Deola Sagoe | Beauty and the Brain

I met Nathan Rosenkranz at the first salon I assisted at in Bethlehem, PA. Back then Nate was a great stylist behind the chair. Fast forward 8ish years he is now a Freelance artist in NYC working for brands such as Alterna and styling celebs like James Franco. It takes a lot of hard work and networking to get where he is today so it was very cool to hang and see him in action. When I reached out to Nate a few weeks ago I was hoping to interview him backstage at some of the shows he was leading. Instead, he asked if I would like to work on his styling team! Even better!

I arrived to Lincoln center around 7:30am and found Nate and his team waiting outside the Salon tents. Everyone on his team was super nice! I could tell that it was going to be a no stress environment. In the past I have worked NYFW with another brand who will remain nameless and they were not so pleasant. I love everything about the beauty industry and love people who love it too so when someone is rude its a total buzz kill. THANK YOU NATE for leading such a polite team!

Around 8am we were given our passes and allowed into the tents to set up our workspace.

Once we were all set up Nate explained the step by step of the look we would be creating for DEOLA’S Spring 2015 collection.

Deola Hair step by step @ NYFW Spring 2015 by kristen-linares featuring alterna haircare

Here is one of the models I worked on!

The final outcome was gorgeous! DEOLA is absolutely amazing. As a lead stylist it is important to work with the designer and decide what hair will compliment the garments. Nate nailed it! The hair was not only beautiful but also wearable. This is a classic style that would look great on any woman!

Deola Sagoe / Clan - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2015

So many times I hear “Wow! You get to do work on so many cool projects! I wish I could be like you!” Here’s my BIG secret. You can! The only way I have been able to travel and develop relationships with other successful people has been on my own dime and “Just Do It!” attitude. I will admit there are times when I want to throw up a little when I see the money I’ve spent however, it is money well invested. When you come up with a clear plan and purpose for any trip it is always so worth it!

My most recent trip has been New York Fashion Week for the Spring 2015 collections. I was invited by fellow blogger Lindsay Pattan, Marketing manager for ALIVE magazine, to travel with a group of local fashion bloggers. This made our stay at The Gem Hotel affordable. Not the most comfortable when you consider the amount of luggage fashion/ beauty bloggers travel with and how tiny NY bathrooms really are but the goal isn’t to hang out in the room.

Since my passion is beauty, lifestyle, and wellness attending all the fashion shows wasn’t high priority. Instead I wanted to live day to day life in Manhattan during fashion week and create content for this lovely little blog of mine. I scheduled meetings, interviews, and experiences with some of my favorite beauty professionals so get ready for a series of NYFW related posts!

To begin this series of posts let’s start with HOW TO plan for success…

STEP ONE: REACH OUT TO YOUR CONTACTS

Reach out to people you know that are involved in interesting day to day activities that you’re passionate about.

Jorge Blanco & Joseph DiMaggio (Davines North America) were kind enough to make time to chat with me about all things Davines!

STEP TWO: RESPECT THEIR TIME AND SHOW YOUR PASSION

Nathan Rosenkranz (lead stylist for Deola & Clan, Alterna Haircare) I asked Nate if I could tag along backstage and interview him for my blog and instead he offered me a spot on his styling team for the show! It was a blast!

STEP THREE: SPREAD THE WORD AND GIVE THANKS.

I don’t like to kill trees with silly Thank You notes but showing gratitude is important. I’ve found these awesome note cards at Left Bank Books in St. Louis, MO. The card itself can be planted and it later blossoms into flowers! How cool is that?! That’s definitely one way to leave a lasting impression and be kind to mother nature of course 🙂

Stay tuned for more posts about my NYC trip!