Students Overcome Nerves on Eve of WOW Awards

Young Students Overcome Nerves on Eve of World of Wearableart™ Awards Opening

24 September 2014

50+ students have been preparing for months for Wellington’s premier creative arts, design and fashion event, the WORLD OF WEARABLEART™ Awards and now it’s less than 24 hours ‘til showtime. Nerves are at an all-time high, but under the steady leadership of Chief Hair Designer for WOW® Cherie McIntyre the show will not only go on, it will be as the name suggests, wonderful.

“WelTec hairdressing and makeup students have been working around the clock on WOW® models. They started with a marathon colouring session on Sunday and have been practicing the hairstyles since Monday. Students are here for at least 8 hours a day with their hairdressing tutors Lesley Whitecliffe-Smith and Poloa Rowe. The tutors are an essential part of the team guiding the backroom efforts that support WOW®. They manage the students well and motivate them giving them confidence to do an excellent job.

“At WOW® we love young talent. That’s at the heart of the show. I personally like working with the newbies, they listen and are willing to try new techniques. It’s often easier to work with fresh minds and young new talent. There are nerves of course, but we’re all here to support these young industry leaders of the future. It’s important that young people get an opportunity to work on world-class events like WOW®. It is an amazing opportunity for them and they get the chance to see their work when they view one of the WOW® shows which is really exciting for them,” says Cherie McIntyre.

“I’m nervous and excited at the same time. Preparing for and working on WOW is really intense,” says Wellington Trades Academy student Jordan Hartley. At only 17 years old Jordan is possibly the youngest person working behind the scenes on WOW®. Jordan is currently enrolled at Hutt Valley High School and at WelTec and is well on the way to not only completing NCEA level 2 but also a National Certificate in Salon Support level 3 with WelTec.

Jordan and the other WelTec students working on WOW® regard the opportunity to work with professionals on the show as “awesome”. “We coloured models’ hair on Sunday and now we’re practicing the styles. It’s so exciting to see the models with hair and makeup complete and ready to take the stage. We’ve had a sneak peak of the beautiful costumes and we understand why WOW® requires such exacting standards. It’s amazing to be able to contribute,” says Jordan Hartley

“Being able to work with industry professionals is really inspiring and makes us think about the opportunities ahead of us. I am definitely pursing a career in hairdressing and being involved in WOW® has only confirmed this for me. I’ll be realising my dream of becoming a professional in this amazing industry,” says Isobella Pozniak (Wellington Trades Academy and St Mary’s College).

WOW®’s General Manager Tim Launder says, "WOW is delighted to have the support of WelTec in bringing our show to life. It's wonderful that both parties can benefit by working closely together."

Another group of WelTec students working on WOW® are the make-up artistry students who have been expertly coached by their tutors for the event. Television makeup artist Caroline Adams who tutors the students at WelTec alongside Daniela Pike and Olivia Wildey – all highly respected makeup artists, nationally and internationally, have worked with the students since February. “Preparation for WOW® is really important for us. Our very talented students are very motivated to show off their skills at WOW®,” says Caroline Adams.

ENDS

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