The New Suburbia: Richard Chai S/S2016

At Skylight Clarckson Sq. in NYC Richard Chai showed his 2016 Spring/Summer collection during New York Fashion Week Men's. I was able to go backstage and have a quick word with Aveda Guest Artist Frank Rizzieri about the inspiration behind the hair styling. Rizzieri said "I used the thickening tonic to bring about a spirited and youthful fulness to the hair, and then the grooming cream and control paste gave the look an edge with the cool tousled style." As he spoke about the products he was using to achieve this look I was surprised to hear that he also added grooming cream and just layering in spots. I never thought about putting hair product in just a couple of spots instead of evenly distributing all over the hair. You learn something new every day!

Frank Rizzieri (on right) giving instructions

Just a couple of the Aveda Products used to achieve the cool suburbia looks.

A closer look at the S/S16 collection. Love the green!

The finishing touches. Photo via Aveda

Suburbian cool indeed. Photo via Aveda

photo via Aveda

Photos by Phil Van Norstrand unless otherwise stated.

Behind The Scenes at The PLAC Casting

I was invited to visit Korean brand PLAC's NYC studio during their casting for the Spring/Summer 2016 presentation happening in just a couple of days. This show is particularly special because it'll be during New York Fashion Week's first week dedicated to men's fashion. PLAC's casting was done by MTC who have been in the business for over 20 years. They saw dozens and dozens of models from over 30 modeling agencies. The guys were from all over the world such a Colombia, Belgium, China, Australia and more. The Stylist for this presentation is world renowned Tom Van Dorpe. Just between you and me, I had a fan boy moment but kept it cool (I hope) once I realized who he was and I was just a few feet from him. Check out his work and you'll see why.

PLAC loves to play with proportions and is all about black, white and navy pallets. Part of the casting process is not just finding a pretty face but also making sure the clothes fit and hang the way the designer envisions. Sometimes after having the models try on the clothes they choose to go with another model.

 

The Designer (left) is attentively part of the casting process along with 8 other people that are helping this process go smoothly and efficiently.

Models hand the Casting Director their books showing samples of their editorial work. The Casting Director also asks them where they are from, if the walked in Milan, Paris or London and for whom they walked for. In Just a few minutes the Casting Director gets the information he needs to help him make a decision.

And yes, it is a bit of a waiting game as everyone has to be seen. Days before the shows models are going to dozens of castings all over the city throughout the day.

All photography by Phil Van Nostarnd

Once the Designer, Casting Director and Stylist feel they have the models they start putting together the casting board and see how all the guys look together. The next step is fittings to make sure that every piece is represented and fits perfectly to each guy. The final stage is the actual presentation which I'm excited to see and share with you guys. Stay tuned!!

See more Behind The Scenes on Adentro Style Annex

Backstage: John Elliott + Co F/W15

One of the highlights of New York Fashion Week F/W 2015 was going backstage at John Elliot + Co.'s first fashion show. Monochromatic looks hit the runway with some of the staples you've come to love, sweat pants and hoodies but also included pieces that are more technical with new textiles and details. I met up with Brian Buenaventura the lead hairstylist of the Cutler/Redken salon team and asked him a few questions as he prepared the models. This is what it takes to prepare 30 male models to be runway ready.

- It takes about 15-25 minutes per model depending on hair length and texture. This affects the absorbency of the products.

- The look for the show was dewy, fresh, wet look. Think he's in California and just came out of the beach, laid back.

- The main product used to achieve their wet look includes the Redken Diamond Oil.

- There were 9 assistants prepping the models.

- Once the models have been prepped their hair needs to be retouched right before the show.

There was great energy backstage. Everyone knew what they needed to be doing but still had a fun and relaxed attitude. Once it was time for the show to start models were in line ready to hit the runway and make history.

Photos by: Phillip Van Norstrand

See more of the happenings backstage at AdentroStyle Annex tumblr.