Once in a Time: the LINE Fashion Show through the Eyes of Three Models

With us all having been captivated and utterly mesmerised by the models who walked in LINE's 2024 fashion show on March 7th, LINE blogger Rani interviews three models about their experience on the catwalk and beyond...

Cosmos: Hi!! I'm Cosmos Zero and I'm a third year physics student! (no more name puns pls)

India: Hi my name is India Patel and I'm a first year PPE student from NW London!

Sofia: I'm Sofia Drake-Perello and I'm a second year English and History student!

Rani: Can you introduce your character and the inspiration behind it?

Cosmos: I was fortunate enough to be cast as the Mad Hatter, and I was even more excited to find out Giulia was designing for me. She's given a totally new take on the character with new colours, but still kept the classic red/orangey hair.

India: I was Candy and represented temptation from Hansel and Gretel. I had a tie made of sweets, leg warmers and hand warmers with pretzels, heels that literally looked like sundaes and a pink skirt with “be sweet to me” written on the back.

Sofia: My look is inspired by the fairy-tale and character of Snow White - it’s such an elegant and ethereal piece and my designer, Alix, did an absolutely breath-taking job of bringing the character to life. It focuses on femininity and power, with the scarf (which actually had apples in each bunch!) gliding down behind me giving a hint of darkness and a not so happy ever after for Snow White.

Rani: How do you feel about the theme of the show, in that it focused on the darker origins of the fairytales?

Cosmos: The theme is incredible! The show had a really eery feeling throughout - especially with the music - and it demonstrated the contrast between modern and classic adaptations of fairytales.

 

India: I absolutely adored the theme of the show, fairytales are everything and the magic and seeing all the stories brought to life is literally a once in a lifetime experience. The darker origins of the tale were also looked at with the witch of the story but with my design I think it stayed upbeat and sweet just like Candy itself. But also, potentially to portray the dangerously tempting look of candy and what enamoured Hansel and Gretel in the first place.

 

Sofia: I LOVED the show’s theme, not just because of its darker interpretations of fairytales, but also its incorporation of less commonly known stories. The Nutcracker and the stories of King Arthur and Merlin are such wonderful stories that aren’t perhaps as well-known so seeing them on the runway was so exciting. Most fairy tales originally have darker endings, so I love that Line chose to go back to their origins and allow designers to interpret them how they wished!

Rani: How did you look to embody your character on the runway?

Cosmos: When I was told that I was the mad hatter, it felt SO right. I was excited to bring out my quirky side a bit more, especially with Giulia's hoola flix as a prop. Hearing the gasp in the crowd as the toy expanded felt magical!

 

India: I tried to embody the character or candy by trying to add some sort of sweetness and smiles to the poses at the end of the runway. I started my walk with the “model face” and tried to create the tempting look and then towards the end used smiles and let my fun side out to emblemise the happiness of the character. I think candy was the character best suited for my personality and they knew what they were doing!

 

Sofia: Snow White was so fun to play with and I definitely tapped into her darker side and the doom she faced with the infamous apple. Walking down with a fake apple was such a fab idea because I got to play around with it through showing it to the audience/pretending to bite into it (which got some gasps). As much as Snow White is a graceful, innocent character, I think I showed there’s more to her than meets the eye!

Rani: How did it feel to bring to life designs created by your peers?

Cosmos: The fact that everything - from the music, the lighting, the clothes, and the set design - as well as the models - were all university students is incredible. It's a fantastic showcase of our University's strong creative scene.

 

India: I felt honoured to be involved in the show. I have never been in a fashion show like this before or anything similar to it so for me it was a first-time experience, but it was genuinely magical. I loved working with my designer. Amal is insanely talented and so so easy to work with, she’d come visit me and we’d try things on make sure sizes fit and her vision was created.  She always made me feel comfortable with what I was wearing. She’s literally become one of my friends now so working with her was amazing! 

 

Sofia: My designer, Alix, was beyond fabulous and I hope we stay really good friends because she’s literally the coolest person I’ve ever met. Working with her was so fun because she always listened to my ideas, and we always had a laugh during fittings and behind the scenes of shoots. We definitely bonded over me standing freezing in a public toilet while she pinned the dress onto me. I think bringing university students’ work to life is such an incredible opportunity because these are the future designers of the industry, and I can’t wait to see what they do next!

Rani: What was the atmosphere like backstage, leading up to the show?

Cosmos: Everyone backstage was super supportive of one another and it was cool seeing how people hyped themselves up in their own ways!! Some people did press-ups to get the adrenaline out, whilst others stayed a bit quieter to get in "the zone"! Naturally, there were little rushes here and there with last minute changes and fittings, but that's showbiz! Everything worked out in the end and people really stepped out of their comfort zones on the night.

 

India: The atmosphere was incredible. Not only was everyone so sweet and uplifting and genuinely so obsessed with each other’s designs, it created such a unified atmosphere. Everyone looked amazing and was excited for each other which allowed everyone to feel comfy with their designs and eased nerves! Literally made so many friends with this show and it was just amazing to be in a room filled with so much talent from the designers to the MUAs and the models themselves!

 

Sofia: The atmosphere backstage was just wonderful. I don’t think there’s enough words to express how much love and support there was behind every model, designer, and photographer. Everyone was helping each other with makeup/outfits and making sure everyone was happy and comfortable. The stairs leading up to the runway were lined with everyone waiting to go on and every single person was rooting for everyone, wishing them luck, and congratulating them. After each chapter had their walk you could hear a huge cheer - it was just so wonderful being surrounded by so much love.

Rani: Lastly, what was the highlight of the night for you!

Cosmos: Seeing Giulia cry afterwards was really special. Her, Anastasia and Kanon have put in so much work alongside the rest of the exec and seeing it all come together so smoothly was fantastic. I can't imagine all of the work that went towards it behind the scenes! Everyone was super professional and set the standards super high for next year! I'm really grateful to have been part of this for the last 2 years.

 

India: the highlight of the night was definitely my walk because it felt absolutely surreal and incredible! But also, right at the end when they had all the designers on the runway and the models on the stage I loved that part because we were all there together!

 

Sofia: There are too many highlights! Getting to finally eat without worrying about smudging my lipstick after the walk was definitely a highlight haha, and the afterparty was a BLAST, but seeing all my friends in the audience supporting me and getting the biggest hug from them all would definitely be the best part of the night for me. It was just magical from start to finish, and the most incredible opportunity surrounded by the most incredible of people!