SPASIFIK Beautylicious columnist Nathan Kake spent four days with British style gurus Trinny Woodhall and Susannah Constantine from the smash hit series What Not to Wear and Trinny & Susannah Undress the Nation. Nathan was the make up artist and hairstylist for the pair when in New Zealand for styling sessions at Westfield shopping centres to help customers dress with confidence for their shape and size.
Introduction
I’ve been fortunate to have met and worked with a lot of international celebrities. My attitude is not to go in all gung ho and talk too much. They have a lot to do within very tight schedules, so you don’t want to be in their face. I let them come to me when they’re ready. I find a lot people from overseas are really interested in Maori culture and I find that’s my little secret to get in there, to tell them something they don’t know a lot about.
These days I try not to put too much emphasis on what I think they’re going to be like before actually meeting them. You tend to be disappointed once you do. But after spending four full-on days with Trinny and Susannah, they are definitely the real deal.
We first met at their apartment at the Penthouse Suite Sky City Centre. Trinny came out first, with not an ounce of make up on and her hair pulled back. The girl is gorgeous, absolutely stunning.
Susannah followed. She was gorgeous, too, as well as funny. She instantly felt like the kind of girl you want to hug.
Trinny’s style
Trinny is very particular in what she wants. She knows her face, she knows her style and that’s it. A bit of a bossy bugger (laughs), a bit of a control freak, but bang on because she was totally right about what she wanted to have done. I don’t mind someone who’s sure of what her needs and wants are, as long as they’re correct. She was. She has gorgeous hair and loves to get it blow dried straight, not fuzzy. Pacific girls will know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t blow dried it properly, the whole thing pops out like candy floss. She has a beautiful face, one that was a joy to make up.
Trinny has the best wardrobe I’ve ever seen. I think every outfit she wore was no less than $5000 a day. She was very, very stylish. Everything she tried on she looked amazing in. She’s beautiful, got long limbs and small boobs, and she fits things well. She’s got a model-esque body type, but she’s not arrogant with it.
Susannah’s style
She couldn’t care less about what I did with her hair and make-up. You felt that she knew that I knew what I was doing, and she was easy. Susannah has a real athletic figure. She’s quite muscley, and remember she’s had three kids. The girls work out, mostly for the mind, not the image. Susannah’s not a slave to fashion, whereas Trinny just loves it. On a day off, Trinny will go out during a day to look for an outfit to buy. I’m sure Susannah would rather stick needles in her eyes! Susannah and I really hit it off. We’re friends and she has already invited me to London. Really looking forward to it.
The two in action
I often think of television as a network creating a show and then bringing in talent to front it. These two girls are not anything like that. They so believe in what they do and are so good at it. When talking to women and telling them what they should or shouldn’t wear, they’re fast. They were very precise and bang on every time. I’d never seen that before.
And they’d stop nearly every time with the public, who would call out to ask them their thoughts on what they were wearing. Whether walking down the street or getting in and out of a car, they’d stop, look and tell them. They’d do it in a way where you didn’t think you were bothering them. On television they may come across as being quite harsh, but they’re so not like that. Being as close as I was to them for four full days I would have noticed.
Working with Kerre Woodham
Kerre was fabulous. She basically held the whole thing together and would go on stage first, introduce herself and get the crowd really warmed up.
She didn’t have to be on stage until the second day, so she arrived on the first day with no make up, and looking very casual with her hair like a fuzzball. So when we introduced her to Trinny and Susannah, they didn’t take much notice. They thought she was just part of the team. The next day, after I did Kerre’s hair and she came in, Trinny turned around, and said ‘Kerre? Oh my God, you look amazing!’
Susannah said ‘You look fantastic’, which Trinny added; ‘Yeah, because you looked like a bag of s&*% yesterday. That fuzzy hair was not good and Nathan has done magic.’
Kerre asked them what they thought of her outfit. Susannah said ‘Love the dress, hate the shoes. Strapping heals with thick ankles is a no-no.’
We’re famous!
Kerre was in the car with me and we were running late to get from one venue on the North Shore to the next. A police escort was called and here Kerre and I were, with this escort and a convoy behind us. We felt like we were teenage pop stars, or maybe Posh and Becks - Victoria and David Beckham. It was all very exciting.
Advice on Not What to Wear
Black
Trinny and Susannah thought New Zealand girls wore way too much black. I agree, we are a black driven-dressed country, but I defended that by saying that because we can face four seasons in one day, black is the most adaptable colour. People also think wearing black makes you look slimmer and gives colour to your skin. They are adamant it doesn’t. The pair say it’s going to drain the colour out of your skin. You’ll actually look tired, and very heavy. To them, black is an awful colour, especially if you’ve got pale skin. And if you wear black and it’s not in the right shape, it’s going make you look round, more solid. So girls, get out of the black.
Bad bras
Our women have the wrong bras. You need to get into a store and get your boobs measured properly. Bad bras can result in sore backs, with the bra straps cutting into them. You often see it through their clothes. It looks like rolled roast you have for dinner.
You may have the right cup size for your breast, but not the right band width around your back. Go into one of the main shopping centres and ask if you can get your boobs sized. Don’t feel uncomfortable about it, as I know many Maori and Pacific women do. You’re shy and like to hide. But for the girls working in those stores, that’s their job. I remember being in Sydney with my sister and I could tell she didn’t have the right bra size, so I took her into a place at Bondi Junction. She said afterwards it was like getting a new pair of shoes she can wear every day. The comfort and movement was great and she couldn’t believe she put up with wondering around for 10 years all uncomfortable and itchy.
Buy the book
You know the TV series. You should also grab the book Trinny and Susannah – The Body Shape Bible. It covers every body shape in New Zealand and it’ll give you a lot more information about how to dress yourself. As I said before, these girls are the real deal. And I should know.
