To a hair stylist, there are few places more exciting and action-packed than backstage at New York City's Fashion Week. You have production assistant barking out stage directions, models in a rush to get dressed and makeup artists working furiously.
"We were busy preparing the hair and while we were doing that, there were people doing the models' makeup and other people were on their knees working on their hands and toes," says Mychael Hamlin, a partner and stylist at Salon 124 in Duluth,
Hamlin, a veteran of the hair care industry, was invited by the hair products manufacturer Redken, to work behind the scenes at six shows during September's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
"I've done lots of hair stylist shows, and I worked for Redken for five years, but New York Fashion Week is really a big deal for our industry because it's where the newest hair and clothing styles are shown first," he says.
For each fashion show, a head stylist described what type of look each of the models would get for that particular collection of clothing. That gave Hamlin an idea of what type of look each model received before she headed out on the runway. For one show featuring a lot of swimsuits, Hamlin had to make sure the models had hairstyles that looked "beachy."
"The hair needs to go with the clothes," he says. "For instance, if the clothes are reminiscent of the 80s, the hair has to go along with it."
He says the atmosphere at Fashion Week was exhilarating.
"There was an unbelievably amount of media there, magazines from all over the world were there, and we were all backstage in these little rooms," Hamlin says. "It was unbelievable. There were paparazzi everywhere."
One of the best reasons to participate in Fashion Week, he says, is to get a feel for the newest trends.
"It was neat to see a lot of the European models come in. The styles start over there and then move to New York and other cities," Hamlin says. "A lot of the bright colors and patterns are coming back from the 80s. I saw these models who are 18 years old and born in 1990, and they're wearing stuff like bright high-top Reebok sneakers."
Hamlin has worked at Salon 124 for 15 years. He went to cosmetology school with Brian Perdue, president of 124 Group, which owns Salon 124, Genesis Salon and the Process Institute of Cosmetology in Lawrenceville. Earlier this year Perdue was named the Small Business Person of the Year by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.
Hamlin says his salon customers can benefit from the kind of experience stylists get at fashion shows.
"I think it's cool that you're there doing Spring 09 collections before the season even comes," he says. "You're there one step ahead before it all comes out."
