It’s hard to land your dream job. That’s why people call it a ‘dream’ job and not an ‘already-doing-it-in-real-life’ job. Part of the reason why Pedestrian launched our Jobs Site last year was because we are big believers in doing work that you’re passionate about – whether it be teaching kids how to read, writing for a website or defending your country.
New South Wales publisher Red Hill Press is also flying the flag for chasing dream with their book series Get Your Break! which focuses on young Aussie creatives working in fashion, music and television, how they got their break and what you need to do to get yours. One of the book’s subjects is Lara Karamian, whose production company LARA INC. is responsible for executing some of the biggest fashion shows and events in Australia.
Lara told Pedestrian how she got into her unique line of business…
PEDESTRIAN: How did you end up in your profession – can you give a little outline on how your career has progressed? LARA: The degree I studied required over 500hrs of work placement . I was then placed with Spin Events who at the time was also owned by the same owners as Australian Fashion Innovators who owned and produced Australian Fashion Week. Once my placement was complete I was given contract work opportunities and then eventually went full time with them. After a few years with them I realised the demand was huge for fashion and lifestyle based event producers especially show producers and decided to take the leap and start my own business LARA INC.
Did you always want to work in fashion? No not at all, just events
You’re company produces the majority of shows during Fashion Week. What is that week like for you. It must be INSANE. Producing shows for Fashion Week is like condensing 6 months worth of shows into 5 days! It is very fast paced, consists of extremely long days, very demanding and requires a serious amount of attention to detail as you are dealing with a number of suppliers, designers, their teams and talent! A typical day for LARA INC. involves up to 6 shows which means, x6 rehearsals, hair + make up trials, programming of the shows technical elements such as sound, lighting and audio visual, meetings with the designers, set up of the collections backstage and preparing the following days shows…..in summary a 20hr day.
How many people go into executing one runway show for RAFW? WOW I have never really counted however if you count the show producer, production team, hair and make up teams, designers team, venue managers, backstage dressers, seating managers, stylists, ushers and models you are looking in excess of 100 people!
Of all the events you’ve had a hand in, what’s been the biggest triumph? Hands down the FASHION.TO.AID charity online auction LARA INC. initiated which banded together the Australian Fashion Industry to raise funds for the QLD Flood Relief Appeal! The campaign became so big that eBay officially jumped on board and partnered with us to raise much needed funds. The result was a staggering $55k raised and donated.
Any disasters or near-disasters? Never a disaster but plenty of near disasters but with experience, no one ever knows that it was a close call!
What have been the biggest hurdles you’ve had to overcome in your career? When I started the business I always said that I would never get a financial backer which meant I had all these grand ideas however had to start small and work slowly to build the business. I had big ideas but insisted on doing everything myself so at times it was difficult to pull back and have patience however this patience has now paid off and I couldn’t be happier.
Based on your experiences, how receptive is the Fashion industry to women who work in executive or high ranking positions? Very receptive as this is one industry that I feel is female dominated!
What have been your career highlights to date? Establishing LARA INC. and seeing it go from strength to strength every year with the support of some amazing people.
How did you get involved with ‘Get Your Break’? I was approached by Sam, the Senior Publisher and after realising it was an educational book I felt it was important to educate people on exactly what the fashion events business involves! There is a misconception that is it glamorous however there is a lot of hard work that goes into an event or show before you even get to the fun part. Also I have always been a supporter of students wanting to get experience in the industry so “Get Your break” seemed like the perfect fit!
What is your advice to people who want to get into your line of work? Work experience and volunteering is the key to getting into the fashion events business. It is such a competitive market as so many young girls want to get into the industry that you must stand out from the rest by proving you are willing to put the time and effort in to get the experience before applying for a job. Furthermore by volunteering in effect you are networking and potentially setting yourself up to be offered a position at the end of your work experience project.
For more inspirational stories visit the Get Your Break! website and go search for your dream job at Pedestrian’s Job site.
