For the past few nights at Malaysia International Fashion Week, I have hung this tag over my neck and gained access to the fashion shows without registering at their media registration desk. As I type this, I should actually be at Zebra Square watching The Melium Gala but of course, tonight is a special night when even a media pass won’t get you in unless you have RSVP-ed with MIFA but am I supposed to know that? Are such terms and conditions posted on one of their walls? After all, those with media passes such as the one in the pic above were allowed in to watch the shows from Monday-Thursday this week without checking in at the media registration desk or flashing invitation cards.
I have long been a fan of Farah Khan’s clothes as I admire her style and look forward to seeing her photos in society mags such as Malaysian Tatler and/or Prestige. Tonight’s Melium Gala was one of the shows I very much wanted to attend. I arrived at the venue shortly after 7pm. Actually, I realised the truly fashionable arrive very late, like after 8.30pm in their chauffeur driven luxury vehicles.
Fatin had arrived before me and the first thing she said to me was that I should go to the media registration desk and get one of the gray ribbons to tie around my wrist. When I went up to the desk, the lady asked me whether my name was on the list. It wasn’t but I didn’t think it was absolutely necessary to get one of the ribbons since I’d been able to go in to watch the show the past few nights with the media pass. The lady didn’t say that I needed the ribbon in order to get in so I hung out with Fatin till after 8pm.
Of course, if she had bothered to inform me of the necessity of getting the ribbon, I wouldn’t have waited for well over an hour to not get in. Yes, I really enjoy standing around in the sweltering 40C heat, being dehydrated yet afraid to have another bottle of still water (which by the way, ran out before 9pm) because I want to avoid using the deplorable toilets AND because I have nothing better to do with my life. NOT!
They didn’t allow guests to go in until well after 8pm unlike other nights when the doors were open to media before 8pm. As I was standing near the doorway, one of the “bouncers” told me that without the ribbon, he wouldn’t let me in so back to the media registration desk I went only to be rejected once again. When I said that I didn’t need any ribbons to get in on Monday to Thursday, she said that tonight was a special night. Where was this new term and condition posted? It certainly hadn’t been announced to those with media passes or pasted on to any of the walls at the venue.
I was referred to a burly and unsympathetic fellow whom I later found out was Mr. Ludo (first thing that came to my mind was one of my favourite childhood board games would forever be associated with this fellow). He said the same thing – that since my name wasn’t on the list, they would not give me a ribbon. He said that if there were any spaces left after everyone had gone in, I might be let in. Oh, no thankewverymuch! Why should I wait around for a small chance like that and when everyone had already gone in, that meant I’d most likely be sitting on the stairs. I informed Mr. Ludo (who kindly spelled out his name for me) that I’d be blogging about this and basically, he said go ahead (like he cared! What a complete gentleman!) so since I have his concurrence, I’m putting this up so that you can understand why I will not be putting up any more posts on the shows.
These are the “precious” ribbons at the media desk as at 9pm when I left! That wasn’t the only stack they had. They couldn’t spare me one so I have decided not to attend any of the shows tomorrow. Anyway, by then I was so pissed off that even if they had offered me one (yeah, right!) I would have declined. I was planning to attend shows at 11am, 4.30pm and the Gala Night Show at 8pm romorrow but since the organisers obviously like to impose terms and conditions at their whim and fancy without bothering to inform those with media passes, I shan’t bother.
Who knows what conditions I have to fulfill tomorrow in order to get in? It isn’t so much the embarassment of turning up and being told I don’t qualify to be let in since I have developed a thick enough skin over the years. It’s the fact that my time has been wasted enough tonight and I’m not about to endure another round of indignity from people who are in the wrong jobs. The lady at the desk could have done me the courtesy of informing me (when I went to enquire about the ribbon the first time round) that I wouldn’t be let in without the ribbon.
If they are so particular about who gets in tonight, this should have been conveyed to those with media passes. Incidentally, I wasn’t the only person with a media pass in this pickle. As I was waiting near the main entrance, I said hello to a prominent fashion blogger who also had a media pass and was also waiting to be let in like me. Oh well……I guess a media pass doesn’t mean anything nowadays. There are days when they will let you in with one and days when they can impose terms and conditions as they please.
I have enjoyed bringing the MIFA shows to those of you who have been reading my posts on the shows. I know there are a lot of you reading the one on Asia Magic Gala today and I really appreciate that. I regret very much that I will not be posting on the rest of the shows but there will be some backstage posts coming up thanks to access from MAC Cosmetics. I just want to state that my purpose of being at the shows was not merely to have a look at the clothes but also to observe the makeup as I have an assignment to complete, details of which will be posted later.
This is by far the WORST event I have ever been to and that’s saying a lot because I have been to some pretty bad ones in the past few months and I haven’t even mentioned those. Those behind the media registration desk tonight were basically clueless and unhelpful. When I asked them the name of Mr. Ludo (that was before I asked him myself), none of them knew who he was. I can’t believe that this is supposed to be an event of international standards. You could have fooled me!
And what am I going to do with the media pass? I wish I could say it was a keepsake but now that it has been rendered worthless by tonight’s turn of events, there’s obviously only one place for it. No prizes for guessing where!
