Eclectic Shades Magazine June Issue 2018 | Page 8

Chris Clark

Designer Danny Flawless

Chris Clark: Please tell our readers a little bit about you, where you’re from and how you got started in the industry.

DF: I am a makeup artist and hairstylist who loves all things related to beauty. I am a born and raised New Yorker with over fifteen years of experience in this industry. New York has really infused itself into my aesthetic and has afforded me a wide variety of unique experiences. In addition, I lived in London for a few years and traveled often, which also helped to widen my horizon in this vast beauty industry. I moved to Austin two years ago with my husband and have been working to build my career here now. My husband has supported me in my quest to move forward in this industry, transforming my passion from a hobby to a fully developed career that I was good at. So I decided to take his advice tackled it head on. Shortly thereafter I landed my first fashion show with Calvin Klein and my first campaign with Donna Karen.

Chris Clark: You were recently a part of RAW ATX, how did you come to take part in this production?

DF: Raw Natural Born Artists is an organization that supports local independent artists in over 60 cities throughout the United States and Europe, Austin being one of those cities. The organizers scouted me through Instagram. This past year I decided, based on the advice of a colleague, to create a second Instagram account devoted solely to showcasing my work. I became aggressive about promoting myself, my work, and passion for what I do. It paid off because RAW took notice and invited me to take part in the RAW ATX Showcase.

Chris Clark: You presented some pretty amazing looks at the RAW event. What can you share about the production of these pieces? How did you prepare?

DF: Thank You! It was so much fun bringing these creations to life. The process was not a stress-free process, by any means, but I knew the end result would be worth all the long hours. I needed to keep them as lightweight as possible so I chose Styrofoam as my base material. I used wooden dowels to give the pieces a stronger foundation. Each completed piece had at least ten bags of hair as well as countless Sorosky Crystals. It definitely was a creative journey and I was still making adjustments moments before ShowTime.

Chris Clark: How long approximately did it take for each look to prepare.

DF: Each piece took over a week and a half to create and too many hours to count. The preparation for each model the day of the show took at least two hours per model. The Sun Goddess model was the most challenging both in creation and in preparing the model.

Chris Clark: What kind of feedback did you get from the crowd during and after your presentation? What was the overall response? And how did you feel about their reactions?

DF: I am still coming down from the high of that night! The overall response was absolutely amazing. The applause and volume from the