David Sepulveda Photos
For several hours on Friday evening, the scene outside a new Westville salon could have been mistaken for any trendy New York nightspot.
Pure Platinum, LLC, a new Westville Village business located in the Lesley Roy Home Couture building, bills itself as “a fun, creative, and trendy salon.” True to their billing, the salon, with its stylish slender footprint at 845 Whalley Ave., held its grand opening extravaganza Friday evening. Inside, guests and well-wishers were thrilled by remarkable transformations of body and spirit shaped by the hands and hearts of Pure Platinum staff.
Pure Platinum personnel hosted a special two-tiered fashion show for cancer patients in an adjoining space donated by Ms. Roy, that drew both tears and enthusiastic responses from the packed house.
Business owner Vicki Frenzel brought together five cancer patients and their nurses from the Griffin Hospital Cancer Unit in Derby, and other Connecticut areas for complete makeovers. The transformations included hair, make-up, “prêt-à-porter” or ready-to-wear imported and American fashions and accessories, provided by Yurway Boutique of New Haven. Fashion photography was provided, gratis, by professional photographer Steve Blazo who also assisted with lighting and some stagecraft.
As the show started, patients and nurses began their runway walks holding large “before” head shots to obscure their faces until reaching their runway marks. Then, with purposeful, triumphant gestures, the models tore the photos in half to reveal the dramatic metamorphosis. The symbolic statements took on even more meaning as salon manager Kayte Bachyrycz (pictured), read moving introductions and tributes written by friends and family members.
Fresh from her chemotherapy treatment only two days earlier, Seymour teacher Roseanne Thornton, who has wrestled with three different forms of cancer, was excited to be out on the town. “Tonight,” she exclaimed, “I have eyebrows!”
Cancer patient Ruthann Pawlyk lauded Griffin Hospital staff. She said they show concern for the emotional as well as the physical needs of the patient. “With so much negative news,” she said, “it’s heartwarming to know people still care.”
Another patient, Lucille Robillard, said the process of being made-over was a great pick-me-up; “I feel pretty — you had to see the before,” she quipped.
Jennifer Thomas, the youngest of the patients said, “you feel pretty again, after having lost your hair.” Showing off her natural looking wig with subtle highlights, Thomas said she was impressed that salon owner Vicki Frenzel took time out of her busy schedule to personally style her wig. “She never charges patients to style their wigs,” said manager Bachyrycz, explaining that Frenzel has had an ongoing commitment to serving cancer patients.
The idea of having make-overs as part of the grand opening was inspired by Bachyrycz, whose mother had been a cancer patient at Griffin Hospital and who was appreciative of the excellent care and empathy displayed by hospital staff. During frequent hospital visits, she formed friendships with staff and thought the show would be a great way to express gratitude and give a lift to cancer patients. The grand opening event represents the kind of outreach and community involvement the salon will revisit, according to Bachyrycz, perhaps with a follow-up Mother’s Day makeover nomination event.
For Chris Heitmann, Westville Village Renaissance Alliance (WVRA) Executive Director, the arrival of the high-fashion salon aligns with WVRA goals and with the family of Westville businesses that already serve the greater community. He cited a new, as-yet-unreleased report by the Connecticut Main Street Center, a non-profit organization that serves as a resource to WVRA and other “main street” districts’ revitalization efforts around the state. Heitmann said the report recommends maintaining and attracting complementary business clusters, a goal which is helped by the arrival of Pure Platinum.
“With Soho Hair Group, Odeon, Authentic Beauty & Body, Simonae Boutique, Fiana’s Hair Design, Continental Moda, and the soon-to-open Rodrick Gilchrist Design Studio, Pure Platinum builds on Westville’s fashion and style cluster which, in turn, helps support other business clusters including restaurants, antique shops, and art galleries. It is a welcomed development and positive sign of the growth and vitality we strive to promote throughout the Village,” he said.
Following the make-over celebration, a fifteen-model, high-fashion show displayed the considerable talents of Pure Platinum staff. In addition to providing hair and make-up design, the versatile stylists designed and fabricated the outfits worn by the models.
From behind a bank of back-lit translucent doors, silhouetted dancing figures emerged through individual doors, with a dazzling array of hair, make-up and fashion creations.
“My team is unbelievable” said a proud Frenzel who seemed reluctant to take credit for herself. “We work as a family.” Bachyrycz underscored that notion and said the salon staff, who form a tight-knit unit, also strive to create a culture of friendship and trust with their customers to better understand their fashion and style needs.
After the Pure Platinum fashion show, models mingled with guests for some voguing, dancing and lounging, and occasionally struck poses for appreciative photographers. A beaming Janel Waterhouse, was succinct in her assessment of the evening’s event: “Westville is rockin’- it’s the new center of the universe!” said the jubilant Westville resident.