how to behave BACKSTAGE

– 5 lessons I’d like to share with you-

I was in London last week to do some back stage visits. Now you must know that it’s always very chaotic and stressful backstage because the girls have to be prepped within a few hours before appearing on the runway. You can add an extra hundred people in the form of; make-up artists, hair gurus, models, runway coaches, dressers and who knows who else. So if you’re right in the middle of this circus being your curious self, you have to know your place. Here are the rules I already knew but which were once again confirmed when I was backstage.

Everyone who’s there is a somebody. Now in New York everyone thinks they’re quite the hotshot and this is all a little more relaxing in London, but everyone, everyone, has a purpose. Even if they are the assistant’s assistant of the make-up artist, they all have a task. Now I understand this is all very exciting if you end up back stage with your own task to preform, even if it is only making snapshots or taking interviews, but you don’t actually contribute to the final show. So don’t pretend that you do, it will not be appreciated.

When you’re back stage you would like to ask everyone hundreds of questions. Ask make-up artists about the look, the designer about the collection and even interview the models. Be aware that everyone is very busy and very focused. Make-up artists will lovingly tell you about the look but would like to get on with their work afterwards. So don’t bother them with personal beauty questions, that’s the last thing they want to hear. Just keep these to yourself.

Backstage means stress and stress means that things go wrong. Things like: a can of hairspray hitting the ground, a brush getting stuck in someone’s hair or something getting lost. It sweet if you want to lend a hand but you’ll really only get in the way. So leave it. Be a wallflower and quietly observe.

Everything looks so tempting backstage. All those wonderful items that are stalled out, like the total M.A.C.-collection, hundreds of hairsprays, amazing shoes. Oh and I almost forgot to mention the COLLECTION itself. Keep off. I know you’d like to feel and smell but it’s not yours. It still has to go down the runway. So keep your hands off other people’s stuff, I’d like to think of that as a pretty general lesson in life.

I don’t really consider myself as impertinent, but backstage you’re allowed to be a little brazen. Now it appears like I’m contradicting my former points, yet you do have to keep these in mind. With brazen I mean that you don’t have to be a wallflower all of the time. They are always yelling that you have to leave the workspace, that doesn’t mean you have to obey straight away. Just look for a quiet corner, stay there for five minutes and pop back in. And are the models rehearsing? Cheekily follow close behind. Just remember, being impertinent is perfectly combinable with the points I stated above.