Hair & Fashion Battle Fundraiser 2012

2012-08-01T07:29:00Z

The 2012 Hair & Fashion Battle Fundraiser was held at the Sacramento Scottish Rite Masonic Center on Saturday.

The competition serves as a fundraiser for the Roberts Family Development Center. The center provides services to families with children facing challenges in school and to families who have a desire to improve their existing circumstances.

This fundraiser helps set up scholarships for deserving children and allows them to participate in fun, recreational activities year-round and hands-on education.

The annual competition showcases innovative hair and fashion styles and designs and brings them to the runway. Cash and other prizes are awarded to the top salon and designers and raffle prizes, donated by the many sponsors of the show, are given away throughout the show.

The Hair & Fashion Battle Fundraiser was presented by A Berry Special Event. The all-in-one wedding and event planning service provider can supply everything needed for a successful event. Decorations, planning, designs, florist service, equipment rentals and DJ services are just a few of the personalized services they provide.

The Hair & Fashion Battle Fundraiser featured celebrity guest Jackie Christie, also known as the wife of former Sacramento Kings player, Doug Christie. Looking quite ravishing, Jackie Christie was a gracious host, introducing the salons and designers as they took the stage and announcing raffle winners during breaks. Throughout the event Christie’s comments were pleasant and encouraging. Christie will soon be starting her second season in Basketball Wives LA.

A few hours before the Hair Battle a casting call for the Jackie Christie Fashion Line took place. Models selected from the casting, administered by Magnum Opus, will walk in a future Jackie Christie Line runway show.

The 2012 theme of “Past, Present, Future" gave each designer and salon an opportunity to showcase their many talents and visitors to the event waited in anticipation. Fashion was not restricted to the stage as several guests showed up in stylish outfits. Vendors at the event also shared their fashionable goods and services and allowed guests the opportunity to network with each other and the showcased businesses.

Salons, models, vendors, photographers, entertainers and designers were on hand hours before the show. Preparation for the event had started months in advance and continued until the last minute before the competition began. Before the event most of the salons and designers prepared backstage. Others came to the battle ready to go except for a few last minute changes.

I took time to speak with one of the salons that was getting ready for the event. The large group worked on elaborate makeup and practiced their runway walk.

The collaboration of Bernae’s International Academy (BIA) and Transformations Makeup Institute won the Salon 2011 competition. Carnette Burnett, Yolanda Gibson and Ginger Wong talked about their strategy and last year’s event.

“…We’re actually the reigning winners, the champs. We were last year’s champs and we’re back to defend our title,” Burnett said.

BIA and Transformations partnered for the event and worked well together. Last year was the first year of the event and the partnership won Best Hair, Best Makeup and Best Models.

Burnett followed up saying, “We don’t really know who the competition is this year. We just go into these things because it’s a lot of fun for all of us.”

BIA The Salon is owned by Carnette and Maurice Burnett. They are located at 1320 20th Street in Sacramento. Burnett said they have been at their current location for the past 10 years and have been in business for 28 years.

“We were surprised as to how many awards we won last year,” Burnett noted. “We were excited we won but we took nothing for granted. When we do a competition like this we do two to three months planning for the show.”

When asked about this year’s expectations Wong said, “I think we’ve won just by doing this and being involved.”

Burnett followed saying, “We love the camaraderie with Transformations and BIA.”

After winning last year’s event BIA and Transformations were asked by Channel 10 to bring extreme makeup and signed a contract to do hair and make-up for the station for a year. The competition helped bring the teams to the attention of a lot of people.

The first half of this year’s show brought four teams to the stage. Salons and designers took turns taking the stage. Jacks Hair Shop, Hair by Darlene with stylist Darlene Ragan was the first salon to participate. Tailand Designs by Latiya Gholar-Abdullah represented the first designer in the battle. The Cleo Cartel Hair Concept salon with stylist Cleo Cartel and designs by Jewlz by Tonya Felish showcased their wonderful creations as well. An entertaining show by Salons Within with stylists Andrea Avilla and Christa Fisher closed the first half.

A performance by the RTB Dance Group followed the intermission break.

Magnificent designs from Electrik by Eshonna Trice began the second half of the Hair Battle. Stylist Madrid Johnson also brought his Madrid’s International salon to the battle. Madrid International was another salon that thoroughly entertained spectators.

Designer Faatui Toele, last year’s design winner, brought his 2WEE collection to the stage in the second half, and the final contestant for the event was the BIA and Transformations team. The team impressed the audience and judges as they tried to retain their title.

The five judges for the event gave their thoughts at the end of each designer and salon presentation. The judges were at times brutally honest and each judge spoke after each showing.

Judges for the event were makeup artist Eddie Clark; hair stylist and makeup artist Sidney Lee; fashion photographer Tom Huynh; Bay Fashion Magazine, Volo and Haute Couture Magazine publisher Shankha Goswami; and fashion designer Rory Castillo.

After all the performances and fanfare, the BIA and Transformations and 2WEE designs held their titles and were proclaimed the winners of this year’s Hair & Fashion Battle Fundraiser.

After the show I again approached the BIA and Transformations team to get their thoughts on the evening’s event.

“I felt that all the hard work, planning and the partnership of the two teams, BIA and Transformations is always a winning combination whether we win or not, because it’s all about the process,” Wong said.

When asked if they would return to once again defend their title Wong stated, “Absolutely! You know what? I’m really proud of all the talent and I know how hard this industry, the beauty industry is, and I commend everybody for giving their extra time in addition to earning a living to do all the work that it takes to do something like this. Best wishes to everybody.”

A Berry Special Event owner Marlett Berry put together a wonderful show that brought many northern California fashionistas together for an entertaining show. The collaboration between designers, models, style and community vendors, photographers, salons and many other groups provided a great fashion venue.

The Hair & Fashion Battle Fundraiser showcased the marvelous salon and design talents of Sacramento and surrounding areas and benefited the Roberts Family Development Center. The addition of Jackie Christie to this year’s event gave the battle more credence and prominence.

Disclosure: I served as one of the Official Show Photographers for the Hair & Fashion Battle Fundraiser

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Hair & Fashion Battle Fundraiser 2012