Two Newmarket hair stylists had the opportunity of a lifetime when they had the chance to work backstage at Fashion Week in New York City.
Rose Piccoli, owner of Hair Dynasty, and Bailey Hutchinson said it was a dream come true and something they’ll always remember.
Piccoli and Hutchinson were offered spots to be added to a backstage team led by a hair stylist involved with a line called Davines, which both hair stylists have worked with through an education team connected to the brand.
The lead of the team was looking for hair stylists trained in similar techniques and methods to help everything flow, said Hutchinson.
The opportunity was offered to those involved with the educational team and, at first, the pair were hesitant due to commitments at home and the anxiety that comes with being in such a high-stakes setting.
After waiting a day, and seeing spots running out, Hutchinson called Piccoli and asked, “Why aren’t we doing this?” And the pair decided they had to take the opportunity, and luckily there were still two spots left.
With their commitment to head to New York City, training began ahead of time and it was four days of intense work.
“It was well worth it and made us better behind the chair every day,” said Piccoli.
Heading into the week, both were nervous because they knew how much pressure there was to be perfect and work as a team without mistakes, given the models only have a finite amount of time.
“It’s like you’re surrounded by Amazonians and once they’re ready, they hit that runway,” said Hutchinson.
“It’s surreal because so much is happening,” added Piccoli. “There’s social media, models everywhere, make-up, hair, and fashion everywhere. It was amazing we were even able to focus and get it done because it’s like constant energy and chaos.”
Piccoli and Hutchinson were assisting lead stylists who had been part of the team for over the decade, meaning they had to be razor focused.
“There’s no room for us to be chaotic,” said Hutchinson. “The expectation is that you know what you’re doing and there’s few words, you have to stay a step ahead of where they are. It’s a different level of focus.”
Taking time away from their families to be a part of the week was a tough decision, especially with the thought of potentially failing, said Hutchinson, which motivated the pair to bring their absolute best.
“There’s no tolerance for flopping and if you don’t show up 100 per cent, there’s the door,” she said. “There’s no buffer for nonsense and we had to bring our A-game.”
Once they did their first show of the week, they realized that despite the distractions, all the training kicked in and the hours of preparation paid off and they nailed it, said Hutchinson.
Now that they’re home, they’re both so happy they took the opportunity to work backstage alongside some of the biggest and best names in the industry.
“This was something so big,” Hutchinson said. “That was something I’ve wanted to do since I was a baby bird in this industry and statistically they say it’s less than one per cent who make it to that level.”
Hutchinson said that even though they were small fish backstage, it was such an accomplishment to even get there and it was so special upon reflection and a career high for them both.
“We’re hair nerds,” said Piccoli. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and as a business owner sometimes you have to take a step back to help others, so for me, it was amazing to do this for myself and take that step. It was very personal for me to do that.”
