Cleveland Fashion Week

   Early on this year I was on a quest to be part of Fashion Week in NYC. I was trying to find contacts that could help me get there and be part of the event. I did not find a contact. Recently Cleveland had their Fashion Week. I had heard many tales of it in the last few years but never have been asked to do make up for it. This year I sent out emails to designers but did not hear back from anyone. I also contacted a fellow makeup artist and friend Bridgett to ask if she knew anything about it. She too had never been part of it.


   Then one day I got a text from Bridgett saying women named Elaina from Fashion Week contacted her but she was booked and knew I wanted to participate so she passed on my number to her. With that call I was all set to do makeup. The date was a Saturday and I already had a bridal party of four on the east side to attend to but I could make my way downtown later to make up six models. The show was at the historic Halle Building in downtown Cleveland. On arrival I was directed to the basement into a party room with awful florescent lights. Girls were perched all over waiting to be made up. 62 girls needed makeup and hair done in five hours. There were no signs of hairstylist yet and some designers weren’t there. Girls were trying on clothes, eating, dancing, and singing all over the place. I thought to myself what did I just sign up for?



   I quickly set up and found my models. I must say all the girls were so pretty and many very young. One of my girls I met a few months back her name is Mariah her photo is attached. She was excited I was going to be her makeup artist. One of the other models Inga commented that “If I had a suitcase full of makeup I must know what I was doing.” A lot of the talent there are new in the business and I see why none of my friends do this, because in their career they are past it. You give up hours of your time for free, use your own products and even pay to park. Not glamorous but never less a way to network.


   I recently met a fellow hairstylist that went to NYC fashion week and said she would never go back it was awful. She too has a lot of experience and was treated like she just out of school. I feel if people donate time and in her case money for a flight, room would it be so hard to be kind to the artist? My experience was a good one. Everyone was very sweet and very gratuitous I was even asked to come back for the show if I wanted. Cleveland’s Fashion Week is the third largest in the country. I think after my experience in Cleveland I will check off my fashion week goal I had set early on this year. Right now I like being a bigger fish in a small pond because I know if I go to NYC Fashion Week, I will probably get eaten up as a small fish in that big pond. Sometimes ideas seem good at the time but its O.K to wait a little bit before you act. You just might save time, money and have no reason to have regrets on your decision.

Miriah

The stage is set!

Backstage not so glamourous