A Rose City First - Fashion Week Windsor
It’s been just over a month since Fashion Week Windsor made its official debut, but with the Met Gala happening last night, I felt inspired to reflect and finally share my experience. What better time to dive into the glam and artistry?
The visionary behind FFW is my friend Stephen Drouin, who brought together Windsor’s top talent—and a lot of heart—to create this iconic event held at the Capitol Theatre in Downtown Windsor.
I was honoured to be apart of the talented hair team, working alongside Angelina Abegbuzie, the lead hairstylist and owner of Entice Hair Salon, the amazing students from St. Clair College, and several other local hairstylists. Everyone played a role in creating stunning looks across multiple designer collections. My personal focus was on the collection by designer Noel (@noelizina.design), whose inspiration was soft, feminine Old Hollywood glamour. Her designs featured timeless silhouettes, and her collection ended up winning out of all six local designers!
For Noel’s collection, I styled classic Hollywood waves on a few models and created a soft, undone French twist on another—both of which aligned beautifully with her timeless, feminine vision. I also worked on a couple of models for other collections. One featured big, voluminous, messy curls that perfectly matched the dark, vampy aesthetic of her designer’s vision. Another had a slicked-down style on the sides with tousled, undone texture flowing down the back—a look that reminded me of something artsy and David Bowie-esque.
What I love about events like this is the opportunity to be both collaborative and creative. Even though the designers have a clear vision, I still get to bring that vision to life using my own skills and instincts. I love the challenge of looking at a photo reference and mentally working backward—breaking it down step-by-step to figure out how to recreate the style with the tools and textures in front of me.
[Click here] to read the CTV Windsor article this sold-out event and get the full scoop on FFW.
Check out the gallery below for behind-the-scenes photos from competition day to give you a glimpse of the magic we created.
