BTS AT THE ICONIC
WORDS BY NFC STUDENT ISABEL JIANG
On the 20th of March, I had the amazing opportunity to go on a tour of THE ICONIC’s Warehouse & Styling Studio. Although only an one-hour excursion, it was such a valuable excperience for someone so early on in their fashion journey.
We started in the kitchen, where I caught a glimpse of THE ICONIC’s LED sign. I always really enjoy these excursions because it is so rare in our daily lives to gather with so many like-minded people. It is also one of the few opportunities we get outside of class to meet other people within the cohort. It was refreshing to see so many unfamiliar faces and catch a glimpse of what the future of the industry might be.
I was in awe at our first look of the space. I felt a wave of adrenaline seeing such a big space. Although it was a quiet day in the workspace, my dream for a career in the fashion industry never felt so real or reachable.
As the wonder settled down, we made our way to the ‘photoshoot alley’. One whole side of the Warehouse was set up with lights and a backdrop, dedicated to shooting the clothes. We were taken through the process of how these shoots work as we were watching one unfold in front of us.
It was really amazing to see all the elements like how the Photographer works with the model and how the Stylist prepares the outfits. What really surprised me was how fast-paced shooting and then uploading the images onto the e-com sites were. I’d assume it would take a couple of weeks to shoot and retouch everything but we were told it usually happens within a week or the next.
We were then taken through the make-up and offices spaces.
Even though it wasn’t necessarily fashion, it was still so interesting to see the make-up stations. There were rows of vanities to do make up. It made me wonder what it would like if we had come on a normal or busier day. I was so curious to see what the chaos would be like if all the photobooths and make up tables were in use. I loved seeing this part of the warehouse because make-up and beauty is another one of my greatest passions!
Along many of the walls were collages and mood-boards like the one in the photo. It was interesting to see the vision and the creative ideas of the stylist. It really stood out to me because it was a valuable pop of colour amongst the grey walls of the warehouse. it reminds me of how integral creativity is to fashion and the reason for why I want to pursue this as a career. It was also really interesting to see the model profiles on the wall because I recognised a few of the faces from when I volunteered at Melbourne Fashion Festival. It’s such a small world!
We then moved on to looking at the clothes THE ICONIC stocked. They had a large room in the middle of the warehouse to store all their pieces. This was an excursion for my education, but I couldn’t help but do a little shopping for myself as we were looking. When something caught my eye, I made a mental note to look it up on their website. Seeing all the clothes together, it was interesting to see the variety they had in their pieces.
I enrolled into this course wanting only the rawest and realest insights into the industry. Which is why I am so thankful for NFC. Because I have been able to enjoy the most fun and exciting parts of the industry, I am able to turn these reality checks into motivation.