MAC Cosmetics national artist Kiekie Stanners is a makeup guru at New Zealand Fashion Week. She talked Fashion Quarterly through her busy schedule, from dawn to dusk.
6am: My alarm will be set for the reasonable hour of 6am for day one of Fashion Week. I like to give myself enough time to do my own makeup before starting a day of shows so that it lasts all day. My Fashion Week staples will be MAC Pro Longwear SPF20 Compact Foundation and MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme. They’ll give me 10 hours of perfect wear, just in case backstage photographers catch me in action.
7am: Double check I’ve got all the MAC products I need for the day, pack my makeup kit and head to the venue to find a coffee.
7.45am: MAC makeup team call time for the NOM*d show onsite. The MAC makeup team will meet and go backstage together to set up in hair and makeup. I will find a model to do a makeup demonstration on to show the team the makeup look I would like them to recreate.
10am: Watch the models practice run through on the runway. I will check how the makeup is looking under catwalk lights and how many more models still need to have their makeup finished.
11am: NOM*d show time. We’re never finished until the last model has walked out – we are backstage doing touch ups, covering bruises, checking nails and ensuring the makeup is still perfect after clothing changes. Then I have a quick lunch, clean my makeup brushes and go over my presentation notes for the MAC Technique Seminar I’m facilitating on Saturday at Fashion Weekend.
1.45pm: MAC makeup team call time for Salasai show onsite. Again we set up backstage in hair and makeup. I demonstrate the makeup look for the MAC team and then we’ll get started on all the models.
4pm: Watch the model run-through to check the makeup under the lighting for the Salasai show. I then take my team backstage to do final checks and touch ups and finish off the last models.
5pm: Salasai show time. I’ll jump straight into a cab to head to the Stolen Girlfriends Club offsite venue for my next makeup call time.
5.15pm: MAC makeup team call time for Stolen Girlfriend’s Club show at Western Springs Speedway. Again I will demonstrate the makeup look for the show and brief my team.
7.30pm: Watch the model run through to see how the makeup looks under outdoor lighting. At this point I will need to check how many models we may be missing that will be coming from earlier shows.
8pm: Models that are running late will go straight into hair and makeup. The teams will transform them into the Stolen Girlfriend’s Club beauty look as fast as we can – doing hair and makeup at the same time.
8.30pm: Final checks and touch ups before show time. Again the MAC makeup team doesn’t finish until the last model has completed the show. There will be quick outfit changes that could touch the makeup so we will have to ensure the models look perfect before they hit the runway again.
9pm: Day one of NZFW wrapped. Once I get home I will clean my makeup brushes, restock my makeup kit and get all my MAC products ready for Day two of shows.
