Diary of a session stylist: jo cree brown

Johanna Cree Brown is Artistic Director/Joint Head of Education at Trevor Sorbie Covent Garden. She's a regular backstage at fashion week, and is responsible for everything from creating initial moodboards, to styling models before they step out on the catwalk. 

Here, we peek inside her fashion week diary - it's essential reading for any budding session stylist!

The request comes through for us to work at the Fashion Fringe show.

The finalists' names and initial sketches of their collections are emailed through.

Initial hair and makeup storyboards for each designer are emailed through

First meeting with the three designers for Fashion Fringe - we talk through hair stories and ideas. Here are my notes and sketches from the meeting;

A clean forehead, with the front sleek, clean sides, and the front dropping slightly into the sides. Incorporate symmetrical shapes, higher towards the back. Create a rounded shape at the back (rugby ball shape). Keep the back rough, to look like the inside of tennis ball, with paint like strands covering it, so you can see through it. All blondes, all shapes the same size.

We talk about sculpted pieces, big hair ,fresh, middle partings, ponytails at the back, powder in the hair, heart shapes, and cone shapes. I suggest we make each girl an individual character, in the same story.

We discuss sculptural hair, with irregular, big, graphic shapes. Keep the finish the same, with soft loose flyaways. Futuristic, sleek back, quirkier and more sophisticated, curves, plastic finish.

Today is the first hair prep. With the first model Jessica, I worked on shape and new texture for Jade Kang. Just about finished, and Jessica faints! 

What a trooper, she recovers about twenty minutes later, and continued. Shape finished and photographed. Take hair out quickly, give Jessica a good scalp massage.

Second model Lynn arrives. Work on Jade Kang hair story, playing with different products and proportions.

Jessica's hair is now washed, so we start on rope coiled, raw wave idea for Jacob Kimmie show. Photograph for reference.

8 September 2010 

Receive photographs of Corrie Nielsen's collection, and a picture for general hair reference. Jessica models for me again; we're working on big hair today, with a historical reference but younger texture. I create really pliable texture that we can prep quickly backstage and mould in to different shapes. Finish and photograph for reference.

Start working on sculptural idea for Alice Palmer on my model Lynn. I'm liking the way it's going, so photograph for reference.

Continue working on Alice Palmer sculptural hair idea. The look is really developing now.

It's the first training session for the team. I show them rough outline of the looks, but nothing can be confirmed until I do the hair in front of the designers the day before the show.

Hair and makeup test with Alice, Corrie, and Jade. All the hair tests go really well the designers. They're very happy and excited, as it really brings everything together.

Rush to do Jacob Kimmie's show.   

Rush back to salon to brief my three appointed team leaders for Fashion Fringe; Bree Davie, Danie Casereas and Adele Simpkin. I let them know of any final hair decisions, with a step-by-step breakdown of each look.

Meet eight team m embers from L'Oréal and split them up in to the three teams. My team leaders brief them on looks, and how to do prep. I run about like crazy, going from team to team, pulling it all together. The team do an amazing job; we got 36 models ready in less than four hours - including one model who turns up 20 minutes before show time, with no hair or make up done, and with outfits still to be fitted, and she is in the big hair story... that's fashion week for you!

Check out all the looks from Fashion Fringe here...