Behind the scenes with model Jennifer Guedes at the Miami Swimweek 2015

Mercedes-Benz Swimweek marked its 10th anniversary this year and new brands made their Miami debut at this year’s Swim Week 2015.Three weeks ago the MBFWS was held in sunny Miami on July 17.22. Designers and all the major labels show off what the swim scene will look like in 2015. Fashion weeks are the perfect weeks for designers to show the upcoming collection and the time when the new trends emerge and the fashion world establishes what’s in and what’s out for the upcoming season. At the same time Fashion Week is a great way for models to promote their self and being featured in international media. International model Jennifer Guedes tells about her experiences during swimweek.

The days before the Fashion Week started the nerves started to manifest on my body. I knew that it was going to be a really hard week to go through numerous castings and trying to be chosen between hundreds of models anxious about getting some opportunity. Those days I woke up very early in the morning, took some quick coffee, put some mascara and lip gloss and just run with my portfolio through the streets of Miami Beach. Maybe in a day I went to 3 or 4 castings. It is really complicated when the castings take place in different hotels at the same time. Even it is more surreal when you arrive to the first casting and you realize that there are 200 models waiting on a list before you! Patience and positive energy is the key! =D In some of the castings the air conditioning didn’t work and it was a really hard task to face including the fights with the mosquitoes. After those 4 intensive days of castings the best was yet to come. The phone calls and emails started to show up. I was participating 4 days in a row in different events of the fashion week getting the chance to work with really gorgeous designers.

The first event I attended was at ‘Roberto Cavalli’ lounge wearing a preview of the new collection for MBFW from designers ‘Ricki Brazil’ and ‘Keva J swimwear’. Their collections are truly amazing! I felt really grateful to have met such talent designers and have dressed for them. The day after I had the honor to be part of ‘The Red Carpet Resort and Swim Fashion Presentation” held in the National Hotel presented by ‘Planet Fashion Tv’ wearing clothes from ‘Karos Swimwear’ and ‘J.Taylor Couture’. Both events were hectic days and prepping for the shows was literally an all-day event managing the hair, makeup, rehearsals, fittings, dressings,etc. But all the hard work is beyond rewarding once you see the new collection on the runway. That day we got our makeup and hair done by ‘Rocco Donna Salon’, a great team of artists which did an excellent job on us.

After finishing the show at 8.30pm I checked my email and I had an message to go to another casting. I could go there only until 9pm so I quickly took the first taxi I saw on the street to get there. Fortunately, they loved my walking and they booked me directly for their Fashion Show on Saturday presented by Floss Magazine. What I didn’t expect was that I also was going to be booked for another two more shows for the same day, on Saturday! It was really hard and stressful realize that I couldn’t do all the shows because they were about the same time and it was a pity for me to have to answer ‘no’ to the other designers that booked me. At the same time, I said to myself that everything happens for a reason and I felt just grateful with all the opportunities that were coming.

Just a day after hosting their open casting call, I received a message from Nicolita designer Nicole Di Rocco to be part of the fashion presentation ‘Weekend in Havana’ from her new 2015 Nicolita Swimwear line.I was so happy! I couldn’t believe that she had chosen me to be wearing one of her amazing designs! The event was held at the Miami Versailles Restaurant on Friday, July 18th. It was an intimate affair, where the colors of Cuba were on display everywhere. We posed with classic cars and colorful paintings outside the restaurant with a soundtrack of Cuban music during the whole event. We were styled in ‘Amoura Designs’ accessories. Along the night, the event was being featured by Univision channel 23. Getting to interact with the press and clients was also a great experience for me. That night I almost didn’t have time to sleep.

The day after, on Saturday, I had to be an The Riviera Hotel South Beach at 9.30 in the morning for the fitting of ‘The Lifestyle of fashion presented by Floss Magazine’. The organization was really nice and they provided us some breakfast and food while we waited for the designers to come during the day. The show started about 6pm and it featured 7 national & international designers. Salute to Ron Cooke, the director of the show & Paris Belafonte, the Editor-in-Chief of Floss Magazine for their success and putting on a fantastic show that day.