OnOff

In the wise words of Miss Dolly Parton: 'working 9-5, what a way to make a living'.

My job is rarely 9-5. I've never worn a suit, and I don't work in an office. Working in fashion has enabled me to be part of completely different projects, meet an array of interesting and talented people and has so far led me across the world to Miami, Rome and now....PARIS.

The changeable nature of the job means that new projects come and go in the blink of an eye- making scheduling incredibly difficult and spontaneous trips quite frequent! Apologies are due to all who have fallen victim to my last minute cancellations and disruptions of long-standing plans, but I wouldn't have it any other way- I'm sorry! I love not knowing where I will be working next. Every day is a new adventure.

At 9am this past Thursday I had been looking forward to a weekend of theatre, tattoos, family reunions and birthday celebrations. By 7pm I had tickets booked for the 6am Eurostar to Paris on Saturday.

So, here I am. I'm staying in an apartment on the Rue au Maire in the Marais district of Paris with my friend, the knitwear designer Derek Lawlor. I am helping Derek showcase his AW11 collection as part of the OnOff exhibition. I had never been to a showroom before and knew nothing about the requisite dress code, conduct or method of presentation.

This is what I have learnt so far...

Designers present their latest collection either in a solo showcase or as part of an exhibition. It is both the PR company and individual designer's responsibility to advertise themselves to prospective buyers, press and editors. When visitors arrive they nonchalantly breeze through the showroom looking at each designer's collection, feeling the fabrics, holding out the garments and, if they are interested, talking to the designers about their inspirations, ambitions and (hopefully) their sales plan. Lookbooks are distributed, business cards are taken and we smile politely whilst bracing ourselves internally with the fierce plea  that this one person be the beacon of hope we are searching for.