'The Backstage' Throws Light on the Labor Behind the Glamour
Jakarta. Fabulosity comes with a price. Behind the glitz and glamour of top celebrities are people who devote their time and expertise to making them look perfect.
Among these people are fashion stylists. At a glimpse, their jobs seem to be fascinating, always rubbing elbows with the crème de la crème in luxurious social settings. Few people understand the hard work that goes into maintaining the public image of their clients.
One of Indonesia's up-and-coming fashion stylists is Caren Delano, who studied the art at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology and New York University in 2007. He graduated in 2011 and returned to Jakarta to launch his I Make You Look Fabulous styling business.
Within a couple of years, his clientele has grown from a few close friends to top Indonesian celebrities, including pop singer Agnes Monica, actress Chelsea Olivia, TV presenter Dave Hendrik and pop diva Krisdayanti.
On Wednesday (23/11), the fashion stylist presented unique photo exhibition "The Backstage," in the main atrium of Grand Indonesia, Central Jakarta.
"Very few people understand about my profession," said Caren during the press conference yesterday. "I want to showcase my works in this photo exhibition and get more people to understand and appreciate my profession."
The stylist teamed up with fashion photographer Glenn Prasetya for the exhibition.
“It's a very exciting project,” said the photographer. “We had only 10 days to take pictures of 86 Indonesian top artists. And we did it.”
According to Glenn, he took over 8,000 photographs of 86 Indonesian celebrities for the project.
“But in the end, we chose 50 of the best ones to display in the exhibition,” he said.
The pictures feature top artists in a studio setting which resembles a backstage area, equipped with dressing tables, lighted mirrors and scaffolding.
A small description beneath each picture details the names of the fashion designers, make-up artists and hairstylists that worked together for the look.
“These people [fashion designers, make-up artists, hairstylists], together with me, have worked really hard in creating the fabulous looks of these celebrities,” said Caren.
Among the celebrities portrayed in this photo exhibition are Indonesian presenters Becky Tumewu and Ivy Batuta. They pose together like sisters in one picture, both of them looking fabulous in evening gowns by Indonesian fashion designer Andreas Odang.
"It was so much fun," said Becky. "Caren switched us around with his styling, so that, in the picture, I look like Ivy and Ivy looks like me."
Indonesian diva Krisdayanti looks stunning in a sapphire blue gown by Fomalhaut Zamel in one of the pictures in the exhibition.
“Fashion stylists make my life a lot easier,” said Krisdayanti. “They always come up with great ideas to revamp my look. Some of them also act as my personal shopper as they know what would look best on me.”
These pictures are being displayed at the main atrium of Grand Indonesia, Central Jakarta, until Sunday, Nov 27.
“I dream to become like [famous Hollywood stylist] Rachel Zoe someday,” said Caren. “I want to dress a lot of Indonesian celebrities for red carpet events.”
The fashion stylist plans to open a studio offering personal and corporate fashion styling services in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, in mid-January.
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