The make-up inspiration for Ashish was Eastern European girls from an imaginary country called Ashishistan.
The models had to look very natural, with bare skin, just using M.A.C Face and Body Foundation.
The only feature of the face that was enhanced was the eyebrows, using M.A.C Impeccable Brow Pencil in a mix of Taupe and Dirty Blonde, to make them look dramatically unkept.
Lashed were just curled. And on the lips Prep + Prime Lip was applied to condition them without any glossy finish.
The final look was innocent raw beauty with a tough look in the eyes.
The make-up at Pam Hogg was a gothic graphic eyebrow glossed to a pvc finish on a soft romantic face with a grey stained lip. A little bit of a Tim Burton influence. My anti bleached brow moment. I painted the brows with MAC Blacktrack fluidline and Lipglass, squaring and straightening them like an early nineties Peter Lindberg photo. Siouxsie Sioux opened the show and I did her make-up….I managed not to fall into a gibbering wreck! One more hero to add to my list. She was great.
The make-up at Todd’s show was based on chic simplicity, bare but with structured dewy highlights. Make-up imitating skincare, like a kind of pumped up male grooming.the girls looked aristocratic, reflecting the hunting theme of Todd’s collection. I used a highlight within a highlight…..MAC’s cream colour bases in Pearl and Luna to bring some “rigour” into MAC studio sculpt foundation. Very modern to base beauty on the quality of the skin with no statement in eyes and lips.
At Ashley Isham, both make-up and hair were riddled with paradoxes: a Forties roll whipped up by Malcolm Edwards for L’Oreal Professionnel revealed both sleek and wispy textures, while make-up artist Sharon Dowsett for M.A.C painted the outer corners of the lips a green-bronze shimmer, filling the centre in with matte pink. Could this all point to a mood of ‘first day’ indecision? It’s more likely that LFW’s hair and make-up talent are totally tuned in to the creative direction of the designers and know exactly how to deliver compelling, albeit contradictory, strikingly feminine beauty looks with a tough, modern edge.
Report by Katie Greengrass
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RUTH CLIFFORD
Blame it on the predominantly all-girl-flavoured fashion pack, but come fashion week there is often an outbreak of fashion blanking among its stylish visitors. Still, we at The LFW Daily firmly believe firing fashion blanks is distinctly last season and are adopting a fashion ‘Blink’ for the A/W 10 shows. Miss Money, The LFW Daily’s managing editor (pictured here), has prepared for the week’s events by donning a pair of flirty lashes, courtesy of Blink Brow Bar. Officially, we believe it’s the only way to schmooze your way around Somerset House this week.
Eyelash extensions, from £30, Blink Brow Bar, www.blinkbrowbar.com
It all started with a smile. On the catwalk! True, an almost unheard of occurrence in the straight-faced business of modelling. The girl in question was prancing down Dame Vivienne Westwood’s catwalk and –boom! – out of nowhere, a beautiful, broad, toothy smile.
And so it was that by the time Nathan Jenden’s models stormed the catwalk at the end of his show – dancing, leaping, laughing and encouraging their audience to do the same – there was no question that London Fashion Week (which ended on Wednesday) was in the grips of an optimistism pandemic.
“They all did it spontaneously, even in rehearsal,” said a breathless Jenden backstage. “It’s all about having fun; fashion should be fun.”
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Take a dip—and leave your hair wet afterwards. Swimmer’s hair is in. Basso & Brooke channelled model Stephanie Seymour surfacing from the pool in that Herb Ritts photo, keeping it wet with L’Oréal Paris Studio Line Design Wet Gel. Guido Palau went for damp and slightly 1990s grunge at Jonathan Saunders [see above] and hair stylist Malcolm Edwards did a twisted-hair look at Amanda Wakeley that recalled a 1970s Marie Helvin. Whatever the inspiration, it makes summer a whole lot easier.
Compiled by Cat CatalogueElevate your ponytail into high fashion with a simple twist and tie. Charles Worthington and stylist Marc Trinder were inspired by how Japanese girls knot their hair at Erdem [see above], while Sam McKnight braided, pinned and knotted high ponytails at Jaeger.
Get your legs out without fear, with St Tropez’s new runway-tested products. Models glistened at Louise Goldin (Wash Off Instant Glow Mousse), gleamed at Roksanda Ilincic [see left, using New Radiance Mousse] and went bling at Marios Schwab (Wash Off Instant Glow Shimmer Stick).
Why be subtle when you can be a superhero with the flick of an eyeliner? Manga make up made us whoop with delight at Luella [see above], where bright colour blocks of blue, red and glossy black framed models’ eyes. The look went futuristic and doll-like at Kinder Aggugini, while make-up artist Pat McGrath used pink blusher and purple glitter across lids and cheeks. Val Garland chose a graphic, linear under-eye liner at Mary Katrantzou. The question is, are you brave enough?
Grans and grandads, lock up your husky jackets, outerwear is having a moment. Our old friend the coat does, of course, make up the flavour of winter but this season London designers have played the cover up centre stage.
“Designers are especially concerned with jackets and coats this season,” Harrods’ Fashion and Beauty Director Marigay Mckee told The LFW Daily. “Bombers are the particular favourite along with the military style jackets,” she said.
Burberry based an entire collection around aviator jackets while Charles Anastase layered knitwear on top of overcoats. Daks took the husky and gave it an up to date, eccentric spin via leggings, capes and bonnets from the traditional fabric. Design duo Basso & Brooke weaved Trompe-l’œil goretex anoraks into their ensemble and at Aquascutum Michael Herz transformed tailored jackets into full-length dresses. Meanwhile, at Mens day today [Wed], E Tautz featured the ultimate in deluxe outerwear courtesy a cashmere fit for a prince. Luckily one [HRH Prince Michael] was sitting front row and was seemingly rather taken by it.
The make-up inspiration for Ashish was Eastern European girls from an imaginary country called Ashishistan.
The models had to look very natural, with bare skin, just using M.A.C Face and Body Foundation.
The only feature of the face that was enhanced was the eyebrows, using M.A.C Impeccable Brow Pencil in a mix of Taupe and Dirty Blonde, to make them look dramatically unkept.
Lashed were just curled. And on the lips Prep + Prime Lip was applied to condition them without any glossy finish.
The final look was innocent raw beauty with a tough look in the eyes.
Christopher Kane has become masterful at delivering a clear, concise message, season in, season out. This time around, it was all about tailoring. In wool, or black matte or patent leather – much of it decorated with vibrant embroidery – it was contrasted with lace blouses or lace panels that were spliced across skirts and dresses. There was a folkloric feel to the colourfully embroidered pansies and wild flowers that started out gently running up the sleeve of a chiffon blouse or a black cashmere cardigan with artfully slashed sleeves, or across the hemline of a skirt, and ended up dancing all over short leather dresses. Later in the show, Kane traded the flowers for crystals with glittering starbursts appearing on matte leather mini-dresses or shell tops, or circling a deep black patent cummerbund that cinched a black wool jacket with crisp patent collar. There was a nod to his homeland in the neat (and super-short) black wool kilts and a gorgeous black patent biker jacket with lambskin collar that was embroidered with a cluster of Scottish thistles.
If his first season at Halston was a distraction for Marios Schwab, he definitely didn’t show it in the strong, polished collection he sent out yesterday. He kicked off with a flesh-toned dress that was cut away at the bodice and edged with a waffly trimming. A series of pinafore dresses followed, all of which had a strict schoolgirl feeling (a nod, Schwab said, to being “the only boy at fashion school”), but were cut with curvilinear collars that dipped away to reveal crisp white shirting. Other jersey dresses were topped with beautifully cut, sculptural little jackets or pulled in at the waist with decorative corsetry. Schwab reinterpreted the dirndl, but there was nothing school-marmish about his full, short skirts and dresses that came out in loden wool, duchesse satin or richly coloured brocades. Later, he continued with the week’s yearning for embellishment, as crystals outlined the bodices of dresses, while textural coats in smoke grey or forest green, neatly belted at the waist, added to the plush, tactile feeling of this collection.
From the voluminous crimped hair and glossy Seventies make up to the upbeat disco tunes, Roksanda Ilincic was in a New York state of mind for autumn, giving us a super-polished collection that was, she said, “all about the beauty of winter fabrics, their textures and the way they can be sculpted around the body.” There was plenty of Ilincic’s signature cocktailwear, including a parade of killer charmeuse dresses in deep olive green, raspberry and smoke blue. A highlight was a pale pink charmeuse tunic that fanned into an air-filled cape at the back to a stunning strapless oyster silk column with a sculptural asymmetric peplum. But she developed her day wear, too, showing a beautiful charcoal jersey dress draped elegantly across the body, and a series of clean-cut shift dresses in black bouclé and charcoal wool. Some tailoring came heavily embellished with crystals and beading. On a lighter note were the sheer flesh-toned voile blouses and fluid pants, all of which were topped off with sumptuous fur stoles and gilets – perfect for a well-heeled New York city girl.
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