10 posts tagged "Dries Van Noten"
Cuff Love
Call it an offshoot of the overarching punk trend that swept the Fall shows, but a lot of designers showcased a single earring on the runway rather than a set. From the tiny gold cuffs at Chloé and the sprawling sapphire-dotted branches at Thakoon to the giant nails at Versace and the Delfina Delettrez-designed magic-eye drops at Kenzo, it was often one and done when it came to ear accessories. In an interesting turn of events, hair looks were frequently choreographed around this styling decision, leaving front sections slicked back or tucked behind these “bejeweled ears,” as Peter Philips referred to them backstage at Dries Van Noten. Now, it appears as though the movement is continuing down under. As Camilla and Marc kicked off Sydney fashion week today, Marc Jacobs muse Ruby Jean Wilson sported a rhinestone-studded spiked cuff on the catwalk, leading a pack of longer-haired models with their shoulder-grazing strands pulled away from their left ears—a festive way to keep unruly locks out of your face, if anything. Thoughts on the utilitarian style?
Throwback Thursday: The Ears Have It
Throwback Thursday is a new feature on Beauty Counter in which we pore over the pages of our favorite glossies from decades past in search of a little modern-day makeup and hair inspiration.
The Model: Nadja Auermann
The Moment: Ear painting
The Motivation: Following a few seasons of 3-D makeup on the runway that has seen everything from sequins, rhinestones, paper cutouts, lace, and tulle double as eyeliner, mascara, and brow pencils, we’ve been semi-conditioned to think outside the box when it comes to defining the medium of makeup. But Peter Philips further expanded on the traditional idea of “face painting” by bedazzling nine models’ ears backstage at Dries Van Noten for Fall. You could say an emphasis on ear embellishment started last season, when side-slicked hair turned up at Rodarte to show off Game of Thrones-inspired dragon cuffs—although Stéphane Marais might beg to differ. The famed makeup artist gave model Nadja Auermann the silver treatment two decades ago for a 1994 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. What’s that they say about fashion—and beauty—being cyclical?
Fred, Ginger, And A “Bejeweled Ear,” Backstage At Dries Van Noten
“There’s a Fred-and-Ginger theme,” Peter Philips revealed backstage at Dries Van Noten, explaining the designer’s nod to the thirties-era dance duo. Uninformed, and you’d have been hard-pressed to pick up on it. “We wanted to avoid [the makeup] becoming too ballroom,” Philips explained while beefing up brows with Chanel Crayon Sourcils Sculpting Eyebrow Pencils and contouring lids with the dark brown and nude colors from its Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow Quad in Prelude—which is why he chose to complement the gem-encrusted necklaces, brooches, and earrings models wore on the runway with something unexpected. Instead of opting for more retro-glamour elements—a red lip or a heavy lash, for example—Philips gave nine girls “a bejeweled ear,” using special-effects adhesive and a treasure trove of different-shaped crystals. “We tried it on the face, but we’ve already seen that. Topolino did it in the eighties,” he said of the gleaming mosaic embellishments, referencing the legendary Italian face painter who made metal facial studs and mixing mediums something of a signature. Keeping skin purposely matte to “enhance the sparkle” of those creative crystal cuffs, Philips treated complexions to Chanel’s Perfection Lumière Long-Wear Flawless Fluid Makeup before dusting on an allover application of its Poudre Universelle Libre.
“It’s basically women wearing men’s clothes, and the end is more Hollywood,” Paul Hanlon elaborated of Van Noten’s collection. “But with Dries, it always needs a contemporary feel,” he continued, dampening hair with Bumble and Bumble Styling Lotion and fashioning a side-slung part that segued into a marcel wave across models’ foreheads. True to form, Hanlon insisted on pulling the waves apart just before the show to ensure a messy “as though she had [the style] a week ago” feel. Perfection often lies in the imperfections when this hairstylist is concerned.
Kurt, Courtney, And Couture Lips, Backstage At Dries Van Noten
“The first idea Dries [Van Noten] showed me was a Kurt Cobain/Courtney Love image, so I thought about a lip,” Peter Philips said backstage at the designer’s Spring show. Not the burnt brick red that Love made famous during her early days in Hole—there were no remnants of red at all, in fact. “Not after Milan,” Philips joked, referencing the crimson color used at Prada that is still no doubt burned into most fashion insiders’ brains. Instead, he went with an eye-catching dusty magenta mouth. “It’s a bit more street,” Philips said of the color.
Giving skin a pale, satin finish, the face painter brushed lids with a green-gray wash of eye shadow “for definition,” before lining the inner rims with Chanel Le Crayon Khôl Intense Eye Pencil in Clair to open them up. Tracing the outline of pouts with its Le Crayon Levres Precision Lip Definer in #55 Fuchsia, Philips proceeded to apply the corresponding shade of Rouge Allure Velvet luminous matte lip color in #37 L’Exubérante. “The clothes are part couture and part grunge,” hairdresser Paul Hanlon elaborated. “So Peter’s doing the couture part; I’m doing the grunge part.”
Hanlon has made reimagining nineties styles something of a career calling card at this point, and his expertise was in full effect today as he referenced grunge-era heroines like Emma Balfour and the glossy pages of The Face in which she lived. Spritzing strands with a cocktail of Frédéric Fekkai Coif Oceanique Tousled Wave Spray and TIGI Bed Head Superstar Queen for a Day Thickening Spray to give manes a “stringy” quality, he glued on different colored extensions so it appeared blonde models had sections of bleach amid their golden locks. Then, raking TIGI Bed Head After-Party Smoothing Cream through lengths to create an even more lived-in feel, he proceeded to brush roots with a range of MAC Eyeshadows in shades of carbon blacks, dark browns, and grays. “A lot of people are on the nineties tip at the moment,” Hanlon admitted, “so it’s nice to find an identity.” It’s not the first time we’ve seen him break out this technique, although witnessing that kind of ingenuity never truly gets old—especially when the perfect song is playing in the background: Hanlon typically prefers to work to bass-pumping club beats, but queuing up College featuring Electric Youth’s “A Real Hero” from the Drive soundtrack added a certain cinematic specialness to the beauty moment.
Eastern Promises, Backstage at Dries Van Noten
The preshow rehearsal backstage at Dries Van Noten went a little longer than usual this afternoon, which meant we had a fair bit of time to kill before speaking with hairstylist Paul Hanlon and makeup artist Peter Philips. So we did what any fashion-obsessive would: We peeked at the models’ racks to get a preview of the show before it started. “There was a big exhibit of Asian clothing at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and Dries took pictures and printed those pieces onto other pieces,” Philips confirmed of the Japanese-inspired motifs we spied next to Tilda L.’s and Monika S.’s cards. “You get a print of a jacket on a jacket,” Philips explained, pointing out that he took a single color reference from these fabrics and reimagined it in the makeup.
“It’s about color-blocking,” he said, using three variations of an orange undercurrent from the collection on eyes, including two discontinued shades of Make Up For Ever Eye Shadow in no. 66, a mustard, and no. 78, a rusty mandarin, and Chanel’s Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eye Shadow in Tigerlily, a “fresh” tangerine according to Philips. Skin was kept pale to contrast with the bright lids, while lips were lined and filled with Chanel Crayon Lèvres Lip Liner in no. 35 Natural for a muted, matte finish.
As a Smiths’ best-of album played on the sound system, Hanlon was perfecting yet another iteration of Fall’s favorite updo, the ponytail. “Make sure the little bits in the front have spray on them to hold them down,” he directed his team, smoothing the front of a short side part across the forehead and over the ears before securing texturized lengths with a black elastic that would ultimately be removed. “There are no hairbands,” he said explaining that after a hefty portion of hairspray and a hit of heat from the blow-dryer, the fasteners would be cut out to leave behind a slight indentation. “It’s a little detail,” he said, calling the overall look “natural and easy—very real,” the better to balance out Van Noten’s opulent, detailed designs.