Everyone who knows anything about the fashion industry knows that the front row at a fashion show is a huge deal. It’s where the Anna Wintours and ‘Miranda Priestlys’ sit and frankly, everyone in our fashion fraternity is a self proclaimed Wintour or Priestly. When you’re in the front row you’re ‘someone’, you’re given a gold coloured wristband, access to refreshments at the Lux VIP Lounge, even the ushers treat you with more respect as compared to the other ‘commoners’. Anything less than the font row is so mediocre that you might as well not be there, or so it’s believed.
This time around at FPW’17, I too had the privilege of sitting in the front row, next to other digital media representatives and I have to break it to you, it’s not as glamorous as it looks. After three days of ‘frowing’ I realized that while I was sitting next to some front row regulars, there are some basic etiquettes that go unnoticed and it’s about time someone pointed them out.
That’s my seat! With my strategically placed clutch for a mandatory ‘frowing!’ picture for Instagram
Here are some basic dos and don’ts for the next time you’re ‘frowing’…
Dos
Do be friendly and pass a smile to whoever is sitting next to you. There really is no need to turn your nose up and think you’re high and mighty because you’re a regular ‘frower’. Yes it happens, I saw one too many divas with an attitude and it wasn’t pretty.
Do make sure you use deodorant and take special care of your hygiene, since you’re likely to be shoving your armpits in someone’s nose to get the perfect shot of a model. Trust me, spending time squished between two individuals with body odour for 2 hours is nauseating, to say the least. And yes, it happened one day.
Don’ts
Don’t make faces if you’re sitting in the front row. You’ll have to control your expressions no matter how revolting the fashion on the ramp might be, otherwise your horrible expressions are likely to get caught in one of the cameras flashing at you.
If you have a resting b**** face you’re in trouble, I was probably thinking about how hungry I am but here it looks like i’m giving someone the death glare. (Me on the extreme left)
Photo Credits: Niche Lifestyle
Don’t sit on someone else’s seat. There are name tags there for a reason. If you want to switch with someone, have the courtesy of asking them before you plant yourself in their place and order them to sit in your seat instead. Also, don’t try to squish between two friends because ultimately you’ll be encroaching on someone else’s space and we all need some room for movement to take photographs.
Don’t shove your arms and camera in your neighbour’s face. There is room for everyone in the front row; you can make a video without obstructing the view of others.
