When women imagine their dream wedding dress, they don't exactly invision a design made of newspaper, but so it was last week during a unique fashion show at the North Haven Academy, a Paul Mitchell partner school.

Students at the academy, the first cosmetology school in Connecticut, worked with more than 40 North Haven High School students taking the fashion merchandising class, to put together a red carpet show on Dec. 18.

An actual red carpet lined the hallway leading to a classroom at the back of the academy, located at 97 Washington Ave., where the Paul Mitchell students were hard at work doing the hair and makeup of the high school kids. The room buzzed with streaming music, and the excited chatter of all involved. North Haven's high schoolers, both male and female, eagerly provided a blank canvas from which the academy's students used their skills to transform them for the show.

The event was the result of a partnership between both schools. This is the second year North Haven High School students took the field trip to the academy. The event serves as a creative class for those at the academy, a chance to utilize what they've learned so far and expand it by experimenting with texture in hair and fabric. For the high school students, who take the fashion merchandising class for one semester, the visit becomes an opportunity to see various aspects of the industry at work, and discover the hidden gem that teaches it right in their own community.

The high school course focuses on a career within the fashion industry, said Annie Haynes, instructor and Career Education Program Coordinator at the high school. The class is part of the Business Education Department, and provides students with a study of retail merchandising in the fashion industry, with focuses on fashion design, promotion, buying, advertising and more.

"This was a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn about the technical parts of the hair and cosmetology fields," Haynes said.

Bob Iverson, a career resource aid at the high school, said the event with North Haven Academy expands the students' knowledge of the industry.

"There are other components to this - the chemistry of it, and marketing," Iverson said. "They see that this is not simply a place where you learn how to cut hair, but you learn how to present yourself, and you gain that confidence."

"Whether they decide to go to this school or move on to something else, it has been a great experience for them," Iverson said.

Alessandra Daniele, a North Haven High School senior, said she enjoys doing hair and makeup, and has learned a lot from taking the class. Currently, students are doing project work on various designers.

Daniele said participating in the fashion show with academy students was inspiring. "It shows you that this is something you can do if you really want to."

The North Haven Academy is a 1,500 hour program, and currently has about 200 students enrolled. The school offers a salon-like atmosphere in addition to its manny classrooms, resource rooms, a color bar, and cafeteria. Students spend the first six weeks in the core program, said academy director Laura Landino, and then have the opportunity to apply and interview for positions that work directly with customers. In addition to learning their craft, students learn how to effectively market themselves, as well as exemplary customer service.

"They learn all the avenues to make them successful in the workplace," Landino said.

For more information visit www.northhavenacademy.com or call (203) 985-0222.