Life on the fashion week road – 1

Atherton Cox’s intrepid session stylist, Kerry Hayden, hit the icy and snowy streets of Milan and Paris last month to warm-up the über-cool male models at the 2013/14 Fall/Winter Menswear Collections with her hot new looks. As part of the formidable Guido session team Kerry tousled the tresses for the likes Versace, Prada, McQueen, Simons and Vuitton and here she shares an exclusive insight into life on the fashion-week road…

Milan

Saturday, 12th January 2013

I’ve got three shows to cover today so it’s up early and straight to the venue for Jil Sander. Sander wants hair short with slick side partings to complement the minimal clean lines of her collection – where did I put those clippers..!

With the Sander boys looking sleek, slick and sensationally sophisticated we race over to the other side of the city for Dolce and Gabbana’s epic Sicilian collection. This duo do not do things by half and this year they have shipped over no less than 89 Sicilian street boys, most of whom have never modelled before, to take part in the extravaganza. As you can imagine, back-stage is testosterone-charged chaos, but the electric atmosphere enhances the summer spirit of the collection. With no time to eat, we work solidly to ensure all the D&G boys are looking suitably fit for the catwalk, but the day is by no means over as we race to our final show of the day, Italian heavy-weight Versace. This racy, lacy collection is just what we need to pick-up our spirits at the end of the day and I fall into bed about 10.30pm, exhausted but exhilarated. Must remember to set my alarm for tomorrow!

Sunday, 13th January 2013

My alarm goes off at 4.30am – ouch! No lazy Sunday for me today. It’s straight to Bottega Veneta for a bright and early 9.00am show-time. Fittingly, hair is kept slightly unkempt with a ‘just-out-of-bed’ feel, which creates a contrast to the sharp tailoring of the collection. I have just enough time to grab some food before racing over to Prada for the final show. A small team of us meet with Miuccia Prada and the main make-up team to do a hair and make-up test prior to the show. Prada’s collection is artfully dishevelled with crooked collars, untucked shirts and casual jumpers hanging below jackets and we create casual and relaxed hair looks on the models to offset the collection. All finished, I head back home to London to get ready for the Paris shows.

After a couple of days back home to sort through my kit bag – two sets of clippers, scissors, brushes and every thickness of straighteners – I feel revived and ready for the next round of shows in Paris. With Valentino, Raf Simons, Louis Vuitton and Lanvin on the schedule it’s going to be an exciting few days – bring it on.

Don’t miss Kerry’s behind-the-scenes report of the Paris Menswear show next week…!