Roquois is a fashion show producer, creative director, multi-creative, and the founder of Studio Couture where she showcases her many talents. When it comes to producing fashion shows, she is hands-on with every detail of how the event will flow from deciding on the decor, selecting models, choosing designers, and every other aspect of producing a first-class event.
Roquois took us behind the scenes to discuss the process of designing and producing fashion shows, and what she wants clients and customers to come away with.
What do you look for as far as designers for runway shows?
I do everything from start to finish. As far as designers, what I’m looking for is something new [and] innovative. For me, it doesn’t matter how big or small your following is, especially if I’m curating something and it’s fully my own production. For me, it’s very much like, do you have something fun [or] unique that hasn’t been seen? Or, are you up and coming and you have the quality down, even if it’s four pieces, or twenty-five pieces, no matter what it is? I can see some of these little things that people have and I’m just like, “Oh, I like that, I want to feature or I want to highlight that.” Let’s put this indie person with this more advanced person and kind of see how they … mesh and collaborate well together.
What do you want people to take away from the runway shows you design?
It’s a mix of things. When I’m producing shows, it’s just me. It’s just me from start to finish. I’m even curating the graphics, doing design of not just the shows, [but] the runway, the decor, training and developing the models and designers, curating the designers, the hair, makeup looks – all of these things.
Sometimes I’m working with people who can help lead in that [capacity], but ninety-five percent of the time, it’s just me. When it’s just me, I get lost in the mix a lot. A lot of people will take from my shows, and then they won’t credit me.
Yes, take the inspiration, buy from the designers that I’m featuring, book the hair and makeup, the models, the nail techs, and all these things, but also help everyone flourish. Provide new opportunities for not even just myself, but all the other people that they have experienced at these events. Whether it’s New York Fashion Week, I know everyone wants to come and be seen, but don’t just come to be seen, take something home. Become a client [or] become a customer. These things are really what’s going to push the culture forward.
We can’t all just be in the audience with a selfie, we have to be proactive about patronizing all these talents, such as booking the models and feeding the models. I very much take care of my people, and one of my main things because I was a model before, so it’s like, “Hey, the models are the ones that are doing a lot of the work as far as showcasing things, please feed the babies. Please provide sustenance for them and the entire back of the house.”
