Local hairstylist Stephanie Agneta packed her bags and flew to Paris on Saturday with the plan to display her work at Paris Fashion Week.
Unfortunately, Agneta didn’t make it to the fashion week runway.
“I’m really disappointed about what happened,” she said.
“It was definitely the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced,” Agneta said. “The worst part of it was that I should have never left Logan Airport.”
Her passport was invalid because it was flagged at the airport in France as lost or stolen, she said.
“‘You’re being deported,’ Agneta recalls being told by an officer. “I immediately started crying.”
She was then placed in a holding cell — “gray concrete room with a glass door” — for seven to eight hours before traveling home, she said.
At only 28 years old, Agneta recently celebrated her 10-year anniversary co-owning Salon CC on Bourbon Street with her mother, Rochelle. She graduated from Peabody Veterans Memorial High School with her cosmetology license and went into business with her mom as a graduation gift.
“I graduated with my license, and my mom said, ‘Do you want a party, a car, or do you want to go into business together?’ And I said, ‘Well, long-term, I think going into business together is the right move,’” Agneta said. Her mom manages the business end of the salon, while she manages the salon itself, which offers hair, nail, skin care and various other self-care and beautification services.
Outside of the salon, Agneta has worked on the sets of small movie productions for colleges and traveled for New York Fashion Week. She spends time as an educator for other stylists, specializing in wigs, hair extensions and DESIGNME Hair products. She is also a social media influencer and posts photos and videos of her work on her Instagram account, @littlesalonmagic.
Agneta had been one of three stylists asked to create a piece of avant-garde work — experimental and wearable — for a model on the runway at Paris Fashion Week. She was planning to accompany the model wearing her artwork as they walked down the runway together.
“I never thought I would get to do something like that,” she said.
She said she built the hair piece with hot glue, pipe cleaners and synthetic hair, all in two days. “It’s like a big hair crown.” It is inspired by singer/songwriter Melanie Martinez’s style.
Agneta said she was recruited by a production company, The Lab, for New York Fashion Week two years ago and was asked again to be at Paris Fashion Week.
“After New York, I gained a lot more confidence in myself and my business, and I want to share that with my team,” she said. “I’m still learning. I don’t think there’s ever an end. You’re always going to grow, and you’re always going to change.”
Whether you find her at Salon CC or see pictures of her walking down the runway next to a model at Paris Fashion Week, Agneta has a smile on her face. Despite the setback at the airport, she plans to move forward in a positive way.
“I just want to spread more magic and sparkles,” she said.
Her plan is to host a Peabody Fashion Show with local businesses in Peabody and surrounding communities, Agneta said.
“I want to hype up other small businesses,” she said. “We’re all creative, and we all have something to offer, and we all can bring our talents to the table.”
She said she wants to use her positive experience at New York Fashion Week and preparation for Paris Fashion Week to help the younger generation experience something similar.
“I want to get those real people together and show that we’re a great society,” she said.
She said she is looking for anyone to help put together a fashion show for fall 2025, including models, designers, photographers, or anyone else to help with the project.
“After what happened to me, I just want to live life and make people happy and smile,” Agneta said.
