Life as an Intern: Behind the Scenes at MBFF

There are varied views on being an intern. Some say "free labour, gross," others jump at the chance to take the first or second step into their chosen career path, regardless of pay. I can safely say that I am the latter, and it's not at all hard when you're working for the sweetest Bridal and Couture designer you could fathom.
Myself and one other "Begitta's Angels", Molly, were brought on board to help sew, stitch, and keep Begitta sane in the lead up to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.
Before we knew it, fittings with models had come and gone and it was time for the big show.

Tuesday 8am:
All systems go at the studio, Begitta is still putting together some gowns after last minute epiphanies and changes, and everyone within the close vicinity are roped into lending a hand, including Begitta's housemates. I get given the task of stitching on some hand-dyed lace applique to the finale gown bodice. Shouldn't take too long, right?
9am:
Still stitching.
10am:
Still stitching. In other news, Cinderella is now on the screen to keep me company.
10:30am:
This bodice is now complete and ready to go! Everyone is now onto their second or third cup of coffee to keep the momentum going.
11am:
Another bodice is ready to have beads and lace stitched on, at this point if I'm ever in a life or death situation and need to stitch on some applique, it's probably safe to say I'll be fine. The Disney movie of choice has now been changed to Aladdin.
12pm:
Tension is rising as it still feels like the To Do list is too long and I have to deliver the dresses from the Gold Coast to Brisbane by 3:30pm. Some of the 8 gowns are fully prepped and going into their garment bags, ready for the road trip.
1:30pm:
Kylie's Professional makeup service arrives at HQ to get Begitta looking fabulous for tonight. You can probably guess that I'm still stitching. But it gets done, it looks fab (to say so myself) and the steaming and/or pressing of skirts begins. Which is just as much fun as it sounds.
3:00pm:
By this point I have no clue where all the time went, and it's time to play Tetris with my baby little Nissan Micra. To put it in perspective, we have 8 relatively poofy garment bag - containing delicate garments, 9 shoeboxes, a bag of very expensive jewellery, 4 headpieces, 4 hoop-skirts, and two storage boxes of extra stuff to basically fit into a match box.
3:15pm:
Nailed it.
4:15pm:
Was blessed with minimal traffic and even though I was late getting to City Hall, Molly is waiting on the side of the road to help me unload. Unfortunately it's now peak hour and poor little me is getting honked by angry commuters. We unload and I drive off to park my car safely out of the way before coming back to setup for tonight's show.
8:30pm:
Models are dressed, everything fits, jewellery is sparkling, many many many photos are being taken and it's time to strut the stuff. Thank the Fashion Festival Gods that everything goes to plan and everything looks stunning - no surprise there.
10:00pm
Everything is packed away and we are all walking the fine line between "hell yes, let's pop some champagne and celebrate!" and "where's the closest comfortable bit of floor, and can I sleep there?"

Piece of cake.

- Written from the perspective of Ally