Style Stage’s Headhunter College Tour: New York

After Miami and Tampa we took our search for two Headhunter hosts to New York City, parking the tour bus at edge of Washington Square Park, just outside NYU. Touring is tiring, but what’s harder is trying to find two hosts that really know their stuff when it comes to music and style, not mention the ability to communicate all this on camera. We’ll be sending a guy and a girl on the road this summer to talk to festival goers about music, hair, and style, and that basically means the hosts have to be natural, knowledgeable, and charming. Essentially, they have to be an obscenely awesome couple of people. Luckily, once we arrived the bus was swamped applicants.

People tend to migrate to New York because there’s this notion that once in the city you can be whoever you want to be and dress however you want to dress. It's a cliché because it's pretty much true. We saw one guy dressed like a Jedi and instead of shoes, he wore a pair of plastic bear feet. Sure. Preppy kids lined up next to girls who idolized Gwen Stefani, and the theater students were absolutely everywhere. There was even a dude who mid-jog, decided to get his hair done, before attempting to woo the camera. Ballsy move. But then, you have to be ballsy to do this gig justice.

Here are a few of the New York auditionees.

Name: Daryl Oh
Age: 21
Area of Study: Photography
Music Icon: It’s usually between Blondie, Gwen Stefani, and Solange. It just depends on what kind of mood I’m in when I wake up in the morning.
Do you think music and style go hand-in-hand?
Music and style have always gone together for me. I’m from Maryland and I used to go out in Baltimore which is where I found out about Rye Rye and M.I.A. They introduced me to street style back in 2007.

Name: Victoria Gill
Age: 21
Area of Study: Global Liberal Studies
Music Icon: Azealia Banks
What’s up with your hair?
I dyed my hair a bunch of shades of purple and then I went to the Bahamas for spring break and it turned ombre on its own. I basically wanted to look like a mermaid seapunk—I grew up on the island of Guam. Being in college gives you an excuse to dress how you like, especially living here in the city. I love wearing my mom’s old clothes and sentimental trinkets from my travels.

Name: William Davis
Age: 19
Area of Study: Theater
Music Icon: The Avett Brothers, I saw them on New Year’s and they all came out in white suits.
Why would you be good as the host of Headhunter?
I have such a fascination with all different kinds of styles and all different kinds of music. I like observing why people decide to present themselves a certain way. A music festival is the perfect place to look at that!

Name: Abby Awe
Age: 19
Area of Study: Acting
Music Icon: I love menswear, that whole Americana look, like the Avett Brothers and even Mumford and Sons!
Why would you be good as the host of Headhunter?
I love people and fashion and music festivals. I went to Firefly for the first time and it was the best weekend of my life! I love getting people excited and being in front of crowds—I am here for acting after all—so that’s something I like to do!

Matt McLean
Age: 18
Area of Study: Acting
Music Icon: Lady Gaga, I love her shock value aspect and I feel like I try and embody that everywhere I go. I also really like Marina and the Diamonds because I feel like she has that funky, spunky pop edge.
Do you think music and style go hand-in-hand?
Musical tastes totally influence people’s styles. You can see that in people walking around all the time. Music from different eras affects that too. Like Lady Gaga is a really big proponent of pop art and that era of culture. I think that comes through in her style and her music too.

Name: Harley Pace-Rodriguez
Age: 18
Area of Study: Acting
Music Icon: Kate Hudson in Almost Famous. I also love David Bowie, glam rock, glitter, and the extravagance of the clothes they used to wear and how androgynous and cutting edge it was.
Do you think a live music event is a great place to check out emerging style trends?
Music has always been my life. It’s so important to go out and see music because that’s where the most creative things happen. Now we have the internet and iTunes and there’s this block, whereas in the 70s and 80s we were able to go out and experience music. Now there’s this divide and we should break it. It’s great to have young people represent that and show the rest of the kids what’s current.

If you think you'd make a great Headhunter host submit your online entry to Noisey.com/Headhunter before April 30. This is also where you can see the students you’re against. And by the way, it doesn’t matter if you’re graduating this summer—just apply. Follow the search on Twitter #StyleStage. The winners will be announced in May.

Style Stage is an ongoing partnership between Noisey & Garnier Fructis celebrating music, hair, and style.