BACKSTAGE PASS
Hairstylists to work at Toronto fashion week
Their work will be showcased on the world stage!
Three Regina hairstylists — Orla Farrell and Nadine Eberts from Shear Escape Salon and Kelly Knowles from Luxe Hair Studio — are heading to Toronto to work backstage at World MasterCard Fashion Week, which runs from Oct. 20 to 25.
To say they’re excited would be an understatement.
“I’ve got butterflies in my stomach — but the good kind of butterflies,” said 22-year-old Farrell, who moved to Regina from Ireland about a year ago.
“It’s a real honour … The fashion capital in Canada is Toronto, so it’s a pretty big deal,” said 26-yearold Eberts, who’s originally from Moose Jaw, then spent eight years in Vancouver before relocating to Regina about five months ago.
“I’m most excited for the inspiration you get working with the other artists backstage, because there’s so many little tips and tricks that they’ve done at their own shop … just those little few things that you learn that just makes it that much easier, quicker, smarter behind the chair,” said Knowles, 32, who moved to Regina from Lipton 14 years ago.
Farrell, Eberts and Knowles will work with lead stylist Jorge Joao of Brampton, Ont., who has assembled a team of more than 30 Redken stylists from across the country. Together, they will style over 500 models for 45 shows, over six days in downtown Toronto.
“I decide the hair looks with the designer for the collection,” Joao explained in a telephone interview. “We put visuals together — either we have a visual for the look or we create a sketch that determines what the look’s going to be.”
There’s not a lot of time for the team to prepare. They meet for several hours the day before going into action backstage, at which time each stylist receives a copy of the lookbook and instructions for how to achieve each look.
Backstage prep time varies. Sometimes, the team will have 20 to 30 minutes to do models’ hair and makeup before they strut onto the catwalk. But Joao’s team has also been called upon to do a changeover of seven models in only three minutes.
“There’s a lot of energy and pressure backstage,” Joao said. “You have to work as a team. Everything has to be on point.”
“The most challenging part will be working under so much pressure,” Farrell said, adding that she has “always wanted to do this type of work.”
Farrell got her feet wet working backstage at Saskatchewan Fashion Week for one night. “It was awesome,” she said.
Eberts worked backstage at Vancouver Fashion Week.
Knowles said her work schedule hasn’t allowed her to participate in this type of experience prior to this. “But I have wanted to do this for a long time.”
Joao is no stranger to working backstage at fashion weeks. This is his sixth season in Toronto. He’s also done Milan, Paris and New York.
“It’s definitely a different learning curve in every different city,” he said.
In addition to owning a salon just outside Toronto, Joao is one of Redken’s international artists involved in fashion shows, photo shoots and educational events worldwide. He’s mentored stylists across Canada, including Knowles.
How did the Regina trio make the cut for his creative team for fashion week?
“I’ve noticed their energy and work ethic … I just thought they’d be the right fit,” he said.
“I don’t always look for one kind of hairstylist because we get different obstacles that get brought to us … I make sure that we’re covered in all bases.”
It’s also about giving stylists the much sought-after opportunity to work backstage at a major fashion event.
“It’s something a lot of people have always wanted to experience,” Joao said. “I like to have people share that dream with stylists from throughout the country.
“It’s quite an emotional week. There’s a lot of energy, a lot of pressure, a little bit of a roller-coaster ride. ... It’s a little bit of a rush. At the same time, it pushes you right to the edge. ... I’ve never once worked a season that it hasn’t come out positive, that people haven’t thought it’s one of the best things they’ve ever done.”