Yahoo Lifestyle Nine of New York Fashion Week’s Biggest Hair, Nail and Makeup Artists on What to Look for This Season
As New York Fashion Week kicks off, WWD spoke with nine hair, nail and makeup artists — from Lacy Redway to Isamaya Ffrench and more — on how they’re preparing for the season ahead, what’s inspiring them lately and what they’re most looking forward to. Here’s what they had to say.
1. Marco Castro
Makeup artist
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Often works with: Willy Chavarria and Campillo
On getting fashion week-ready: Every season always feels like the first one to me — exhilarating and stressful at times. Assembling the right team for each designer requires a lot of work, as does the endless communication with potential beauty sponsors. Therefore, I like to mentally and physically prepare by eating well, exercising and meditating — this is also when I get all of my dermatologist and beauty treatments done.
On what’s inspiring him lately: Creatively speaking, I have been in a very experimental mood lately and am feeling inspired by nature, black-and-white photography and films.
On what he’s most looking forward to this season: I’m looking forward to the return of elegance and classic styles in both beauty and the collections. I’m also interested in seeing how designers utilize faux leather and fur while paying close attention to craftsmanship.
Isamaya Ffrench
Makeup artist
Keying: Thom Browne and Junya Watanabe
On getting fashion week-ready: The lead up to fashion week is a mix of creative calls, tests and organizing my teams. It’s a lot to manage but we always seem to smash it.
On what’s inspiring her lately: I’m working with Lashify this season for Thom Browne and I’m super excited to create beautiful, elevated lash looks that live in Thom’s fantasy worlds.
On what she’s most looking forward to this season: I love Paris fashion week — it’s the most exciting and creative — Junya Watanabe has been a creative partner for 10 years and he always pushes me to do extraordinary things that I’ve never tried before.
3. Samantha Lau
Makeup artist
Keying: Carolina Herrera
On getting fashion week-ready: I start by taking inventory of my kit and restocking essentials. I also collect inspiration everywhere — whether it’s a vintage backstage photo, like a recent one I found of Kirsty Hume, or something as simple as the way sunlight reflects off a building. Those moments spark ideas, and I mentally run through my kit to see if I have what I need to bring them to life.
On what’s inspiring her lately: Lately, I’m inspired by natural light, vintage backstage photography and the contrast between raw and refined textures.
On what she’s most looking forward to this season: I’m looking forward to seeing how the creative direction of the shows evolves — whether it’s fresh takes on classic beauty or unexpected trends emerging from backstage.
4. Evanie Frausto
Keying: Sandy Liang and Campillo
On getting fashion week-ready: I don’t really prepare in a structured way — it always seems to sneak up on me. Fashion is my life, and the shows in February and September are just a natural extension of that, but my process for each show usually starts with a conversation with the designer and stylist; I take in their inspiration for the collection, absorb their vision and then bring it into my own world.
On what’s inspiring him lately: I’ve been spending a lot of time in my studio in Brooklyn, which has become a space where I can feel free and fully channel my creative energy. Lately, I’ve been really inspired by Andy Warhol and his concept of The Factory — this idea of having a space where muses, artists and creatives come together to simply make art. I love that notion of collaboration and experimentation, and I’ve been leaning into that mindset in my own work.
On what he’s most looking forward to this season: I’m especially excited to collaborate with Sandy Liang and Patricio Campillo. Sandy’s brand is always so fun to work with — there’s a real sense of nostalgia and whimsy in her designs, and it’s exciting to translate that cheeky, experimental energy into hair. With Campillo, I’m looking forward to working alongside a fellow Mexican artist — his designs are deeply rooted in Mexican culture, and I love how he pays homage to heritage while keeping his work fresh and modern. It’s always inspiring to collaborate with designers who bring their personal narratives into their creations.
5. Lacy Redway
Hairstylist
Keying: Christian Siriano and Prabal Gurung
On getting fashion week-ready: Prepping for fashion week is a marathon. It involves organizing my show team, reevaluating my kit to see what needs refreshing and picking designers’ brains on what inspired their collections in case I need to source any interesting tools to help elevate the hair on the runway.
On what’s inspiring her lately: I feel excited about bringing back old techniques and classic styles to the runway this season. I always draw inspiration from film, my personal experiences and studying up on the origins of certain styles. Also architecture, and the beautiful people I see using the sidewalk as the catwalk.
On what she’s most looking forward to this season: The pace. Call me crazy but I love the energy backstage and the reunion we get seeing some of the same faces every season. It’s like back-to-school season but for the fashion community — you bring out your first-day-of-school outfits and show what you have learned over the break — and then birth trends that we will see throughout the year.
6. Julie Kandelac
Nail artist
Keying: Christian Cowan
On getting fashion week-ready: Fashion week is in tandem with awards season for me, so it’s a lot of planning to make sure everyone is cared for and schedules are aligned. I always have creative chats with the designers I’m leading shows for as well as nail sponsors and order any supplies that I need for prep. (My team and I prep together at my atelier — it’s a great way to connect, and lots of fun.) And, of course, I take care of my health — eating extra well and getting in a meditation and SoulCycle class to keep me happy and able to be a great leader for my team and designers.
On what’s inspiring her lately: I’m a big traveler and love to incorporate trends from abroad into my runway looks if it’s a match: This summer I went to Seoul, and I also just returned from Bali, which has significant Australian and Russian populations. I’m feeling inspired by tone-on-tone and pops of vibrant shades and textures.
On what she’s most looking forward to this season: I bring a team of my [nail academy] graduates on to assist me backstage, and most of them have never done shows before — seeing the looks on their faces and how excited they are is what makes me the happiest.
7. Joey George
Hairstylist
Keying: Diotima
On getting fashion week-ready: I don’t follow a specific routine in preparation for show season, but I do prioritize self care, especially focusing on the mind, body and spirit as a daily practice. I’ve also learned over the years to “turn off” and allow myself the space to live in the moment.
On what’s inspiring him lately: Creatively, I am an endless source of ideas. Each week, I have “studio visits” where talent come to my art studio to test out different hair concepts. Performance artists like Rebecca Horn, Marina Abramovic and Vanessa Beecroft are my forever sources of inspiration.
On what he’s most looking forward to this season: The voices of all the industry creatives. As artists, we have a wide reach and a platform that impacts culture and community. I am looking forward to what my colleagues will be communicating about the current state of the world we live in.
8. Kanako Takase
Makeup artist
Keying: Diotima and Meruert Tolegen
On getting fashion week-ready: I won’t be doing anything out of the ordinary, but I’ll be sure to pack extra immune support supplements to keep my defenses up.
On what’s inspiring her lately: My creative motivation comes from evoking calm before the shows. Fashion week is a team effort focused on bringing the designer’s vision to reality; making space in my mind for this is the most important thing.
On what she’s most looking forward to this season: In terms of makeup, I’m hoping we can do a look featuring blush, since Addiction Tokyo launched new liquid blushes in two gorgeous finishes: a glowy one and a lovely foggy one this spring from the “Silenced Serenity” collection.
9. James Pecis
Hairstylist
Often Works With: Chanel, Thom Browne
On getting fashion week-ready: I used to do shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris and it would really take a toll on me. Now, I usually just do a few shows and I can focus my attention and really enjoy it.
On what’s inspiring him lately: Lately I have been feeling more creative and more excited to try new things. We have fewer outlets where we can really push the creative bar and do something different. I’m inspired by people breaking free from the pack, people who are creating for art and passion, not just for profit or to please investors. I’m excited when art is prioritized over commerce.
On what he’s most looking forward to this season: I always look forward to the Thom Browne show. It is a unique creative process and one of the few shows that pushes everyone involved to the edge of their creativity. I also love working with the Chanel team. It is a tight group and I know we will always create something beautiful. I feel very lucky to have these two shows to focus my energy on this season. They’re very different, yet the level of craftsmanship for both is unmatched. I love to be a part of them both.
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