Locals to go behind the scenes at Fashion Week

When Entertainment Tonight starts rolling footage of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week or Vogue magazine prints photos from the event, people might be seeing the work of a Carlisle hair stylist and a makeup artist.

They just won’t know it.

Rachael Brooke, a professional make-up artist and aesthetician, and Jaime Freet, an Aveda certified colorist and stylist, who work at Tranquility salon are among only 15 people to be chosen to be on the hair and makeup teams for Aveda at fashion week, which starts Thursday in New York City.

The event, which runs through Feb. 14, features top designers and models and attracts celebrities from around the world as high fashion takes to runways around the city.

“Mainly, it’s the most popular trends of the upcoming season,” Brooke said.

And she doesn’t mean spring – she means Fall 2013.

Fashion week won’t be a place for the two women to show off their own creativity in their

selected fields. For both hair and make-up, team leads will show the stylists and makeup artists how to do the look one time. It’s up to the artists to recreate the look identically.

“I think we’re both pretty much into fashion. We’ve both been inspired to do fashion week,” Freet said.

The Aveda representative who checks in with the salon and keeps it up to date on new products and classes recommended the two women for fashion week and put them in touch with the right contacts to take the next step.

“What we had to do was complete a two-part classroom prep course in fashion runway (looks),” Brooke said.

The class was held at Aveda Advanced Academy in Soho, New York City, where they were taught all the logistics and techniques they needed to know to create high fashion looks. The classes also included etiquette instruction to prepare the two for the high pressure atmosphere – and personalities – that come with fashion week.

Etiquette translates to keeping cool despite the high pressure and the potential arrival of celebrities backstage. It also means remembering the models are human beings getting dragged around from place to place. They’re young and some won’t even speak English, Brooke said.

After finishing the workshop, Freet and Brooke were invited to fashion week. They will continue to be invited back every year unless there’s a problem with their work this year.

Brooke will be working on a team lead by Janell Geason, celebrity make-up artist and Aveda’s Global Artistic Director for Makeup. Freet will work with Jon Reyman, an Aveda instructor who has traveled around the world styling hair for celebrities and for models in runway shows for top designers.

“When we get there, we already have a lot of shows booked,” Freet said. They also have to be ready for any shows that pop up.

Freet said they will have to be prepared for anything as the models will be coming in from other shows. Makeup artists will have to remove and reapply makeup while the stylists will have to work with hair that may already be full of styling products.

Both hair and makeup are being done at the same time. “It’s like a team working on someone,” Brooke said.

The institute included a video to offer a taste of what it would be like at fashion week, but the women know the real thing will be much more intense as they work in small spaces.

“People are literally crowding you,” Freet said. “There’s a lot of pressure and I’m sure it’s not for everyone.”

“That’s what’s going to set apart the girls from the women,” Brooke said. “I want it so bad that I’ll make it be what I want it to be.”

The women said the instructors were clear on the fact that the two will be at fashion week as representatives of Aveda, not to promote themselves or to try to meet celebrities.

“It’s not about us. It’s about pleasing our leads,” Brooke said.

Freet and Brooke will be staying in the heart of the city during the event. “New York City is known for high fashion and it’s just going to be completely nuts that week,” Brooke said.

Brooke said the experience will set the two apart not just in the Carlisle community, but also statewide. They will bring back experience working in high fashion and with a variety of ethnicities. People will be able to request those high fashion looks.

“Unless you’re working in New York City, I don’t know where you’re going to get that,” Brooke said.

Both will continue to do classic looks for proms, weddings and other special occasions. “We will also have the ability to supersede and intensify looks,” Brooke said.

But, both women have goals that go beyond the first weeks back home after a whirlwind fashion week experience.

“I’m just looking forward to gaining knowledge and wisdom in this industry to get me to another level and be the best I can be,” Brooke said.

“I would love to be an educator and be known for my work,” Freet said. “I think we both would aspire to something like that.”