A riot of color may have engulfed the clothes on the runway, but most New York Fashion Week designers opted for über-minimal makeup. Lash overload and lip color were largely absent. For next spring, barely-there base is de rigueur.
MAC Cosmetics’ Tom Pecheux used the US cosmetics giant’s face and body foundation, keeping lips nude and fingerpainting lids with the subtlest dab of pastel shadow. At the Joseph Altuzarra show, the no makeup look was inspired by “Catherine Deneuve in 1975 meeting Mr. Yves Saint Laurent.”
In the same vein, skin-kind mineral powder foundations are gaining ground on the runway. MAC Mineralize satin finish is a backstage favorite, while American women in the US “go crazy for” Bareminerals’ best-selling “ultra-pure, loose foundation,” claims Marie Claire UK magazine.
Chiseled cheeks cropped up at the Victoria Beckham show, where Diane Kendal sought to create a natural face using two-tone blush. Makeup artist Dick Page for Marc by Marc Jacobs drew inspiration from the models in the secondhand-inspired clothes, because they looked so “cool and fun.” A really basic look was achieved with a hint of powder and no trace of bronzer, says Page.
“I wanted the eyes to look scrubby but sexy.” Shiseido Shimmer Cream shadow in Black and Sable mixed together and with some grease on top was how he achieved the look. “The easiest thing to use would be a black pencil, super simple. No mascara. There’s a lip color, but in a way so that you don’t even see the color. It’s just a little bit of something with a home-made feeling,” revealed the makeup maestro.
As Dick Page puts it, “nails are an accessory, like jewelry.” The Big Apple is home to the world’s wackiest manicurists and New York Fashion Week yet again lived up to its reputation for wildly creative nail art. Venturing way beyond the widely adopted nude look, for his S/S 13 collection Jeremy Scott sent manicurist Pattie Yankee a picture of 1980s embossed gold nails via his cell phone.
The nail artist answered the designer’s prayers with the “amazing luxurious urban gold” Dashing Diva, soon to be a part of the Designfx range of nail appliqués.
CND’s Tropic Coral, Flamingo Feather, Rouge Red and Blackjack interspersed with pearl for a 3-tier look made it onto the Diego Binetti runway.
In the words of Karl Lagerfeld, “there is no beauty without strangeness.” At the Oscar de la Renta show models’ hair was teased, streaked and swept up into a bouffant. Orlando Pita styled the models’ tresses with white streaks and colored extensions for a Keith Haring cum Holly Golightly updo.
This season also saw the return of bouffant hair. A 1960s-inspired bouff was the focus for the part party girl, part put-together beauty at Marc Jacobs. Makeup artist François Nars’ goal was to create “an updated Edie Sedgwick” and the high hairdos emphasized the overall look.
At the Marchesa show, hair stylist Renato Campora reached for Fekkai Coiff Bouffant Lifting and Texturizing Spray to create a statement ponytail. Hairpieces, intertwining braids and plaits shifted the focus to the back of the head while a center parting kept things simple around the face.
Also working the pony/middle-parting combo, Guido Palau at the Alexander Wang show declared New York “king of the ponytail.”
In keeping with this minimalist theme, Jill Stuart, Thakoon and Prabal Gurung worked low-maintenance hair ranging from slick and poker straight to sleek and slightly wavy.
At Tommy Hilfiger, the inspiration had “one foot in being minimal, and the other in feeling quite natural, fresh and sexy,” said hair pro Eugene Souleiman. Subtlety was key, he said, “but a very beautiful, minimal but wearable look.”
