The make-up artists are the brains behind the models, designers, and even the artistry that goes into bringing the vision to life. Fall Fashion Week 2022 show makeup director, Jordyn Arielle, developed a setting that focused on the value of makeup artistry in the fashion industry.
Arielle has been in the makeup industry for five years. “I got started because I love the transformational power of makeup, I fell in love with that and wanted to share that with the world,” she said. The makeup industry has been a fast growing one, the creation of different looks, products and talent has been shared worldwide through various social media sites.
“My favorite makeup artist is Charlotte Tilbury. I work for Charlotte Tilbury, she is the world’s number one makeup artist. She works with every luxury brand Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, for all their fashion shows. So I aspired to be like her in the same way and kind of elevating and turning like the local Denver fashion scene to New York,” Arielle said.
Makeup artists in the fashion business have quickly advanced from amateur to professional level. Everybody’s individual face traits are used as inspiration for their works of art, and working with designers during Fashion Week requires a certain set of skills.
“As everybody knows backstage, you never know what’s going to happen. So the designers might actually change their look last minute. They might not like the makeup we ended up doing, so it was sometimes really stressful, but that’s kind of like the high adrenaline of being backstage, but they provide the mood board in advance which is super helpful,” she said.
Hakima Afiri, a local freelance makeup artist—who also works weddings and at Charlotte Tilbury in Denver—also worked her first Fashion Week in the fall and was completely grateful for the experience.
“The creativity was fun. I like it. It can be stressful at times because the makeup artist team is so small in comparison to the number of models and designers, but I love it, and I would totally do it again,” she said.
The collaboration of the makeup artists was key to creating a successful fashion week. It takes strong teamwork to work in such a high pace environment. Their jobs are crucial, and just as important as the designers’. They make the idea a reality and develop a distinctive interpretation of modern style.
“I’m super appreciative of all of our makeup artists that were in attendance. So super, super proud of everybody. I would love to work for bigger fashion opportunities, New York, London, Paris, Milan, all of it take me there,” Arielle said.
The value of art in establishing a successful Denver Fashion Week is best exemplified by Arielle and Afiri. Speaking with the folks who make it all happen helps put the puzzle pieces behind the distinctive styles that are created behind the scenes.