Diary of a model
Lily spends her days as a model, rushing from shoot to show and on to yet another casting. On Amayzine, she tells you all about what her life is really like. Under a different name, of course, but that means she can share all the juicy details. This week: Lily's thoughts on the coronavirus.
I've been back in the cold, stormy frog country for about a week now. After the rollercoaster of emotions, parties, and shows that New York was for me, it seemed good for me and the agency to skip the European shows. I've been in the game for a while (an old hand at it, I am) and without special requests, it doesn't make much sense for me to go to those castings; the casting directors already know me.
How relieved I was not to be in Milan during the alarming reports of the coronavirus outbreak in Northern Italy. Of course, many of my friends were there, and through them, I got some updates.
The models at Armani all wore face masks and those blue shoe covers during rehearsals and backstage. The show was ultimately of course done without face masks, but also without an audience.
Through a livestream, the fashion world got to watch how Mr. Armani's latest collection was showcased on the catwalk. It got me thinking. Of course, everyone needs to be extremely careful with such a contagious virus that spreads very quickly around the world. But I think that Fashion Week can be a very easy breeding and spreading ground for such a virus. People come from all over the world to the fashion circus. Hands are shaken, cheeks are kissed, and during the show, guests sit shoulder to shoulder along the catwalk. But not only in front of the screens is there a lot of human contact. Backstage, there is also constant touching going on (this is not meant in a #metoo way as it sounds).
Let me sketch the germ transfer situation for you. You're in a large group of people in a closed, often quite small space. People are constantly interacting with each other, with your clothes, and with your hair and makeup. You're being made up with the same brushes and lipsticks that the makeup artist used on your predecessor. Before you go on, clothes are straightened, your concealer is touched up, and your lips are pressed with a (dirty) finger.
The human contact and thus the ease with which a virus can be transmitted is therefore extremely present here. But even before the coronavirus, I was already concerned about hygiene backstage at Fashion Week. For example, I refuse to let a makeup artist apply lipstick directly on my mouth, but always with a new brush, and I try to sit with a makeup artist whose products look ‘trustworthy’. But besides that, unfortunately, there's not much you can do. It only takes one dirty brush or cold sore to come into play, and then you can just be unlucky.
The dirtiest thing I've ever seen is someone trying to camouflage an open blister on a girl's heel, only to then use that same brush under someone's eye to cover her dark circles. First of all: who in God's name puts makeup on an open wound, and secondly: how unhygienic is it to then use that brush on someone's face (near her eyes)? As you can understand, I avoided her for the rest of the afternoon. I really hope we can slalom around the virus like I do with dirty brushes, but that will still be a huge challenge. So for now: wash your hands well, always bring antibacterial gel, and draw a nice smiley on your face mask.
XX Kisses from Lily
