StyleAid 2009 WOW Backstage

I’ve been to a number of fashion shows since I started Style Discovery last year. Ah in case you’re wondering I just skipped the 1 year anniversary which was sometime in July without any celebration. Sorry…too busy I say. Anyhow, of all the shows I’ve attend as a media delegate, this year’s StyleAid was the most well organised.

It was arranged so that the makeup and the dressing were happening in two separate locations. I don’t know whether that was deliberate but it worked out quite well. While the make-up and hair crew was busy prepping models with quite a bit of mess, the dressers were able to calmly prepare the garments and props right behind the stage (as calm as it can get under such circumstance) away from the flurry of activities with noise/smell/make-up dust.

Simon Hill, one of the models, organised music. I’m not talking some ipod and speaker set up here. It was a proper ‘DJs equipped with a mixing deck’ kind of set up so there was plenty of energy and fun to be had in the makeup/hair room. That’s where I started my day covering StyleAid 2009 which was a total blast for my part and a great success for the WA AIDS Council.

While I was nosing around I recognised a few names. Hair for Skatt, Makeup for M.A.C., shoes for Betts and Zomp, and most of all Willem Heyneker’s Why Creations. Well, the latter was a bit of surprise. You see, I get to know who the participating designers are beforehand but I don’t always know where other props come from until the day of the show. I won’t tell you where his spectacular pieces were used just yet but I can say that Aly May (Creative Director and Producer of Styleaid) is a great stylist. She picked those out from an exhibition at Behind the Monkey.

Of course, I spotted familiar designs in the dressing room thanks to my preview interviews. I placed most of photos in Flickr as usual but some of them are also available in Facebook for your tagging pleasure.

Next week, I’ll start the runway coverage. There will be a little break on Wednesday though as I’ll be at the exhibition opening for the Central TAFE Fashion and Textile design students titled ‘Glimpse‘. You will soon find out that you can’t find anything about this opening. It pays to know people doesn’t it?