Runway Invasion

Make Up First® artists invaded the runway on the first weekend of November. For years, Make Up First® has provided countless opportunities for artists around the world. Our first time producing a runway show was a celebration of creativity, passion, and dedication. We are proud to give the ARTISTS their time to shine on the runway. INVASION: The Runway Show was an "out of this world" runway experience. We merged the worlds of dance, makeup, and fashion. We're grateful to have put together an incredibly talented team of our graduates & staff, designers, and other creatives to bring unearthly creatures to life. Keep reading to take a look into INVASION: The Runway Show from the producers’ prospectives…

After months of preparing, we were anxious for our rehearsal on the Friday night before the show. After arriving to the venue inside Water Tower Place, we piled all of our stuff in, waiting for an elevator to carry our bins of theatrical makeup products upstairs. Once we settled in, we were struggling to figure out how to use the speaker for the first 20 minutes or so. We’re not very tech savvy if you couldn’t tell! We got it running, and it really started to sink in that the show was the next day. Before the models and a few of the artists arrived, Hannah (Theatrical Instructor) and Jade (Co-Owner) took a deep breath trying to calm each other’s nerves. Michelle (Co-Owner) was on her way, bringing the whole family to watch the rehearsal, baby and all! Once the crowd arrived, we were pretty overwhelmed with the amount of energy in the room. “Lets get the girls in their heels and we’ll get started in 5 minutes” said Britney Wittes from Why Not Petites. Britney had been helping Jade and Michelle with the modeling aspect of the show, from the casting call until the second before she walked the runway during the show. We had not only models, but dancers as well. The designers were doing their last-minute fittings during the rehearsal and the vision really started to come together. After rehearsal, we still had some work to do. Finalizing face charts, last minute HMUA timeline adjustments, etc. We finished up just around midnight and tried to get some rest before the big day.

Saturday morning, 31 models, 12 artists, 4 designers, and full team of backstage helpers came together and began to create extraterrestrial magic. Somehow everything backstage ran seamlessly. It made us beyond proud to have a room full of artists who were trained by us, all together executing the most flawless makeup designs. After a few hours, which seemed like minutes, someone yelled to us backstage “People are lined up outside waiting for the doors to open! It’s PACKED out there!”, and our nerves started up again. By then our models were makeup-ready, and the designers were getting them into wardrobe. We finished up our final run-through of the show before opening the doors.

MUA: Ciarra O’Reiley, Photographer: St.Micca, Designer: Zo Roze, Model: Raquel Horvath

It was 5:00 when the doors opened to the public. Each member of the audience checked in at the door and were taken to their seats. It was not only a show but also a reunion for so many people who came together with like-interests in the beauty and fashion industry. Our Photographers (St.Micca Photography, Ed Sochacki, Henry Bat Photography, and Arijit Ghosh) were set up at the end of the runway to capture each look. We were peaking out into the crowd, amazed with the amount of people who came to support our graduates, models, and designers. We gathered all of our MUAs and sat together in the VIP section to watch the show at the end of the runway. All of our artists squished together on the couch was such a heartwarming sight for everyone walking by. The Make Up First community really feels like a big happy family when brought together.

At 5:45, the music started. It began with a minute long intro to catch the audiences attention. The audience all took their seats and waited for the first model to appear. The music was building and the audience was in awe when the first dancer opened the show in a full theatrical alien look dressed in a cyborg inspired metal tutu designed by Zo Roze. She danced down the runway performing her quirky, alien-like moves. The music kept building until the first model appeared with an exceptionally powerful walk, followed by many many more unique designs by Zo Roze, Naomi, Qualia Arte, and DRIA/V.

The show came close to the end and it was time to take the MUAs backstage for their final walks. The models walked with their designers and the crowd cheered them on. Once everyone was back from the runway, the makeup artists walked out and were recognized for their incredible work. The models and designers cheered for the artists from backstage, along with the crowd in the audience. It was such an unforgettable moment for our artists, and for us.. Backstage after the show was filled with excitement, relief, many “I’m so proud of you”s, and happy tears. Our very first show was one for the books!