THE RUNWAYS: NEW YORK / BEAUTY
Graceful ballerinas, summer safaris and the splashy colors of Coney Island were just a few of the inspirations behind the makeup on the spring 2010 runways in New York last week, bringing a sense of fun, whimsy and uninhibited creativity to a season that looks to be chock-full of optimism.
At Marc Jacobs, models’ faces were dusted with a delicate veil of white powder by lead makeup artist Francois Nars. The haunting white faces, pointy red lips and pencil-thin brows, inspired by contemporary dancer Martha Graham, enhanced Jacobs’ theatrical collection.
“Dancers in theater and opera always have white faces, pointed lips and an eye that is drawn outward, not upward -- it’s very theatrical, very ballet,” Nars explained in press materials. Nars’ focus was the eye, lined in black to make it look wide and open.
Tribal influences were all over the runways, and designer Derek Lam put his own twist on the trend by infusing it with carnival-esque colors and bright pops of doll-face details. Makeup artist Tom Pecheux created a look described as an “optimistic fairy tale of color:” vibrant eyes, red lips and a flush of pink and orange through the cheeks. He dragged an emerald green shadow from the Nars Misfit compact along the lower lash line and straight past the outer corner of the eye. “I love when the multiple colors are drawn straight across and outward for that tribal effect,” Pecheux said in his press materials. “I also used the new Nars Easy Lover lip gloss on the outline of the lips to have the girls appear doll-like. It was ‘Coney Island chic.’ ”
The tribal trend also dominated the Monique Lhuillier show, where makeup artist Nadine Luke did smoky-eye-meets-summer-safari. Inspired by Lhuillier’s nod to Masai warriors, Luke chose a safari green shade of MAC eye shadow called Club to encircle models’ eyes. She lined the eye heavily with MAC Smolder eye pencil in black.
The theatrics, loud color and warrior-inspired eye makeup may seem heavy-handed for a spring season, but it’s part of a more creative edge sweeping over fashion. “People aren’t afraid of color this season,” Luke said. “It’s all very optimistic.”
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