The Journey To MOLLY: Showing In NYFW FW '22 - The Recap [AND] The Aftermath!

By now, I'm sure a lot of you have seen The GR1 by MOLLY on the Flying Solo NYFW runway! And if you haven't... Hellooo?? seriously?! What's the hold up? Lol jk. But for real, go check out some of the hottest runway flicks with my footwear neoww!

 

Having to determine what styling options I wanted to exhibit for The GR1 was pretty much the most mind-boggling task of the entire showcase for me. As I mentioned in my previous NYFW post, I'd already had meetings with one of the creative directors to talk show details, standard model footwear sizing, as well as the number of pairs to bring- 10. So with as much direction and clarity that I was given, it felt a bit restricting because of the many interchangeable possibilities of the GR1. Regardless, I narrowed down my GR1 choices to the requested 10 pairs, and managed to feel some relief about my first runway debut....Little did I know the twist and turns awaiting me.

As the showcase rookie that I am, I packed up my 10 styled pairs in MOLLY dust bags on the day before my scheduled flight, and headed home from my work space to transfer them into suitcases and finish up packing my personal items. The next morning, I headed straight to the airport.

At this point, the unusual delay in my check-in process should have been an indicator of the day to come, but trust your girl; "positive vibes always", so I brushed it off. After all... technical difficulties DO happen. After about an hour of waiting in line because the Air Canada kiosks were down, I finally checked in. Besides the delay, everything seemed to be going smoothly untillll I landed at the U.S. immigration point.

Tbh! It just felt like a bunch of my village people were gathered all through that process, because DAMN! (Village People: A Nigerian term referring to naysayers who definitely do not wish you well). I won't get into details, but basically I wasn't allowed to fly with my footwear and had to rush to my work space, box up the shoes, drop them off at DHL, book another flight for the next morning, and pray to God that they arrived on time for the Flying Solo show fitting on the 11th of February.

I've never had to track a package so religiously in my entire life, but luckily, my shoes arrived around 9am on the day of the Designer's meeting, and it was on and popping from then!

 

Designers were scheduled to meet at the Flying Solo store on Feb 10th to put faces to the brands I guess, but by the time I got there, it was a full blown fitting which I did not expect. My shoes were unboxed, displayed, and even fitted on a few models with one of the two brands I was collaborating with.

I'm not gonna lie, it was a little intimidating seeing as I was a lone wolf, but even worse, I only took 10 pairs of shoes as requested, but was left feeling a tad bit overshadowed since the only other footwear brand had a store-load worth of beautiful shoes displayed next to mine. Honestly, if I wasn't just grateful to be there and confident in myself, it would have been a real "kill me now" moment. But! I was honestly just over the moon, and absolutely nothing was gonna dull my shine!

 

February 13th, 2022: MOLLY's first runway debut at the Flying Solo NYFW show was nothing short of exhilarating! Overall a fun & upbeat environment that certified the reality of this moment- I made it to New York Fashion Week!

There were a few hiccups here and there, but nothing major compared to the high I was on from just being there. However, during the fitting, we were told that there would be backstage assistants available to help the Creative Directors dress the models, so because of this reason, I didn't want to impose backstage and put my faith in the girlies back stage. Rookie mistake #2.

I guess either they were in a rush, or they simply didn't understand the anatomy & intricacy of the shoes, but one of the pairs ended up getting damaged due to improper fitting that caused unnecessary stress.

When I tell you I was mortified when the runway photos dropped! Lmao. It was crazy.

Nonetheless, after the show was the after party! AND! Being in a room filled with that many creatives and industry folks for the first time felt like I was right at home. You could just tell how proud of themselves everyone felt (and rightfully so!). It was the icing on a fashion-filled delicious cake!

 

The next day, I headed to the FS store to pick up my pieces, box them up and shipped back to Montréal. Aside from realizing one foot was damaged, it was pretty much a quick & easy process, and I went about my merry way!

Soon after, the press releases started rolling in and I couldn't be happier. Press coverage included highly accredited magazines such as:
- Madame le Fiagro
- Elle Espana
- Elle Italia
- Harpers bazaar Espana
- Fashion Magazine Italy
- Marie Claire Espana
- Style Weekly

Like can you believe it?! Me! MOLLY! Shared in world renowned magazines! Pinch me!

And if that wasn't enough, I was contacted by a London-based multi-service Designer Platform- Fashion Crossover London, with interest in featuring my brand for their British Vogue Partnership & London Showroom. Trussssst! That I hoped on that right away because hello! It's V-O-G-U-E! Every designer's dream feature. I won't give too much details about this yet, but I've got more exciting things brewing for the year! ;)

P.S. MOLLY is now available for purchase in the Flying Solo NYC store at 420 W Broadway, NY 10012, as well as for Stylist Pulls the Flying Solo PR Room- The Copper Room.

Until next time,

Molly