
Production Team's Perspective
01
Hair / Makeup Issues
Some survey participants suggested that hair and makeup choices should be made by the designer, not the producer. Furthermore, someone suggested that different designers and their corresponding models came at staggered times through the day to reduce the downtime during the day of.
02
Support / Communication
Overall, nearly everyone I spoke with or that took the survey complimented how organized the show was, how communicative, kind and helpful everyone on set was toward one another.
03
Preparing to scale / build more opportunities
Moving forward, in order to scale this event even larger, the production team probably needs to be at least two truly dedicated individuals who are on the same page. Some opportunities, like Postmark credit slipped through the cracks because I had other priorities for the event.
04
Recognition for models
Survey participants made note that the models are the only group of people not recognized in the magazine for their hard work, and that they would feel more supported if they were recognized in some way for their efforts.
100% said they would work with or attend a Chic fashion show again in the future
**12 participants in survey, 66.7% models, 16.7% media, 16.7% designers/stylists
Key Takeaways
1
Budget for A/V Support
Looking back, the lighting isn't the best on the runway, the microphone had a fuzzy quality, and our DJ pulled out last minute. All this being said, it's worth it moving forward to set aside a budget for quality A/V equipment and a professional DJ who either has equipment or knows how to work with whatever we may have on hand. Consider reaching out to media or photographers who may be attending the show to do a venue walkthrough with you for their guidance on good lights to rent or buy, or see if they have any that you could borrow.
2
It's never a bad thing to over-prepare
It's never too early to start planning, and it's never a bad thing to over-prepare or over-communicate. I'd rather have people a little annoyed I've called and texted them a ton of times, than designers or models be confused about dates, times, etc. But, communication takes time. It's a skill and muscle to be flexed, and this was a great chance to practice. Communicating and coordinating between this many people also takes a lot of time, so ensuring you have the discipline and dedication to put toward a project like this is key.
3
Overlapping Dates
Finally, I'm incredibly proud of the turnout of this show. However, some very influential, key people to the Arizona fashion community weren't present because the dates overlapped with the Fall NYFW shows. This caused a decline in attendance from the influencer outreach perspective, and I think it would've had more impact in-person and online had people not had NYFW on their minds. Weekends and evenings are definitely the best time for these events, and we still had an amazing turnout, but consider coordinating with local events and national fashion dates.
The Big Question
What is the impact of messaging and branding on fashion show outcomes?
Conclusion
Creating an intentional, impactful, eye-catching yet alluring brand is not an easy feat. It takes research, endless amounts of time, resources, support, and passion for your project to execute on a quality level. To create strategic messaging that entices, informs AND persuades different audiences to attend or support our vision, I had to meticulously craft various versions of pitches. On social media, it's all about the balance between a short, attention-grabbing caption and still being able to inform the user on the event, why it's important, and why they should support. It's all a balancing act. But, by creating branding guidelines, having a clear vision and a strong network behind me, the impact of the Planet Chic branding and messaging led us to a successful fashion show, the biggest event that The Chic has ever put on. I know it will only continue to expand from here in future leadership.
Thank you to everyone involved who made this show possible. It truly takes a village and I'm so proud to have created this space for designers, models, and creatives in the community.
Moving forward I hope to continue in the fashion industry by working in the fashion media field, either as a fashion journalist or as a PR Specialist for a fashion company. Event production is something I love, and something I hope to see and be a part of in my future career, however that may manifest.
Partners
