nabel martins | FashionInsideOut

FashionInsideOut had a full backstage experience at Fashion for Freedom. The charity event for Save the Children was held in the heart of Soho at Studio Valbonne last Friday 22 July in a night full of entertainment with belly dancers and good music, followed by the collection of five young aspiring designers.

Colour Blocking collection

With completely different styles and concepts, the collections brought to the catwalk colour blocking, vintage and rock n’ roll.

I had the pleasure to be a model for the Venezuelan designer Nabel Martins, who with a chic and elegant “Happy Fall” collection gave birth to a new Lagy Gaga.

I must say that I was exhausted by the end of the fashion event. I arrived at the venue at 3 p.m. and since then I had my heels on, rehearsing and running around with my cameras while trying the outfits, having my make-up and hair done and covering the event for the blog.

I’ve got a little secret. My height is 1.62 m and I’m not the hard-dieting kind of girl, so…am I model? NOT! Too petite for that. I was opposite to those really tall super skinny models I had beside me changing backstage. However, I got to believe myself like one so I could hit that catwalk with attitude – won’t deny I was a bit nervous though. I was afraid of breaking my heels and falling down, but at the end everything went great and I absolutely loved the experience.

Further London-based designers showcasing their pieces were Cina Ayle, who showed the Ethiopian women; Deborah Courtoy, inspired by the British culture had a collection full of colour blocking; Kendal James showed some sexy party dresses; Zuzana Fukalova had a collection called “Distressed” representing the children in aid; and Lata Bhatt showcased the Indian couture.

Syafiqua Noor and Jihan Halim did a great job in organising the event for such a great cause.

Make Up 2 Dazzle kindly sponsored the hair and make-up of the models who were looking at their bests, jewellery designer Chandellier Rose lend her accessories for the catwalk and photographer Chris Bedwell squeezed in every moment to get the best shots.

Other sponsors included Nice Prints, Funky Hire, Hello! magazine and of course, Studio Valbonne.