By: Emma Galligani

Saturday 11 Feb. 2017. 5:30 pm.

Shoes: check
Purse: check
Outfit: check
Makeup: check
Selfies: check check check
Drinks: check

Champagne was flowing freely and an excited hum surrounded us all in the final half hour before we were to leave for Lower College Lawn. After several pictures, several more drinks, and the arrival of several more people, the room suddenly came to a halt. A pulse is exactly what I couldn’t feel for a split second after my friend turned the music off and announced what she had just read on her phone. FS was cancelled — a sense of confusion and nervous laughs were all anyone could focus on.

Should we keep drinking and head out anyways — FS outfits and all? Yes.

Would it be rescheduled? Would people be refunded? Was it really that windy? Who knew.

Sunday 12 Feb. 2017.

*awaiting confirmation for possible rescheduling on Tuesday 14 Feb*

Monday 13 Feb. 2017.

*FS confirmed for Tuesday*

Tuesday 14 Feb. 2017. 5:30 pm.

Shoes: check
Purse: check
Outfit: check
Makeup: check
Selfies: check check check
Drinks: check
Excitement: still a check

7:30 pm.

After running around for a bit because we hadn't seen the time go by, we finally made it to the venue. As this is meant to be a fashion/performance review I'll spare you the details of the bar service, the afterparty and the general organisation of the event itself — suffice to say the committee did an incredible job pulling through and provided an outstanding atmosphere for the night.

8:00 pm.

Brightly lit and spacious, I stood in awe as we entered the venue. Though the layout of the marquee was impressive, I felt the lights lacked a bit of intimacy and people seemed spread out in their own small groups here and there. While in the midst of pouring champagne and taking pictures on the freebie disposables, none of my group had actually noticed that the show had started. As we approached the runway though, the lights dimmed and the models fell into the beat of the music, walking by with their faces half covered, adding to the mysterious, if not theatrical beginning of the show.

To my dismay, the lights brightened again after the opening of the show, bringing focus to a more conservative, and perhaps tamer array of clothes than what I had expected. While various St Andrews-appropriate Jack Wills outfits fluttered by, I noticed many people had returned to chatting with their groups, taking pictures and dancing to the music, their attention somewhat removed from the runway.

Though this didn't necessarily detract from my experience of the show, there were noticeable lulls in the performance which could only be explained by Saturday's downfall, and four designers pulling out. While others' attentions came and went, I wanted to focus on the show and see how the committee integrated the theme, 'on the pulse', into the performance, despite their initial setback. The scale and set-up of the runway allowed for easy views and access to anyone, both VIP and standard, while the choreography drew my focus back and forth between the statuesque poses of the models, and the incredible textures and designs of the space-themed and sequinned dresses later on in the show, moving swiftly in and out of the lights.

A mix of popular music and dynamic beats drove the show, filling in its gaps, with the live saxophone adding the extra pulse that everyone needed. Though the models stayed professional and stern, the underwear and lingerie segment of the show didn't fail to spur countless cheers and guests' hands creeping closer and closer into the runway. Black bralettes and sunglasses added a james-bond-matrix vibe to the night, while the space-themed and sheer metallic dresses momentarily carried me to another planet (although that might have been the champagne's effect, too). I am no fashion expert and thus some of the menswear seemed slightly too abstract for me to comment on, though I appreciated the ruggedness of the looks, colours and layering of textures, which contrasted nicely with the more classic, conservative shapes of the women's lines.

Overall, the abstract styles of the lines, the prevailing 'inter-galactic' theme, the sparkles, the models, the lights and the music served their purpose of being 'on the pulse' and displaying the changing nature of the fashion industry. Though I felt a slight disconnect between the audience and the models at times, partly due to the sheer size of the event, and party due to the performance itself, the 25th anniversary of the show did not fail to create one of St Andrews' most unique experiences and display the committee's outstanding effort at making sure the show went on.