Great things happen when you talk!!
I am the Area Spa manager for the four Gina Conway spas in London. I have been working for the company for eight years now, what can I say; it’s a fab place to work!
A few weeks ago I bumped into Gina at the Chelsea spa and we got talking about my interests and some of the things I got up to when I had some time off last year. I mentioned that I love fashion, clothes, accessories and photography too! I said that in my spare time I would like to organise some photo shoots where I can dress the models and have them shot in specific settings, like in a studio or outdoors. It just so happened that one of the Directors in the hair team at our the Notting Hill salon had an upcoming shoot, so Gina asked if I wanted to style the model for it! Of course the answer was YES!
I spoke to the Hair Stylist Davide straight away who was as enthusiastic as I was and super happy for me to style his model. He gave me a brief and we discussed his vision for the look and began to think of ways to compliment the hair through outfit styling.
So at this point I’m super excited but also so nervous, I only have two weeks to source a killer outfit, whilst sticking to the brief and theme of the shoot. I was comforted by the fact that Davide is an amazing, creative hairdresser and he was so supportive.
I sketched an outfit for the model, which I thought was going to provide the most impact – I wanted to create a sexy, bold, feminine, strong look. Now… I just had to find THE dress! After some hours of searching online and in all the magazines I found the perfect dress from MANGO. I altered it to fit the model perfectly – it looked great on her! I customised it with shoulder pads to create a fierce silhouette and to increase the presence of the model on the catwalk. I also added a panel of lace at her chest to juxtapose the femininity and boldness of the overall look.
Catwalk day!
I got to the location at 9am in Covent Garden and had the model dressed, pinned, prodded and tucked – She was ready!
The next time I was going to see her was strutting her stuff down the catwalk at the Trend Vision show – An annual competition, in which Davide had been chosen to enter as a finalist. The model rocked in her dress and Davide’s hair styling looked amazing, together the look was powerful – And went on to win the competition, announcing Davide as the Trend Vision Regional 2012 winner.
Despite feeling out of my depth at first, my confidence grew and I loved every part. It was a challenge and I am thrilled to have completed the task at hand. It just goes to show that sometimes you have go with it and do what inspires you.
So… great things really do happen when you talk! A BIG Thank you to Gina for the opportunity and to Davide – what an amazing hairdresser to work alongside. Inspired is an understatement.
Love Salima x