A Story to be told on Stage

Good evening Ladies, Gentleman, Divas and Fashionistas! Welcome to the exclusive 2020 SS NewBox Fashion Show!
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My name is Angela Mestre, it is a great honor for me and Studio NiaMoves to have the opportunity to sponsor this event. If you have heard about how Zee talks about the brand and Planet Z, you will know that New Box, and this show, is her creative expression of a message that is above and beyond the usual “fashion statement”. The clothes were designed to inspire and accompany the unique YOU, and your life explorations as a millennial. You are truly the “one” in the millions.  

I was young once, too. And I want to tell you a story around a fashion show I produced years ago.  When I was a new Med School teacher, I was put in charge of producing a New Year Concert. These concerts typically showcase the students' talents in singing, dancing, instruments or stand-up comedies. I thought, what could be better than a highlight of the best of the best, runway style!

Lots of preparation went into that idea. I made the call for models, and hand picked a team of freshman students, girls who are just about 20 years old. Together we set the fairy-tale theme, spotted the gowns and accessories we were to rent, created staging props, practiced with bedding sheets and such to get the feeling of the catwalk…all things well dreamed about and figured out.  

Finally, the day came. Sitting in my third row seat, my excitement was beyond measure.  Music started. It was also my handpicked piece, Boyzone’s remake of a beautiful Irish Folk Song “She Moved Through the Fair”, perfect for the chosen theme. As I watched these gorgeous young ladies walking out in sparkly gowns, one by one like fairies, tears start to come into my eyes. Being a 25 years old myself, it was like witnessing my own wedding, like a fantasy came true.

And then, after about 20 seconds, the music stopped suddenly. The girls looked at each other and the thousands of audiences for a few seconds, and eventually awkwardly went off stage. My tears of excitement quickly became the tears of disappointment. What just happened? It was supposed to be perfect!

Troubleshooting took a while, as it turned out, the cassette tape had jammed in the boom box, probably because we rehearsed too much with it! Do any of the millennial here know what a cassette tape is? Lo and behold, the stage director made a decision to move on to the next program. That 20 seconds was it. All those efforts and hopes and dreams were now gone with the wind. Can you imagine how I felt when hearing this news? ​I started to sob, then cry out loud in front of my teachers, and fellow students.  At age 25, I cried out loud like a kid lost her favorite toy, or, a bride’s wedding got crushed.

Eventually, I guess to calm me down, the show was put on again. I hold my breathes as I watched the ladies walked the runway one after another, until the end.  It was a success! My tears  came out again, but this time, the tears of joy. 

I've not cried that much ever or since. I was always the big sister, the tough one, the one with straight head screwed on her shoulder.  There can’t be more of an embarrassing thing than crying out loud in front of thousands of my students.  Honestly, to this day, I still feel somewhat embarrassed to share the story.  I couldn’t quite get why all the emotion up and downs. 

To some extend, I was even intentionally skipping this part of my memory until Zee offered me to open the show for her, and all of a sudden, I understood. I was not just crying out loud for a failed project.  At a point of extreme disappointment, I was brave enough to embarrass myself in front of thousands, to fight for the chance for my aspired fantasy, and fight for a chance for the girls to showcase their best selves to the world. This is what Zee and her team prepared months for you, unfolding tonight, and knock on wood, there will be no technical difficulties! Zero, Nada!

Fashion is a universal language which allows constructing and deconstructing our identities, to play whatever role we want by shaping our look to show certain attitudes or values, or aspired fantasies.  Tonight, when you watch the models demoing the pieces, don’t see them as a walking cloth hanger. Instead, first and foremost see them embodying the design, a walking piece of art, and an extension of Zee's artistic expressions. 

Zee designed every single one of these items you’ll see tonight. I also witnessed her spent days and nights fitted and stitched with the models, and I saw how much her love, passion and purpose are creatively expressed in these pieces. This is not just your mama’s typical cookie cutter fashion show, this is an art revolution representing the millennial generation.  See yourself in these designs, and find opportunities to carry out your inspirations into the real world. It’s a fashion statement, and it’s a fashion state of mind. Millennial, or not, if you get what I am laying down, say yeah!

Lastly, I want to make a call out.  I hope that Zee and NewBox keep on being brave with her messages and her designs, and you dare to dress to the ninth in whatever way you like to, regardless of any given resistance, and showcasing the truly unique YOU to the world. For, that’s what I have cried out loud for, in that auditorium years ago.

Without further ado, please join me in welcoming Zee, designer and creative director of the show on the stage!

(Applause)