Stylists from Aveda salons across the country flocked to the Aveda Advanced Academy in New York City January 13 and 14 for the experience of a lifetime—to participate in two full days of exclusive workshops preparing them to work backstage at New York Fashion Week Fall 2013. Led by Aveda Guest Artist Jon Reyman and Aveda's Global Artistic Director for Makeup Janell Geason, classes began with the basics of runway styling that led to grander looks typically seen at designer shows.
“Here, I can create a common language,” Reyman said. “Everyone has a different way of saying certain styling techniques—now, when I say do a figure-8 curl or a flat-barrel curl, at Fashion Week, they’ll know exactly what I mean.”
The classes, now in their seventh year, help build an army of hairdressers for Fashion Week, Reyman said; the stylists really become his hands backstage. The basics are taught in the Runway Styling class, this year to 34 students, in a step-by-step fashion. Reyman demonstrated a technique, sent stylists to their mannequins to recreate the look and then regrouped for the next step. Advanced Runway Styling classes push stylists a little further. “Advanced Runway is like it would be at Fashion Week—they’re given a look, and have to make it in a certain amount of time," Reyman explained. The workshops are designed as a series of building blocks, and stylists must participate in Runway before the advanced class.
In a separate area were Geason and her class of 15 makeup artists. She taught a classic look, with a winged eye and strong lip, encouraging students to draw inspiration from magazine cutouts taped to the large mirrors that lined the room. “Some students think runway looks are like theater makeup, but usually they’re not; usually they’re very natural because it’s all about the collection,” she said.
While her students practiced looks on live models, Geason bounced around the room, occasionally stepping in to show them how to strengthen their weak spots. “I also try to teach them how to create a business tactic with this credential,” she said. Geason encourages her students to build an online portfolio with the professional photos taken during the shows in February to showcase their runway looks. “Clients like to see that,” she said. For more information about the workshops and how to sign up, visit avedaadvancedacademy.com.
Jon Reyman demonstrates styling with a curling iron
Janell Geason helps one student achieve a perfect runway-worthy eye
Geason teaches students how to create a winged and smokey eye with liner and eyeshadow
Stylists began with basic curling techniques, then transformed the hair into a chignon with a controlled Marcel Wave at the front