Behind the scenes with fashion’s finest
Written by Amy Stoltenberg
Photos by Katherine Rountree
Hair and Makeup was all hustle and bustle as students got ready for the fashion show.
From the slicked back ‘dos to the designer shoe clad toes, the endless line of models that walked the halls of the SCAD Museum of Art for the 2014 Fashion Show was a vision of glamour and grace. This phenomenon was the joint effort of a power team from New York City brought in by SCAD.
Makeup artist Tracy Alfajora, hair stylist Martin Christopher Harper, and stylist Sarah Schussheim are frequent collaborators who work with big names in the fashion industry such as Kate Spade, Gucci, DKNY, Elle magazine, and Harper’s Bazaar. Together, the three came up with a cohesive look for the models with the ultimate goal of highlighting the student collections.
Sharon Lee, a second-year fashion marketing major from Atlanta, gets ready with some help from her stylist Aimee Roberts.
As the head stylist, Schussheim was in charge of accessorizing each look to create an ensemble that would translate smoothly from backstage and through the nearly four minute long runway walk. The extended walk time, as well as the slippery nature of the floor, all affected her stylistic decisions.
“For me, the look of the clothes with the glam hair and makeup, plus the walk, is the most important thing—if the shoe is not my exact favorite, I’ll let that slide for the integrity of the walk,” said Schussheim.
Most of the shoes used in the show were brought in from New York, with labels such as Valentino, Bruno Magli and Sam Edelman. Many of the bags and jewelry were made by SCAD accessory design students.
For the hair, Harper brought a team of hairstylists with him from New York—a military force dressed in black and armed with tons of gel and wide-toothed combs that worked quietly but purposefully to execute each look.
Head Makeup Artist Tracy Alfajora gives some directions on the look.
“We’re going for a slick, kind of shiny helmeted look that’s gonna be a very shellacked, textured look. It’s going to give a very strong effect to bring strength to showcase the fashion,” said hair stylist Avian King.
This fierce, powerful look translated into the makeup, as well.
“It’s a fresh, dewy face with a straight brow and a bold lip. Each designer’s collection has a different lip color that goes with it,” said Alfajora. “For the eyebrows, I’m drawing on a look somewhere between geisha and Audrey Hepburn.”
Alfajora directed her own team of artists, making the final corrections on each model’s look: “You can take off a little bit of the lip here,” “just make this connect a little bit more,” “there’s way too much shadow there. It’s looking a little goth.”
Its not all hard work as Abbie Koopote (left), a first-year fashion marketing student from Atlanta, and Brittany Jasinsky (right), a second-year fashion marketing student from Amelia Island, Florida, take a quick selfie.
Models’ bodies were touched-up with Neutrogena body oil, Vaseline brand lotion, and Sally Hansen airbrush spray for the final airbrushed look.
After the hair, makeup and garments synced together, it was up to the models to make the look come alive on the runway. To assure the success of this journey, SCAD brought in TV personality and model coach Miss J Alexander.
“When I coach them, I usually get them comfortable first, and I also get them to stand up straight and be a little more natural in their movement. Then, after that, for a couple of days I teach them how to reshape their bodies for the clothes,” said Alexander.
A fashion show veteran, Morgan Marzulli from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a fourth-year fibers major.
Reshaping their bodies, he explained, means learning how to move for each garment, from the long and elegant to the tailored and constructed. Because most of the models were SCAD students with little professional runway experience, Alexander’s main goal was to help them feel confident and strong. His favorite part? “Watching them bloom.”
“My expectations are huge for this show because it’s the first time that it’s outside of the Trustees theater,” said Alexander. “It’s an absolutely amazing situation to show these collections in. I think the models should do quite well. There’s a lot more room for error, but also a lot more room for them to make up for it.”
From head to strut, the look of each model summarized the collaborative efforts of some of the fashion industry’s finest talent, bringing a professional level polish to the SCAD senior fashion collections.
