A day in the life of FASHIONWEEK stylist

Peter Mark is FASHIONWEEK’s hair partner this season and Stephen has been appointed to the firm’s ‘Masters of Hair’ team who will be styling the models’ hair during West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK, which runs from October 15-19.

A typical day sees me leaving home at 8.15am. The manager or myself usually opens the store. I normally work one late night a week and have Monday and Sunday off.

From 9am the first clients will start to arrive and I will spend my day cutting, colouring and styling hair as well as consulting with clients on new styles and what looks would suit them. People regularly drop in to get some advice and I enjoy the buzz of the salon.

Recently, Peter Mark signed up as the official hair partner for this year’s Belfast FASHIONWEEK, so it’s a very exciting time right now. I can’t wait to be showcasing the autumn/winter hair trends for the upcoming season throughout the week of shows. We’re also busy planning our exclusive insights into the latest cutting-edge styles and colours for Style Sunday, which will be taking place on Sunday October 19 at SHU. As hair partner we will also impart tips and tricks as well as host a mini masterclass on how to look fantastic throughout the winter to keep clients one step ahead and fashion forward.

Presently, we’re in meetings with our area manager discussing hair ideas, and then these are passed on to FASHIONWEEK Director Cathy Martin and her team, who will work them in to the catwalk shows.

I will work along with the rest of the Peter Mark FASHIONWEEK hair team creating the looks for each show on 20 models (16 girls and four men). The models all come with their hair freshly washed the night before, and the team start to work creating the look that have been decided for that night’s show. On the catwalk show nights the hair team usually start at 1pm and continue on until all models are complete, with maybe a little tweaking to be done just before the models get into their first show look. Throughout the catwalk show me and the team will all be on hand to add in hair accessories from show retailers and keeping all the looks tidy when clothes are being taken on and off over the hair.

I am really looking forward to this challenge. It’s a privilege to be involved in such a wonderful week of fashion for the city and I just can’t wait for it to start.

The full FASHINWEEK schedule is available online at www.belfastfashionweek.com. The most fashionable tickets in town are priced at £20 or £25 for FROW and are available by calling 028 9024 6609 or via the website