36 posts tagged "Alexander Wang"
Talking “Hair Fairies” With One Of Fashion’s Original Curly Girls
It was hard to miss Gisele at Alexander Wang yesterday, what with the cavalcade of photographers that followed her around as she moved from hair to makeup to dressing room. But another supe walked among those of us backstage at Pier 94, albeit one that was considerably more difficult to recognize. A straight-haired Shalom Harlow sat in face painter Diane Kendal’s chair but without her signature ringlets; we had to do a double take before making a positive ID. Harlow felt just as anonymous with her freshly blown-out strands. “I do not to both,” she said of straight versus texturized styles. “I prefer the way that God made me, which is curly.” Turns out the statuesque brunette whose cheekbones are truly something to behold in person has plenty to say on the subject. “Being a curly-haired girl is kind of like trying to learn how to tame a hurricane—it’s a force of nature,” Harlow joked of learning how to manage her mane. “I have a whole thing that I do, but it took me 20 years to figure it out. Now I know I should only wash my hair once a week, which, to some people who have straight, limp, oily hair, may sound disgusting, but that’s all my hair needs.” A devotee of Chaz Dean’s line of WEN cleansing conditioners and a seaweed-based shampoo she picked up at Serge Nromant’s salon in L.A, Harlow cites hair masks as her big curly-girl staple. “It’s a total must. I’d like to say I do it once a week, but that’s kind of a lie. I probably do it twice a month.” (She like Normant’s Meta Morphosis Hair Repair Treatment.)
Otherwise, the catwalking legend revealed that she never, ever diffuses—”I bought myself one of those hair salon three-pronged infrared heat lamps. It sits in the corner of my room. It sort of looks like a lamp and kinda goes unnoticed”—and she always believes in the “hair fairies.” “A lot of curly-haired girls are too afraid to brush their hair, but I find that if I brush my hair at night, then the next morning, it gets a little bed-tousled—like freshly fucked hair.”
While Alexander Wang will be Harlow’s one and only NYFW appearance (“I couldn’t refuse an invitation from [him]. I like his approach to femininity. I feel like he would dress Athena,” she gushed about the designer), Shalom did let us in on another little surprise she’s got in store for the season: “You will see me in Europe.” We sure will.
“Boyish Brows” And Bündchen, Backstage At Alexander Wang
“Did you see Gisele?!” came the flurry of questions when we arrived backstage at Alexander Wang before the designer’s Fall show. And while we hadn’t spied the Brazilian supe on our initial survey of Pier 94, we did see Frankie Rayder. And Carmen Kass. And Karolina Kurkova. Is that Shalom Harlow? (It was.)
Wang recruited a gaggle of big girls this season, but they were given the same hair and makeup as their lesser-known catwalking compatriots. “She would like to wear her hair as it is, so I have to convince her to wear it a little less beachy. It just takes a bit of gentle persuasion,” Redken creative consultant Guido Palau said of Bündchen, whose sunny gold locks were getting Wang’s signature downtown cool girl makeover. “Within the simplicity, there is a point of view,” Palau insisted of the straight style, which was prepped with Redken Satinwear 02 Ultimate Blow-Dry Lotion and split down the middle. “The exact part gives a lot of strength to the shape,” he continued as he coated long, blunt-cut extensions with its Outshine 01 Anti Frizz Polishing Milk and tucked the lengths behind models’ ears—Gisele’s included.
Mrs. Tom Brady was less accommodating with the makeup and seemed content to apply most of it herself. But she followed makeup artist Diane Kendal’s lead fairly closely. “Keeping it quite boyish is the major thing [at Alexander Wang],” Kendal emphasized. “It’s all about finding that balance between sexy and androgynous,” which she did with contours, sculpting well-hydrated skin with MAC Pro Sculpting Cream in Coffee Walnut, which she also blended over lids. Kendal then added highlights on the tops of cheekbones, down both sides of the nose, and along the cupid’s bow of lips with MAC Pro Sculpting Cream in Accentuate, a subtle champagne. Strong, straight brows—a classic Kendal move—finished the look.
Also on view was the latest installment of Wang’s new nail polish collaboration with Sally Hansen that debuted last season. Models wore two coats of Bandage, a cool beige. “He actually gives them fabric swatches,” manicurist Jin Soon revealed of the inspiration for the three colors in the range, which include Pumice, a green gray, and Ion, a dove gray.
The Alexander Wang Girl Takes A Dip For Spring
“You already know the parameters,” Redken creative consultant Guido Palau said backstage at Alexander Wang, referring to the quintessential Alexander Wang girl. “She’s ‘downtown’ or she’s done her hair herself,” he elaborated, highlighting the beauty elements that remain a constant in the Wang archetype. For Spring, Palau added a new “devil-may-care attitude” to the equation in the form of a wet look—make that soaking wet. Saturated strands are becoming an early beauty trend here in New York, turning up at BCBG, Prabal Gurung, Helmut Lang, and just this morning at Victoria Beckham (more on that in a bit). And so it went at Wang, where the sporty inspirations of choice were car racing and motocross. Prepping hair with Redken’s Full Frame 07 All-Over Volumizing Mousse, Palau coated locks from roots to ends before creating a messy center part and rough-drying. Redken’s new All Soft Argan-6 Multi-Care Oil imparted a high-shine aftereffect.
Makeup artist Diane Kendal also took a page out of the Wang beauty book, in which clean skin, greasy eyes, and strong brows are always part of the plotline. “Urban nineties” is how Kendal described the well-moisturized skin she accessorized with MAC’s Eye Kohl in Smolder. As a final touch, Kendal applied MAC Gloss Texture to the center of lids to bring a sense of the dewy and damp to models’ complexions.
There was one totally new beauty element on display yesterday, though, in the form of Alexander Wang’s three-piece nail selection for Sally Hansen. Available in April, the varnishes include Oxblood, a dark bordeaux; Petrol, a steely blue; and Parchment, a sheer cream that was lacquered onto tips for a polished but barely-there finish.
It’s In The Bag
The seasons are a-changing, which means the time to start looking for new boots, sweaters, and jackets is now (click here for some inspiration). Picking up a cool new cosmetics case might not be top of mind, but there are so many chic (and functional!) new makeup bags out there (some of which could do double duty as cool clutches), they too deserve a place on your fall shopping list. Here, our top five picks.
Deep Blue Something
Every spring and fall, Smythson introduces new colors and materials for its leather goods. This time around, the luxe British label is all about blue lizard print. Glossy cobalt calfskin covers its mini and medium-sized cosmetic cases, which have an inside pocket for stashing brushes and an oil-resistant fabric lining so you can toss in your products without fear of destroying the interior.
Smythson Lapis cosmetics case, $220, www.smythson.com.
Bright Future
We’re obsessed with Comme des Garçons wallets, so it’s no surprise that we’re equally enamored with its new fluorescent makeup pouch. The slim shape is perfect for stashing cosmetics, and the bright colors (it comes in three retina-burning shades) make it particularly easy to locate, even in our giant overstuffed PS1.
Comme des Garçons Super Fluo small cosmetic pouch, $105, www.nordstrom.com.
NYFW Backstage Beauty Alert: Alexander Wang x Sally Hansen
We’re still on a two-and-a-half-week countdown until the Spring shows get under way here in New York, but the invites have already started flooding in, bringing word of exciting things to come. Our first surprise came last week when we learned that NARS, not MAC, will be sponsoring the makeup look at Rodarte, breaking a five-plus-season streak for the beauty brand. The Mulleavys’ trusted face painter, James Kaliardos, will still be at the helm, only now he’ll be using François Nars’ well-curated, finely tuned color palette.
In other makeup news, Rachel Zoe has partnered with Maybelline for her second, more full-scale runway endeavor, which means that Exude, the lip color brand that Zoe fronts as brand ambassador, will presumably not be making a cameo along with her Spring collection.
But the biggest piece of news we’ve managed to track down so far came today: Alexander Wang will join Prabal Gurung and Tracy Reese as the beneficiary of his very own nail color collection from Sally Hansen. The lacquers, Wang’s first official beauty effort, will debut at his Spring show and should prove as covetable an accessory as his studded It bags. Fingers crossed a few bottles are tossed into the gift bags.