Photography by Daniel Lassman
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Capelli d'Oro was given access to all aspects of the show by Westcoast Beauty salon consultant John Fletcher, who introduced us to an array of artists, products scions and artistic directors. Many new skin, hair and nail lines were represented - more than in prior years. Despite the conventional wisdom that the economy was retracting, the beauty industry seemed to be bursting with energy. Featured vendors were Paul Mitchell, Joico/Iso, our own northwest LOMA, Rusk and Aquage. For those unfamiliar with the beauty scene in Seattle, Fashion Focus is the Northwest hair industry's week to unite in appreciation of shared skills, network with peers, meet heroes, socialize in the inviting Seattle night scene, and discover new products.
The fragrances wafting across the Spa Siam booth from open vials of essential oils - rosemary mint, lemongrass kaffir lime and pomegranate jasmine - were like long fingers of sensory indulgence inviting us to linger and rediscover personal indulgence. We took a variety of shampoos, balms and facial masks home to try. Upon walking into the show hall, we were presented with a high level of creativity and education from the Aquage team. This ten-year old company has turned a creative corner, fresh from their breakout shows at Long Beach. They did not tone their presentation down for the smaller Seattle market but seemed to ramp it up for the supportive attendees.
A constant tide of salon owners and stylists filled bags with the deep blue packaging and it is sure that a bevy of new salons will likely market their products. From our own years experience as artists, there is no greater feeling than to know your products are meeting new salons. The Aquage team must have that feeling in spades. We were able to talk with Aquage team members and their responses reflected the passion they hold for their young company. Team member Liza Espinoza relished the opportunity to work with great stylists from across the nation: strong in workmanship and supportive of each other's efforts. Chris Vandehey , Liza and Paul Sinor, Westcoast Regional Educator, were low key onstage and delivered knockout twists, plaits, braids and chignons. Though the team worked from an artistic template created by co-founder Luis Alvarez , the members were encouraged to explore and innovate in front of delighted audiences.
The colors were strong and yet fit underneath a marketable umbrella and the finishing work by her team was crisp. We did not get to speak with her, as she never seemed to leave the stage, but we did interview Lance Blanchette from the Joico team - a delightful representative of this stalwart line.
Lance, who just finished a tour to Bangkok and Sydney's Fashion Week, says touring exotic locations for Joico are "good times", but the best part is cutting and styling onstage and "seeing the light bulbs go on as the audience puts it all together." The real treat for us was the unlimited access we received from the Paul Mitchell team, represented by Colin Caruso, colorist for the AnguM Team, and Daniel Moses. They gave us access to their busy backstage and allowed us to photograph and interview their stylists while they rushed to meet the stage deadline. The team presented the audience a treat when they introduced, on stage, the student team from the Northwest Hair Academy/Paul Mitchell in Everett. A particular knockout design from the Academy was presented by Mandy Epstein, whom the school calls Nutty Buddy, who showed a mountain of boiling hair supported by Styrofoam and extensions. It would be easy to make a mess of such contrivance, but Mandy kept it focused and the resultant look was dynamite.
Styling alongside the team onstage was Erin Gahan, Director of the Northwest Hair Academy, who was right at home alongside the Paul Mitchell Team. Colin Caruso expressed the ideals of Paul Mitchell when he said "Paul Mitchell wants honesty and integrity from the team. They want the audience to see what we do in the salon behind the chair, so we may make the lives of hairdressers a little easier. We go onstage and share the things we are fortunate enough to do every single day." Daniel put it right when he said, "the freedom Paul Mitchell gives the artists onstage is the freedom all stylists have in their salons. Everything you see us do is from our shared experiences, redefined and polished through the Paul Mitchell training and shown as techniques you can do, too. We take proven things and put an interesting twist on them." Colin summed it up when he added, "we utilize the tools Paul Mitchell has given us and apply it individually in a manner we have found to be successful."
Colin, the colorist of the team, showed the audience how to create stunning hair with Paul Mitchell InkWorks married with hairspray and applied to the hair. He used a technique from the Angus Mitchell DVD called Grafitti, wherein colors from the InkWorks line are blended, sprayed on and dispersed along the hair with an overlay of conditioner. This created cotton candy translucence blended into intense shade that was exquisite to see. We also visited the Rusk booth, LOMA (owned and created by chemist Dave Hanen of Monroe, WA), Pravana (creators of ChromaSilk color), and several other stages and booths and were impressed by the range of products offered at this years Fashion Focus show. We saw some great artists, were dazzled by the models' hair, and got close and personal with some of the innovative tools and products offered by this, our most beautiful business. Look for future product reviews by Capelli d'Oro and NW Hair Salons. Capelli d'Oro had the pleasure to interview Lance Blanchette - Read More.. Interview By Edward Paul Capelli d'Oro ©2009 |
One such new product line we were impressed with is the natural spa and body line Spa Siam.
Walking the length of the hall, we stopped at the Joico/Iso stage. Joico featured the always satisfying show colorist Cherry Petenbrink, who connects directly with her audience as if she were chatting up a group of friends.
Lance Blanchette, who hails from Vancouver BC and co-owns the 
The looks Joico presented were a portion of the company's efforts to bring the maximum service in a minimalist market: an example of Joico's response to a tight economy.
The philosophy of the Academy is to put students on the floor almost immediately - no six months of shampooing and sweeping floors - to make them productive and enthusiastic members of the team. This bold philosophy seemed to pay off as students with six months or less were showing some fun complex looks.
Daniel Moses, when showing the Academy's work, said Paul Mitchell was proud to stand next to this great work and that he would sweep hair for those as enthusiastic and talented as Mandy and the Academy crew. 
Onstage, Daniel Moses dazzled the packed theater with deft scissor work and concise sculpting into stained hair with the edge of a DSX razor. He talked about hairdressers self-defining the limitations in their work and then breaking loose from those limitations. His work proceeded to do exactly that.