New York Fashion Week isn’t a complete experience till you have seen the insanity backstage. While everything is calm and serene (or crazy fun) out front, behind the scenes, it’s like being up for 48 hours straight on a triple shot of expresso. Nancy got invited to check out Chris Benz and the backstage environment with Redken– YES REDKEN!! They do a lot of shows and this was one event, that Nancy was not going to miss!
My first impression of backstage at Chris Benz was that it was like a slumber party in the dressing room at Loehmann’s. There were racks of clothes, of course, but there was also a buffet spread of healthy food and water, which surprised me. I had expected tense and frenzied, only to find the mood of the moment was relaxed and amused.
No one checked my credentials or questioned my right to be there, which leads me to believe that outside the tent, security is much is less stringent (I may test this theory next year by trying to get backstage at a show where I don’t have an invite). Maybe they thought I was a model’s mother (and if I’d started having kids earlier, I truly could be the mom to some of these girls). But I was there to see John Ruidant, top Redken stylist, who has been very much in demand at Fashion Week this year.
Because I had a good idea of his crazy schedule, I asked him if he was tired and he said, “It has been a lot of running around, but I’m enjoying it.” In fact, he seemed to be thriving and his calm confidence was so refreshing after some of the backstage divas I’ve known!
John explained the look of the day, which required great expertise in order to appear effortless. “It’s a lot of long, flowing, very natural-looking waves,” he told me. “First I put it up in rollers, then I loosen it up again with the iron.” He used mild control products such as Fabricate and Water Wax to create soft, touchable texture, and styled the front of the hair in long bangs swept to the side (or, as he refers to them, “fringe”).
Chris Benz is from Seattle, and though that’s not the first city that comes to mind when I think of the West Coast, the hair had a very West Coast look to me (Benz has said elsewhere that he had a 1930’s Hollywood starlet in mind when designing this collection). And though this collection featured hair of all colors, John told me he’s been “seeing a lot of brunettes” elsewhere.
What’s next for John and his Redken team after NY Fashion Week? “I plan to rest just a little bit,” he said, “and then it’s off to the shows in Paris.” I eagerly look forward to seeing how he interprets the designers’ visions there.
Nancy Lichtenstein
LA-Story would like to thank writer Nancy Lichtenstein for all her hard work and her dashing around from New Jersey to NYC and dealing with the craziness that is NYFW. She’s a real pro!!
Stevie Wilson
