5 minute read
Live from New York!
How Music City fashion and beauty experts are putting their stamp on the world’s largest runways.
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JAMI-LYN FEHR
There is one week each season where New York’s hustle and bustle is at an all-time high: Fashion Week. Each February stylists, editors, designers and models alike are seen running through the streets (dressed to the nines) between shows. As a writer and photographer and passionate content creator (or for lack of a better word, influencer), I have a unique perspective allowing me to see both sides of the process. One show, I’m invited to be seated amongst celebrities and Instagram’s most popular social media socialites; the next I’m backstage with supermodels and a team building quite a reputation in Nashville: Spoke and Weal. This latter side is new to me. I’ve attended various fashion shows in previous seasons, soaking in both the style and drama, but being submerged in the backstage rush during one of fashion’s most highly anticipated events is an entirely different beast.
Jami-lynn Fehr
From New York to Nashville: New York Fashion Week’s Founder
Within the crisp white walls of Soho’s iconic Spring Studios, I caught up with New York Fashion Week’s creator and fashion industry expert Fern Mallis and gathered some insight as to what she looks for during fashion months throughout the year. She was (unsurprisingly) dressed in an effortlessly chic, black-and-white ensemble that subtly insinuated she was a fashion authority and meant business. Once inside Gallery II, Fern waltzed to her dead-center seat assignment at Nicole Miller’s Fall/ Winter 2020 Show and explained her fashion week routine.
In order to catch the eye of an industry genius like Fern, a collection needs to weave a story. She’s seeking a designer piece that is “unique, wearable and has that ‘something’ that just resonates.” The fashion industry has managed to both change dramatically yet somehow become slightly stale, so being able to accommodate and adapt is absolutely key. From Fern’s perspective, the change in this space is driven primarily by customers; thus, it is paramount that experts in the space pay special attention to consumers’ desires as well as industry trends. For example, “Sustainability means many things to many people, and the fashion industry is trying to address these issues and concerns… it is not an overnight solution, but it is integral to the future of our industry and our planet.”
New York isn’t the only place to benefit from Fern’s expertise. Our booming city is receiving her guidance on Nashville’s take on fashion week this Summer. It was from her influence and support that we managed to have NYFW icon Anna Sui grace Music City with her collection, in addition to her usual New York-based show. Fern’s sentiments on why she’s invested here are simple: “Nashville is one of the most exciting cities in the country. When I was first invited to speak and mentor the designers, I met the organizers and I immediately fell in love with everyone. At the end of the day, it is all about the people you meet and connect with. I respected how hard they worked to create a platform for their local designers, and I wanted to help encourage them,” she says.
Jami-lynn Fehr
Familiar Faces Ruling Backstage Beauty
Backstage at Hellessy, an hour and a half before showtime revealed a different side of New York Fashion Week than I typically see. Actually, this is a rare site from anything that the general public ever gets to witness. The entire Spoke and Weal team was working at a breakneck pace with both unparalleled precision and a sense of effortlessness. In the middle of the backstage crowd was none other than Spoke and Weal’s co-founder and creative mastermind, Jon Reyman. I finessed my way through a sea of Dyson hairdryers, luxury clothing and models to eventually arrive at his side. I began to pick his brain as he was working in a frenzied process that he somehow makes seem like a piece of cake. As we talked backstage antics and all things Nashville, he managed to juggle both my questions and those of his hardworking stylist team with ease.
Jami-lynn Fehr
When it comes to creative direction for runway hair, Jon divulged that it depends on the designer, but he and the designer almost always work in tandem. Some allow their collection to inspire him, others give him an exact aesthetic or want the hair to evoke (what tends to be) an obscure mood. His experience with Carolina Herrera was that of the latter, where she illustrated a bridal fiasco for Jon to translate into a hairstyle: “I want her to look like a bride, but the next day she’s drunk and cheating on her husband,” he laughs. Interpreting these sometimes-peculiar visions can be tricky. Fortunately, creativity backstage is a strong suit of Jon’s and where his love of hair and the idea of Spoke and Weal originally came to fruition.
Jon’s organized calmness juxtaposed the hectic backstage atmosphere, and he intentionally translates this dynamic to his salons. It’s about collaboration, working towards a common goal, and a space that’s devoid of ‘stars’. This allows everyone to be “empowered with the necessary skills” to do excellent work. His salon’s presence in Nashville brings many new elements to Music City and is centered around “getting rid of all the smoke and mirrors” when it comes to doing hair. Spoke and Weal is known for a specific dry cutting method, and swears by it, as “dry hair tells no lies.” Because of this, and their acquisition of top-tier colorists and stylists that work with utmost efficiency and precision, Jon feels confident in saying, “We are the best hairdressers, doing the best hair in the world.” Though he is based in NYC, Jon frequently visits his Green Hills’ location and couldn’t be happier to be in Nashville and a part of our city’s tremendous growth.
Jami-lynn Fehr
The presence of industry icons like Jon and Fern says a great deal about the positive direction in which Nashville is heading. The fashion and beauty industries are taking note of the clientele moving their lives to Music City, and in a few years, there will be more than enough evidence to prove it — beginning with NYFW regulars Anna Sui and Tanya Taylor showcasing their collections at Nashville Fashion Week, alongside our hometown superstarsin-the-making.
