Asia Major Beauty, Backstage At Pucci

The Asian influence in Peter Dundas’ Spring collection for Emilio Pucci was evident long before models got into their first looks, following a casual round of Champagne drinking and conversation. “It’s Indochine in a modern way,” Luigi Murenu said of the ivory hair pins carved with elaborate dragon motifs that he slipped through long, center-parted half-up, half-downs. “We have to keep it quite Pucci, though,” he added, pointing out that the reference couldn’t be too literal as to abide by the house’s DNA, which necessitates a girl that “has an easy approach to hair but is stylish.”

Prepping elongated strands with Phyto Professional Intense Mousse, Murenu created a painstakingly straight texture with a slick of John Frieda Frizz Ease before cutting short wispy pieces around the face for “modernity and coolness.” As the coiffing star finished his last girl, Dundas made a surprise guest appearance in his chair to get a touch-up before the show. Setting him up with a makeshift barbershop gown, Murenu treated the designer’s signature curls to a few scrunches of Kérastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Serum.

Lisa Butler kept her nods to Dundas’ Eastern influences duly light-handed. “It’s a concept, not really a reference,” the face painter said of the makeup’s “Zen simplicity.” Rimming lids with MAC Eye Kohl in Smoulder before deliberately removing the black pigment to leave behind just a trace of sultriness, Butler placed a “blob” of its Chromaline gel eyeliner in White above the center of the upper lash line and blended it for “dimension.” Before models hit the runway, Butler added a slick of gloss to lids and a dusting of powder through the T-zone so girls looked a “bit more done.”