Today, I am fortunate enough to be hosting a guest post from the acclaimed make up artist and blogger Susan Bradfield, from aphoenixfromtheashes

Her blog charts her family life which runs parallel to her career as a renowned make up artist for the fashion & beauty industry. We met at Southwood Studios, which you can read about here and I was fascinated by her creative skills and glamorous experiences in the fashion world and beyond.

Over to Susan……

Up until this year I had always just assisted on shows in London Fashion Week; working as part of a bigger team to get the make-up look complete for the runway.  This year I was asked to be the make up and hair designer for Luke Archer London A/W16 which was a really big thing for me, a great challenge and experience.

What you see from the runway and the final show are calm, serene models, beautifully executing the clothes of the designers. Hair and make-up will be exactly how the head make up designer and hair designers want them.

The reality behind the scenes to get to that stage is always slightly different.

From the Make-Up/Hair Designers perspective:

There will be several meetings with the fashion designers over a matter of months before the show to go through designs of the clothes and the theme of the show and ultimately what they want from the Make-up and Hair.

The show is about the clothes and the designer behind them, so it is imperative that you work with them to create the make-up and hair that compliments the clothes and reflects the whole look.

Always create mood/vision boards to help plan the look that you want to achieve to show the fashion designer.

Nearer to the show, the designer will have started casting their models to fit the clothes.  It is at this stage that you may get called in to see the designer with a model to create the final look in hair and makeup, making sure it is exactly what is wanted for the overall theme and is approved.   Make sure plenty of photos are taken of the model from several angles; you will need these for reference later on.

As the make-up designer you can start to plan the looks in greater detail.  The products and tools that you used will need to be listed in detail.  You will know the number of models that you will be working on and hopefully have seen images of them.  This isn’t always set in stone; model numbers can change on the day, there may be more or less, and the actual model choice may also change.

You can now start to plan your team under you.  I am a freelance artist, not represented by an agent and don’t work for a large company, so for me, finding artists who I can feel comfortable working with, trusting them to execute my design within a fast-paced pressured environment is essential.  Having worked on many jobs within the areas of make-up I have built up a list of contacts of make-up artists who I trust, they will always be my first contact point.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a good portfolio of work for future clients to look at.  For those just starting out in the make-up industry, offer yourself as an assistant to more established MUA’s for free.  It is this kind of work that will build up those trusted contacts.  If you work well with these artists, you never know when that phone will ring or an email will come through to be part of their team on a bigger project.  I have been working as a make-up artist now for 11 years and I still offer to assist and do some jobs for free, if they are really exciting and an artist who I admire or really want to work with.

Prior to the show

Having had your brief from the fashion designer with call times and locations you then have to create your own brief and call times to pass down to your own team.

This will have contact phone numbers of everyone in the team, location and call time.  You may wish to include details of where to park, nearest train station and even local hotels – it saves frantic calls and messages at a crucial stage when you are busy!

You will have also sent them a list of product needed to create the look.  The basic products they will more than likely carry in their kit, along with brushes.  If it is a very specific look that has been designed, as the make-up designer you may have to purchase several key make-up products to give to your team on the day to ensure the look is uniform.

On the day of the show:

Make sure you arrive before the rest of your team to go through the finer details with the clothes designer and their team.  You will also be liaising with the hair team,

There will be only a couple of hours with the models before they need to be on the runway and everyone backstage will want the models.  Hair, make-up and clothes fittings all need to be done within a very tight window.  Work together as a team so you all know who is doing what, when.

As soon as your team arrive, get them set up, brief them as quickly as possible.  Make sure they have all the make-up needed to create the looks, ensure they know how many models they will be doing and the time they have been allocated on each one.

You may have already done a demonstration of the look prior to show day or you may now as a make-up designer, take one of the models and create that look for your team, encouraging them to take notes and photos as you go.  They then go and start on their models.

Working backstage on show day is not for the faint-hearted.  It is a highly pressured environment; everyone has a job to do in a very short space of time.  As make-up or hair designer you are ultimately responsible for your team, their behaviour and their work.

So whilst you might be working on models yourself, you have to always be checking others’ work, correcting where necessary because ultimately it has to be right.  Things very often don’t go quite to plan.  Models will be called away for dress fittings, runway rehearsals, hair, they may also be walking in shows prior to your show so may turn up late.

Once the models are done and start lining up for the show, encourage your artists to have a small touch up kit at the ready for final checks.  You will be walking along the line of models ensuring the look is exactly flawless and you are happy for them to walk.

It may be chaotic but it is also fun and really rewarding especially when you see the final look put together with the clothes and the hair.  There is nothing quite like it.

Susan x

You can follow Susan here:

FB: aphoenixfromtheashes

INSTA: aphoenixfromtheashes

TW: @susanjbradfield

To book Susan as a make up artist, contact her here: www.susanbradfield.co.uk

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday