One of the top models of NZ Fashion Week 2019, Ch’lita Collins walked in shows for Kate Sylvester, Paris Georgia, Benjamin Alexander, Stolen Girlfriends Club and Zambesi. We asked the model, fashion student and beauty fan to take us through her day in beauty, during a day of NZFW.
5:45 am … Wake up and check messages and emails. I drank a bottle of Champagne last night at the Paris Georgia after party (I walked in their show) and I’m not feeling too cute, so I chug a bottle of water.
6am … Cleanse with Bioderma Micellar Water and apply COSRX snail cream. I washed Paris Georgia’s show hair and makeup off before I went to bed…which was about five hours ago.
Today I’m walking for my friend Benjamin Alexander’s first ever fashion show. I’m dressing for comfort and warmth; something that’s easy to take off for a quick change with minimal makeup smearing. I wear a singlet under a Y-3 Hoodie, Yohji Yamamoto coat, Stolen Girlfriends Club bleached jeans and Rick Owens sneakers, and my last pair of nude undies.
6:30am … Leave the house and head to the location for Ben’s show; luckily it’s an 11 minute walk away from my apartment. I stop for a coffee on the way.
6:45am … Sit around the snack table backstage, get my nails painted and say hi to my friends who are also modelling in the show.
7:30am … I get my hair and makeup done. The hair look is a sort of “just got out of the ocean” vibe, and the makeup is natural skin with a holographic eyeliner.
9:30am … Show time! I have the pleasure of opening the show – my look is a tan high-neck dress with gathered shoulders and big sleeves, with a black scrappy top styled on top and a black beret, plus shoes from his new collaboration with Mi Piaci. The set for the show was very reminiscent of old couture shows and it’s so glam. Benjamin reminds me of a beautiful young Yves Saint Laurent.
10:30am … I sit on a bench in Britomart near the venue, and let the post show high hit me.
12pm … I get home and shower, washing out the hair styling from the BA show. I do an Aztec Secret’s Healing Clay Mask because my skin is really taking a beating from all the makeup I’ve had done throughout the week. While the mask dries, I type out my essay which is due tomorrow. Pray for me.
12:30pm … I put on a load of washing to avoid doing my essay.
12:45pm … I send my tutor an email begging for an extension.
1pm … My extension is granted and I set a timer for 15 minutes; close my eyes and fall asleep.
6:30pm … I wake up because someone is calling me. I see the time and realise it’s my call time for tonight’s Stolen Girlfriends Club show… I still have product in my hair from the Benjamin Alexander show that I can’t seem to wash out. I don’t have time to even think about what I’m wearing, so I throw on a white slip dress, Rick Owens bolero and Stolen Girlfriends Club oversized sweatshirt with my Yohji coat and Ann Demeulemeester heeled boots.
Watch: Ch’lita walk in the Benjamin Alexander show at NZ Fashion Week
7pm … I arrive at the SGC venue at Avondale Racecourse. Nobody realises I’m late and I jump straight into hair and makeup. I apologise for my dirty hair, but the hair team, led by Michael Beel, says it’s perfect for the look tonight – described as “oily roots but dry ends”. I eat some pizza and a Red Bull while I get my hair done.
The eye makeup is Cleopatra vibes, with bare skin – after my makeup’s done, my friend Rob Tennent yells “OKAY MILEY CYRUS” at me.
My look for the show is red PVC pants, a cropped knit jumper and a men’s red studded leather jacket. I requested it from the show’s stylists Dylan and Seb because I knew it was an outdoor show at night and I wanted to be warm, lol.
I practice what kind of walk I’m planning to do for the show, my posture and the character I have in mind for when I walk the runway.
8:45pm … The show starts and everything is kind of a blur. I hear people screaming my name when I strut down the runway. There are barrels on fire in the middle of the runway; for the finale, water rains down on us.
10pm … The after party starts. I’m wearing my Alexander Wang little white slip dress with my Rick Owens black knit bolero, knee-high socks and Ann Demeulemeester boots.
12am … My friend Jessie, of the brand Yu Mei, and I get a cab back to her Airbnb and we eat McDonald’s. I have a bath, make a sad attempt at washing all the product out of my hair again then fall into a deep slumber.
