25 Jan 2011

Backstage Creativity

A model backstage. Photo by Nolan Bryant

The live show is the pinnacle of creativity in the world of fashion. People of different creative fields culminate to put together an aesthetic that will set trends for years to come.

So last week we seized the opportunity to find creatives in their natural habitat: the backstage of the HUGO Fashion Show. As the models prepared, they were styled from all sides. Hair was added, removed, make-up expertly applied and looks were crafted that will shape the future of fashion.

We caught up with various creatives and asked how they felt about working at this auspicious occasion. Their answers were enlightening. And they looked pretty awesome, too.

Armando Cabral and Ryan Kennedy, Models

HUGO Create: Do you feel pressure on the big occasion?

Armando: I’ve been doing this for about 10 years so I don’t feel pressure anymore. It was never nerves anyway, more adrenaline at an event like this. The only thing is when something’s a bit different, for example when the floors are quite slippy, you have to deal with that.

HC: Is it possible to add your own creative touch to the event?

Ryan: Not too often. I trust the creative influence at events like this. The people here don’t get it wrong.

Armando: I guess you can be quite creative with your walk. Like Ryan touches his hair all the time to look pretty! I kind of bounce from side to side, because I have mad swagger. Having your own walk gives you a chance to express yourself. And it can change from city to city, where people have different attitudes and different styles.

Jac, Model

“I feel that I am a creative part of the show. The way I feel, and move and act, the look all depends on me. By being there you are the creative influence.”

Andreas Bernhardt, Hair Technician (pictured with his sister)

HC: In basic terms, what are you doing tonight?

Andreas: Cutting, elongating, dying, combing, styling, blowing, anything that renders the hair sublime. Being a creative hair stylist is about optimizing the propositions we receive. Half the job is about communication. We are briefed and discuss the styling with a client. Then, we create the hairstyles.

HC: Are you proud of the work you’ve done tonight?

Andreas: I am never proud of my creations. Pride makes you blind, and I prefer to see. The look tonight is about simplicity, and it’s very sophisticated as well. It’s a modern contemporary look. In French it would be called soignée. It’s about having something simple, like just a parting in the middle, but that alone is enough to make people say “wow”.

I wish more people would be creative in their jobs. Then they wouldn’t be so destructive. It’s like saying make love, not war. Work in beauty and you will be happy.

Make Up Artist – Thomas Lorenz

“Make-up is the most fun when you work closely with the designer. When you have a communication with them directly. Then you can input into the brief and create something wonderful”.

Dresser – Stefan Teske, Arts Student at Berlin Weißensee

"This is such a dramatic job. You have to change the outfits in a really limited time. Sometimes you have an unexpected problem, like you can’t get a jumper off quickly, and you have to find a solution immediately. Once I just took some scissors and cut the jumper off. And once a pair of shoes were too small for a model, her feet wouldn’t fit in. So I sprayed them with hairspray, it allowed her foot to slip in the shoe. You have to think on your feet to be creative."

Nolan Bryant and Amandine both two of the HUGO Reporters for the night, and blog on their fashion insights from around the world.

HC: How do you go from starting off to having a loyal readership of fashion followers?

Nolan: You need a strong vision of what you’re doing initially. When I started, I had an audience of three; my mum, my dad and I. Then I started posting blogs on my Facebook. Friends sent it to friends and it takes off from there. My site is my life through fashion. It’s for viewers to relate to or not relate to. It’s their choice. I post the glamour and excitement of the fashion world. In the spirit of Brianboy but in my own way. The site gives me notoriety in an industry that’s hard to gain notoriety in.

Amandine: I started blogging as I had a passion about something that my friends didn’t have such a passion about; fashion. It was like a bookmark for me. I started working in a fashion PR agency, and as a dresser. I had access to backstage, the parts of the show people want to see. And I worked as a guest-blogger for handbag.com. I like to see and show the process of fashion. And I’d love to start my own PR agency one day.

Alina Fayer is another HUGO Reporter, a blogger from the USA

“When I was seven years old, my mum bought me a computer game where you dress Barbie’s. Since then, it’s been a natural progression to work in fashion, 100%. It’s hard for some people to realize what they love, so I’m lucky I’ve found what I love doing. I’m going to carry on working away in this industry, and eventually I want Anna Wintour’s job”.

Pictures below by Nolan Bryant