“The models were friendly and interesting to watch. It’s another world that I’ve never been exposed to,” said Willhoite, who is a stylist at Square One Salon in Centerville. “The best part was definitely seeing my work go down the runway. I had the opportunity to sit in the audience at the FashionShenzhen show after styling, and it was so rewarding.”
Before working backstage with a team of Aveda stylists at NYFW, Willhoite, along with Frederick and Smith — both stylists at Square One Salon’s Dayton location — attended advanced education runway styling classes taught by Jon Reyman. Reyman is a celebrity stylist and former artistic director of the Aveda Advanced Academy in New York.
During the two-day course this summer, they worked with runway styling pros to learn the behind-the-scenes logistics and how to create high-fashion hairstyles.
Then they headed to NYFW, where they worked shows for designers such as Leanne Marshall, WeDu, Idan Cohen, Creatures of Comfort, FashionShenzhen, Kye and the Academy of Art University (AAU).
“On a show day, we would arrive at the venue, check in, wait with about 20-30 other hair stylists and another 20-30 makeup artists for the models to arrive,” Willhoite said. “Upon their arrival, Jon or another lead hair stylist would give a demonstration of what the look was going to be for that show. Then, it was grab a model and get to work.”
Efficiency was key, and several hair stylists worked on one model at a time. When all the models were finished and the designers gave their seal of approval, the stylists packed up their tools and products, grabbed an Uber car and headed to their next show.
“We were encouraged to put our egos and our vision of what we think looks best aside and work as a team to make the show run smoothly,” Willhoite said. “There was little to no room for error, especially when the models had to have hair, nails, makeup and a practice run finished all before the show walks.”
Even though Frederick, Smith and Willhoite volunteered their time to participate in NYFW, they said it was about the unique experience, networking and building their resumes. They sharpened their skills and learned new hair styling techniques and new ways to utilize Aveda products — all of which will help them be better stylists.
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