By Julie Ray
Bartlett’s Paul Mitchell-the school recently graduated another class. The graduates produced a fantastical show for the audience in attendance. The young men and ladies, said to have the best artist skills in the industry by school owner Tommy Callahan, proved those skills by doing the hair, makeup and showcasing artistic talents on models performing in the show. The models, dressed as ballerinas and mannequins, paraded upon pedestals on stage and sashayed down the runway. The entire production was reminiscent of a store window that has come to life.
The human mannequins, dressed in black and white, had soft yet sculpted hair. Makeup was minimal with silver sparkling eyebrows. Clothing was masculine; black slacks, white shirt and black tie. The finished look was one in which the onlooker considers powerful symbolism within the fashion system. The lack of overt male or female features and the lifeless mannequin look with focus on the eyebrows brought imagination to life and was visually interactive with the ambiguous performers.
The ballerinas were overtly feminine in traditional tutus and tights. Looking very much like the popular jewelry box ballerina of the 1960’s and 1970’s activated with stiff and sculptured movement. The ballerinas were perfect in appearance with motion of purpose, dancing on pedestals and blending perfectly with the rest of the performers.
While the ballerinas were perfectly feminine, their movements were perfectly androgynous. They were the mirror image of the androgynous mannequins who were femininely fluid. The production was a delightfully blended fashion statement brought to life by the talented graduates.
“Our goal is to empower students to be responsible for their own careers,” said Callahan. “Paul Mitchell acts as an advocate for the graduates to be individual, responsible and professional. The focus on hair and makeup is secondary to teaching life skills.”
Students are encouraged to raise the bar. Raising the bar enables the students, graduates, and school representatives to wow audiences with the type of show that the recent graduates produced. It was a showcase of thought provoking and visually stunning talents aiding enhanced life skills.
