A day in the life of a fashion assistant? Not as glamorous as you’d think. I just got back from Jaipur where I was assisting our fashion director style one of our most exciting shoots for the October 2018 issue. Of the 5 suitcases and 15 coordination chains I had to take care of, handling the shoot finances was the least of my concerns — thanks to my shiny new American Express card.
07:45 am: The day started off really early, as all shoot days do. We were scheduled to fly out to Jaipur at 10:30 am. Since this was my first outdoor shoot for ELLE, I wanted to be well in time.
08:30 am: 55 garments, 30 shoes and 5 suitcases equals an excess luggage disaster. 30 kgs to be exact. Luckily for us, American Express had our back.
09:50 am: After the early morning and all the excess luggage drama, a piping hot cuppa was just what I needed.
Taj Rambagh Palace (right)
1 pm: An hour-long flight, a short car ride to the hotel, and we arrived at what is definitely among the most magnificent properties in Jaipur. The sights were tempting, and the idea of grabbing lunch even more so. A quick bite and I was off to the shoot location, replete with the suitcases competing with me for size.
The City Palace
7 pm: Shopping in the Pink City has been on my bucket list for a long time. After 5 hours at the shoot, we managed to squeeze in some time to explore the City Palace, walk around the streets of Jaipur and buy some souvenirs to take back home.
9 pm: Time for my first wrap up party. Okay, it was a team dinner, but the beautiful interiors, wonderful people and a majestic ambience made it a memorable evening.
11.30 pm: Since no good meal is complete without dessert, I ordered myself a gooey chocolate cake, which I had definitely earned after a hard day at work.
The glitz and glamour associated with our industry may distract from the fact that a fashion assistant’s day is full of multi-tasking, problem-solving and plenty of heavy lugging. I only managed to get through it with the powerful backing my American Express card afforded me. My mantra now? Swipe away your travel dramas with American Express.
Know more about the powerful backing of American Express here.
