AFI - FYI 2018

Dear Caravaners,

This blog is all about my experience working my very first big event with MAC, at AFI Fashion Week.

It is quite a high profile event - media, press, influencers - everybody's everybody who is everybody attends these events.

Not to mention, in my mind, for a makeup artist - if you have made a fashion week - you have leveled up! New Challenges, opportunities and exposure.

so onto the event...

Call times were extremely early everyday, 8am sharp. We spent the whole morning viewing demos and learning how to do the looks for the day and sometimes more for the next day. Each day had substantial amount of shows that we had to get through.

Day one for Kayleigh and I was quite scary because it was the first time doing a major event like this. Nerves were high for us but so was the feeling of excitement.

This was also the first time meeting everyone properly from the Johannesburg team to the Durban team, that came out to help.

When we arrived each and every single day, setting up and coffee were all in order - along with the usual groans of exhaustion and aching bodies.

There after we all gathered around to view demos and learn how to do the looks for the shows whilst prepping for line up.

This when the calm before the storm set in. We milled around chilling and relaxing having lunch waiting for the models to hit us with the prep for the shows.

And when they did... they came hard and fast...

Kayleigh and I were sharing out of my kit so we took a corner spot where we could work together without any interruption - except you are constantly interrupted by flashing cameras, cameras in your face to capture shots of the models and of course the ever loud screaming of producers, attendees and people needing everyone to be everywhere at once. It is a dizzy feeling but one that gets your blood pumping and your Adrenalin thrumming.

The race to get faces done an approved is honestly the best feeling, until I got called to help in Line Up.

Line up is the most thrilling feeling and time to be involved in the fashion show because that’s where you do the final touch ups and making sure the models are ready before the long walk down the ramp.

Line up is a scary place to be - especially if you find yourself getting in the way - or are just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There are no filters in lineup! People say as they feel and if that means a couple of swear words leave their mouth -you can't take it personally?

It’s quick pace - models running everywhere, hairstylist yanking at hair - makeup artists on their hands and knees lotioning up bodies, wardrobe armed with needles pining clothes to the models... Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!

At one point I didn’t know if I was breathing or just being.

Models are ever so graceful walking down the ramp - meanwhile the back stage area is a storm.

It is best described as a hurricane! Chaos on the outside - dead pin drop silence on the inside - chaos backstage - dead pin drop silence on the ramp!

Models walk off and literallly tear off the garments to get into the next garment - all the while at the same time makeup needs to be wiped off and changed so you run around after them - then still try this - try putting false lashes on the model - while hair is being pulled up into a sleek high pony tail.

There is a lot of tugging and pulling and now you need to perfectly place an eyelash on without gluing their eyes shut?!

Challenge?

Accepted!

We did it and it looked good!

Not to mention, just of my own observations, I have never been in a room where every person or model was just so damn beautiful. All of them unique in their own way yes, but some of the girls were just so beautiful to look at that it seriously baffled me - then on another note how tall these girls were! I got down to lotion this one models legs - i went up and 5 years later I came down again - she was huge and still in 4 inch heels on top of it all.

Our trainers came up with some amazing looks for the shows. Some challenging and really tested my skills as an artist - other - simple but made a statement.

What were some of my favourite looks?

There were so many but my Favourites were Khanido, Quiteria & George, Totsetsi KL and Art Nieviole, MaXhosa and Ruff Tung... oh and Botswana Collections.

If we weren’t called for line up for the last show - we were allowed to go in and watch - which to my luck was everyday. This was cool because then you got to see every aspect of the making that went into the shows.

The one show that touched me on an emotional level was the Totsetsi KL show. It was held at the Constitutional Hill Woman’s Prison in Johannesburg. Don’t get me wrong the actual show was impactful and beautiful - but when we first walked onto the premise - you can feel the depression and darkness enclose around you. I legit felt very sad and lethargic through out the entire morning that I was there. You can feel the history seeping into your skin and then literally crawling out under it again. It was the most uncomfortable I had ever felt in a long time.

Kayleigh and I were fortunate enough to get there early and tour the halls. The walls are decked out with eye witness accounts and stories of what took place all the while in the background the constant ringing of Woman’s cries and screams would play out and echoed through the corridors and shatter the few heartstrings I had left. The place gave me the creeps, but was a part of our country’s history. This is what made the show so moving. People were left weeping.

A show is never complete without a show stopper and when a designer like David Tlale is involved you know it is going to be good!

He had the most models, the most looks and hosted it in Skybrink Studios in town. Driving in Joburg town as some of you may know is not fun. When we arrived at the studios you could still practically smell the 1970's. Nothing seemed as though it had changed, until we arrived on the last floor and it felt as though we went through a major time travel portal. The room that hosted the various makeup and hairdressing teams was huge - like a warehouse. The show consisted of 5 or 6 different scenes in the show. The backstage area was divided up into 6 different tables according to the scenes. If an artist or hairstylist was placed at a specific table that was the only hair style or makeup look you did for the entire time that you were there - which made our jobs a little easier because you knew what the look was and just kept replicating it on every model.

Now, in between all these shows I got asked to do a body painting on a model for our Studio Fix activation and promotion which took place during the time that fashion week ran. I go the chance to do this body painting along side our Senior Artist Marco Louis who I have looked up to for a long time now so I was deep in the feels when it came to this little side project. He is the most humble and kindest person I have ever met for someone with such a high rank. It was awesome working with him.

After all the hype, the tired banter, the late night dinners, the ridiculous bouts of laughter, the lost makeup brushes and products. The late night drives home and free chocolates it was time to let the dream fade and pack up and call it a week and even after everything has been said and down - one doesn’t simply come down from the feeling that is fashion week - I engraved every model, feeling, mood swing, technique, movement and vibe into my memory for the rest of time and when I look back on my time as a makeup artist - these are the memories I will always turn to.

Onto the next one...

The Gypsy Was Here