Premier Image Agency’s guest blogger for April is Janine Schmenk. She reviews her experience at New York’s Fashion Week. Her insights and photos from her latest make-up adventure are below!
Top Three Things You May Not Know About Fashion Week:
#3) Not Every Fashion Show Involves a Runway. . .
We’ve all heard about NY Fashion Week as taking place in “the Tents”. You know you’ve seen your fave Project Runway star wailing, “Its been my dream to show at Bryant Park!” They are referring to a set of three tents constructed in NY’s Bryant Park on 6th and 42nd. As an invitee to a show in the tents, you take your seat and watch as models pound the runway in the collection of the season (in this case, Fall 09 Ready-to-Wear). This setting especially suits designers who love the production aspects of a show: thematic music, over-the-top hair and makeup, even the movement adds theatricality and drama to a show.
This year, a trend for some designers was to show in a gallery style instead. Also referred to as a presentation, a gallery showing places the models in a space, and the audience moves around to view the designs, like an art gallery (hence, the name). For some, like Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, a more intimate presentation is better suited to the designs themselves, allowing the viewer to see the detailing and workmanship of the dresses up close, and for as long as they like. For newer or less-well-known designers, the allure of a gallery show is the savings over the expense of a runway production. This style is also more suited to smaller, or “capsule” collections, as a runway would look silly with only 8 designs marching down.
One last advantage of a gallery-style showing? The location choice can speak about the collection. The shows that I worked with the AVEDA team fell under this rule. At the Bodkin show, the greenery of the NY Horticultural Society was a fit for the organic fabrics and sustainable fruit dyes of designer Eviana Hartman. The upscale cocktail designs of Ilana Sutherland’s 6119 show were aptly surrounded by the modern penthouse of a Chelsea studio. With champagne flowing and city views surrounding the collection, the context could not have been better. . . not even on a catwalk in a famous tent!
#2) And You Thought Packing for Spring Break Was Tough . . .
The road to Fashion Week was an exciting and lucky one for me. But the physical “getting there” was a little more difficult than I expected. No one is exactly a “fan” of TSA regulations. That being said, imagine if all the tools you need just to work come in liquid bottles and fragile palettes. You would want to carry-on all you could, not wanting to leave the most valuable possessions you have receiving anything less than white glove treatment. But the liquids cant go on board, and you can only have one carry-on and one checked bag. And so the deconstruction of the kit begins. . .
Any professional makeup artist understands the importance of having their kit organized to the nth degree. Reaching into your kit for an item, and knowing exactly where it will be saves valuable time, especially in a setting where every second counts. In our home cities, traveling with our kits perfectly intact doesn’t require a second thought. Our makeup team came from Denver, Dallas, Houston, Boston, and Penn. To get to New York, we broke our kits down for air travel, condensing as much as we could. Once there, i took everything i needed and packed in zip pouches into a canvas bag, knowing that schlepping my train case all through the subways and down the streets wouldn’t be fun. Working out of pared-down, unfamiliar kits was certainly challenging, but our team pulled together, shared what we had, and helped each other make it a success!
#1) Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. . . but the Most Memorable Moments are When the Unexpected Happens!
To get ready for the shows, our Team Lead, Andrea, meets with designers to do a “test”. They discuss the collection, the theme or mood of the show, and any specific ideas the designer and/or creative director have for makeup. Sometimes the designers have very specific ideas of what they want (bold brow, red lip, clean skin), and sometimes its more vague (romantic but modern). Then the lead pulls tears (images from magazines or web images) to give the designers a visual to work with. Once an idea is in place, the makeup and hair leads bring in a model and do a demo for the designer’s team so they can see exactly what the finished look will be. Often the hair Team Lead is doing the same thing. The teams work together, tweaking until it is exactly right, and everyone is satisfied.
On the day of the show, the makeup team arrives at the location with our entire kits, ready for anything. Once there, Andrea first tells us everything we need out on our station, makeup colors, product, tools, etc. After we set up, she shows us the tears, describes the look, and gives us a makeup map that she has prepared. The makeup maps are white sheets with a face printed on them, that show the placement of colors for a look. When everyone is on the same page, she brings in a model to do a demo. The makeup team (usually five or six of us) crowd around and watch, so that we know how the application is done. Andrea gives us tips and things to look out for as she goes. Once the demo finishes, the models start to arrive. We all grab one, and go to work! When we finish a model, we grab Andrea for a check, and find another to start on. Most often we are trying to wrestle them away from the hair team, which is notorious for model hogging! Otherwise they are near the craft table, and the best way to get them away from there is to tell them to make a plate and bring it over. Since we touch up lips right before the girls hit the runway, its not uncommon for us to paint face while the girls eat. After all, their days are spent running across town, from one show to the next. And, yes, models do eat!
The backstage process is pretty well organized and efficient. Its faced paced, true, but not the crazy chaos you might have imagined. But it wouldn’t be fashion week without the unexpected! At one of the shows, our look was a very natural dewy face. We finished all the models we had, and were still missing two. They finally ran in, definitely late, but in plenty of time to do a simple, natural look. Or so we thought. . . I was finished early, and had one sit in my chair. But when she sat down, i saw, to my horror, that she had come straight from another show; a show that had blue glitter shadow up to (and in) her brows, intricate braids in the hair, and navy nail polish! We had five girls working at once, two untangling her hair, one washing her face, one applying makeup to the clean side of her face, and two with nail polish remover and q-tips, furiously trying to scrub polish off her cuticles. Thank goodness for reinforcements!
In the end, fashion week was an amazing, surprising, and unforgettable experience! I have so many stories, and I hope you enjoyed sharing a few of them with me. Thanks friends!
~Janine
