Much like a trio of superheroes (in really great shoes), the ladies of local styling team Eclecticoiffeur come to the rescue all over the metro, working tirelessly to bring avant-garde hairstyling talents, cutting-edge makeup and a unique stamp of styling (like pantyhose OVER patent booties) to runway shows and photo shoots. Among their résumé credits are fashion shows by local designers like Laura Fulk, photo shoots for Vita.mn and other various publications, and helming the styling at MinneapolisâÄô annual spring fashion event, Voltage: Fashion Amplified. Makeup artist Di Medlock, hairstylist Kelsy Osterman and fashion stylist Jahna Peloquin recently chatted with A&E about their day-to-day life as the three-piece styling collective. How did you three meet? Peloquin: Di and Kelsy had met years ago, but the three of us got together through the Fresh Face Showcase fashion show back in 2004. We didnâÄôt work together closely until we did our first photo shoot together a year later, and six months later we came up with the name Eclecticoiffeur over a bottle of wine and MySpace. When did you start your respective careers? Medlock: For me, the passion was always there, but the career came later. I started out with middle school plays and musical productions. Then I kept on with proms and formals in high school and college. Soon enough I was working on all of my friends before going out. I liked it. It was never boring. So I dropped out of WSU and started at the Aveda Institute, hooked up with Kelsy and started working fashion shows. Peloquin: My mom was an artist and my dad was a chef, so I was exposed to arts and culture at a young age. At the same time, I grew up in a small town, so needed a lot of creative projects to keep me busy âÄî like dance, art, theater and music. Fashion came much later, but I like to think it was inspired by all those different art forms. Osterman: I started in a fashion program at the U of M. Then sitting behind the desk scared the crap out of me, so I wanted to get out from behind a desk but still wanted to be creative and still be in the fashion world. What was your first big job as a team? Medlock: It was the third or fourth year of production on Fresh Face when we finally got the âÄúcreative teamâÄù credit. Kelsy, Jahna, Laura Boland and I were all running our own teams by then. That was a really big step for all of us. ThatâÄôs about the time we formed the collective and branched out on our own. WhatâÄôs a typical workday in the life of Eclecticoiffeur? Medlock: There is no such thing as a typical day. You never know what is going to happen. Peloquin: We all have our own day jobs and side gigs that keep us pretty busy. Because of the limited amount of time we can devote to it, the projects we do with Eclecticoiffeur end up being the ones weâÄôre most inspired about and are most proud to put in our book. Medlock: Shooting days are the most fun: coffee runs, setup and prep, mood-music wars, spontaneous dancing, hurry-up-and-wait, loading and unloading, posing direction and problem solving, some revisions and review. WeâÄôve all been around one another on set for so long itâÄôs like clockwork. We all know what the other wants and what we need. How long do you prepare for a huge event like Voltage? How many stylists work under you? Medlock: About nine months, but weâÄôre just one part of the process. Our contribution doesnâÄôt literally require that much time, but all of the other pieces need to be in place before we can get started. Peloquin: ItâÄôs a lot of organizational work. For me, itâÄôs working with the art director to plan the direction for the Look Book, planning the order of show, getting sponsorships for styling supplies, the selection of accessories and designers and pairing them with runway designers, and putting a team of five fashion stylists together to add the finishing touches. Medlock: For hair and makeup, it depends on the event. For Voltage, I like to have anywhere from 10 to 13 artists, and at least twice as many hair stylists. How do you keep your machine so well-oiled? Medlock: WeâÄôve had a long time together to work out the kinks. We hit walls and hear âÄúnoâÄù all the time, but itâÄôs all about finding a way around those blocks. Osterman: Obviously communication. I think weâÄôve done a really good job of keeping our friendship and our work relationship separate. I really think weâÄôve stayed together so long because the creative process of three people coming together and the end result. What do you love about the Twin Cities fashion scene? What would you like to see change? Peloquin: The arts, music, theater and fashion communities are so independently strong yet interconnected. All of my friends somehow have their hands in something, and IâÄôm constantly inspired by them. When you have so many people to constantly collaborate with, it makes it hard to imagine being anywhere else. Medlock: Minneapolis is a totally under-appreciated city. There are so many talented artists here. If I could change one thing here, I would stop all of the huge Minnesota companies from outsourcing talent and get everyone a paycheck! Who are your favorite designers to work with? Medlock: I love Kerry Riley (Red Shoe Clothing) for her personal flavor she puts on everything she makes. I can spot one of her dresses from a mile away. RaâÄômon-Lawrence Coleman for being so tough on himself that it rubs off on you. Laura Fulk for the larger-than-life grandeur and the finale headdress she made for Voltage two years ago. Katy Gerdes and her hand-dipped, beautifully draped cotton jersey dresses. Calpurnia Peach for their âÄúPeter PanâÄù and âÄúWhere the Wild Things AreâÄù collections. And Amanda Christine for her palate and ability to adapt a pattern 10,000 ways. Peloquin: I can only add Max Lohrbach and Ivan Idland. Both of them are from another time and put an amazing amount of history and craft into everything they create. For more with the ladies of Eclecticoiffeur, visit the A&E Blog.