Behind the bright lights and VIP crowds at New York Fashion Week is where the magic really happens – backstage with hair, fashion and beauty teams all working in synergy to create truly awe-inspiring looks. These teams are made up by talented international creatives, including Aussie artists, and we caught up with Aveda artist Darren Summors as he navigates the runway circuit. Having just completed his stint at New York Fashion Week and making his way now to the European runways, Darren provided a bevy of wisdom, insights and inspo on trends, backstage moments and creative success, straight from the fashion trenches.
Darren has been seriously busy working on 9 shows this season alone (Perry Ellis, Moon Choi, Eugenia Kim, Fashion Hong Kong, Concept Korea, PRESCIVera, Chiara Boni, Kes and Maki Oh), having gained runway experience with shows such as Tome, Alice McCall, Romance Was Born, Tibi, Hellesey and Public School, and the David Jones show for the past 11 seasons.
We asked him a few key questions about his experience and the international fashion week experience as a whole. Read on…
How did you get the opportunity to work at the international fashion weeks?
It all just really fell into place – one job leads to another and another and before you know it your leading a show at New York Fashion Week! My advice to anyone wanting to get involved in runway/fashion week shows is to show up and be present and do the best job you can do and someone somewhere will spot you and give you an opportunity… then it just snowballs from there.
I started my fashion week journey working as part of the Aveda Australia National Style Team working backstage at the David Jones Fashion Launches. I remember one season working on a show with Aveda for Witchery and Alan White was Hair Director, I showed up and did what was asked and at the end of the show he asked if I could assist him on a few upcoming shoots. Before I knew it I was working as part of this team at MBWFA for the Romance Was Born show.
Over a year ago I reached out to Aveda Global where the Global Artistic Team welcomed me to join their team of Artists for NYFW and before I knew it I was leading my first show (Assembly Label for SS17) and now this season leading 3 shows at New York Fashion Week and a few at London Fashion Week.
What were the main hair trends you spotted overseas?
It’s all really different this season – one show has dry textured curly hair, then the next show is a wet slick look, followed by a show with a twisted up style. One thing I have noticed the last few seasons is that a lot of designers are moving into embracing a more diverse runway – models are of all ages, races, heights, hair types, textures, lengths, and really embracing a natural look of taking a model and enhancing what she naturally has rather than trying to make 30 girls all look identical.
What were some major obstacles/problems backstage and how were they solved?
I haven’t really seen many major obstacles happen backstage, the preparation and organisation as well as good direction keep things running pretty smoothly. Time would probably be the biggest constraint but it’s always such a rush. The biggest obstacle can be when a designer changes the look mid-show but the Aveda artists always pull it off. Great teamwork and communication always get us out of any obstacle and a few deep breaths along the way.
What has been one of your favourite moment backstage?
One of my favourite moments backstage was a few seasons ago for David Jones where right at the very end of the runway show we had 30 seconds to grab the David Jones ambassadors and completely soak the hair taking it from a dry fluffy texture to a wet look. I remember wetting down Jesinta Franklin’s hair while she had her body bronzed and she had a dresser changing her and someone putting on her shoes – it was absolute carnage but when those girls walked out on that runway I have never heard anything like it at a runway show. The audience went crazy cheering and clapping, it was such a rush!
What were the hero looks you worked on?
The hero looks I worked on at this NYFW were Fashion Hong Kong and Concept Korea – as an artist the level of creativity that goes into these shows is amazing and it’s always great to create an ‘out there’ look. However I also loved creating the more simplistic hero looks as these are sometimes the hardest looks to achieve due to the precision.
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