Designers Julie Haider and Nicol DeNoir were competing for the Fashion of London Award, and they were showcasing their absolutely STUNNING collections at the Hilton Park Lane. When I first heard this, I was like, “really?!” I felt a wee bit lost as I arrived because I wasn’t told where exactly to go once we entered the hotel itself. The receptionist suggested to us that maybe the show was going to take place downstairs in the basement because he was sure something was going to happen down there. In my mind, I didn’t believe him. There was no way a catwalk was going to take place down in the basement restaurant…was there?

Half an hour later, the complete team and our head makeup artist, Maria Papadopoulou, had all arrived. And guess where the catwalk was going to be held? In the basement restaurant. I struggled to drag my suitcase downstairs along with the rest of the makeup artist herd, to find a sort of Middle Eastern and relaxing ambiance. It was lovely. But where was the space for the catwalk? Turns out, the models were to walk around the restaurant, but in an orderly manner of course. And our backstage area…Woh! Where was the lighting?! It was the dimmest room I was ever going to work in. This was going to be interesting…

When the models arrived and we had to get going with the makeup, I had to use my prior knowledge of makeup and foundation shades to determine what will be appropriate for each model. Since the lighting was poor, it was now all up to my instincts and personal judgement. And you know what? It all worked out surprisingly well. During the rehearsal, we watched the models do their fierce strutting with bright lights glaring at them and the makeup was perfect. Everything was so put together, so appropriate, so gorgeous. I wanted to grab the outfits and accessories and run away as far as I could! Why, oh, oh why can’t the fashion world cater for the poor and needy like me???

So another successful catwalk, another successful day. I realised that I knew a lot more than I thought. I predicted what shades would suit each model and how much eye shadow I should apply and how much luminosity was enough and it all turned out fine. The faces were not too white and the eyes were not overpowering that it takes the attention away from the outfits. Designers Julie Haider and Nicol Denoir were happy with the results. Go team!

Video by Kassu Ent Association with URBAN PULSE CREATIVE
Designers: Nicol Denoir, Julie Haider