It seems these days, you can’t go somewhere and not see a fashion show. In Shanghai these days, no event is complete without it’s very own fashion show. Elite bar has taken this to the exteme apparently giving you a fashion show every day! I was recently at the Elite Bar opening, where they had not one, not two, but three completely separate fashion shows! There can’t be that many different show can there? Well apparently not, as you take a look, I saw the same show twice over the span of a couple of days:

Here is a model from the Elite Bar VIP Opening

Is this the same model with the same clothes, 2 days later at the Bund 18 party?

The shows seemed to have completely different choreographers, but they are the same models, with the same clothes. Though the Elite Bar show had a well known choreographer, I preferred the Bund 18 show. It is also fun to see how many times I can see the same model in the same clothes different times.

Though, these shows are really not as easy as they appear. For any show, it is choreographed just as any other show would be. It takes effort to put on a good fashion show. The show has to be rehearsed beforehand, as timings are very crucial in a time like this. You don’t want a gaffe like models running into each other because there are too many on the runway, or having people come out on the wrong musical cue. Perhaps not as difficult as a dancing show, but a good coreographer can turn models walking around into a beautiful show.

For instance, at the Elite Bar show, we saw a man and a woman, first walk out, then notice each other. They met, looked at leach other longingly, then walked off together. As they left, bubble machines spurting white bubbles showered over the runway, giving the impression of falling snow in the spotlights. It is always good when they turn it into something a bit more entertaining like that.

At all these shows, it is always amusing to watch the photographers scramble to get about 50 pictures of every model at the end of the runway.The models “run the gauntlet”, as they enter the end of the runway; the den of the photographers, are attacked by countless bursts of flash like a lightning show. Now you know why models like to wear dark glasses!

While amusing, Shanghai’s fashion shows seem to still lack the professionalism you see with international fashion shows. They make up for this by adding fancy choreography and lighting, which, while interesting and visually appealing, still does not make it feel like a real fashion show, at least to me.

Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure:

Elite Bar VIP opening

Bund 18 Luxury Goods Event