Amidst the chaos behind the scenes during Canada's largest fashion event in Toronto last month was a local stylist working with some of the industry's top runway models.
Nicole Weir was one of 35 stylists selected from around the country by Redken, a hair care company and official sponsor of World MasterCard Fashion Week, a biannual event held by IMG Fashion at David Pecaut Square located in Toronto's commercial district.
Summer and spring collections were on display for the event, which ran Oct. 21-26.
As part of a team, Weir, the owner of Village Hair Studio in 100 Mile House, styled the hair of between four and eight models a day. The elaborate looks varied significantly and were heavily scrutinized by designers.
She says things got hectic at times, like when models were changing from one show to another.
“The pressure is really on. You're having to take down a wet look that has a ton of product in it and brush it out and make it look clean and loose and wavy – like she has healthy shiny hair from something that was plastered to her head.”
One day, halfway through finishing a look before a show, a designer walked up to Weir and her team with a message: I want to go in a completely different direction.
“We had to change everything we just did and redo the look,” Weir explains.
“It depends on [the designer's] mood. It's like being with characters. They're bigger than life.”
However, she admits the whole trip was less intense than what she was preparing herself for going into it.
“Everyone worked together really well. Towards the evening, you'd have media back there and celebrities and their entourage.
“It got crazy and hectic. But, you just have to focus on what you're doing and ignore everything else that's happening beside you and behind you.”
Next, Weir is styling the hair of Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School grads for a winter fashion show in December.
She's looking forward to it, the local stylist says.
“I'm excited to apply my own creativity instead of trying to create someone else's look. I get to do what I want to do.”
