A great deal of work goes into the few minutes of glory models have when walking down the runway. CultureMap was behind the scenes at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, getting the scoop on the beauty philosophies that capped off designers' visions and witnessing the method to the madness.
Right: Model at Richard Chai
Richard Chai
Mac artist James Kaliardos devised a beauty look to accompany Chai's structured, reworked athletic gear-inspired spring/summer collection that featured a "soft, graphic Sixties liner" by using MAC's Fluidline in "Dirty Blonde." The models brows were made bolder and the rest of the skin was kept clean and moisturized.
One thing that consistently blows our minds is that models' nails are painted for every show (how do they dry quickly enough?!). For Richard Chai's collection, nail artists used Julep in Sienna with a matte top coat.
Hair was unfussy, slick, and kept off of models' faces with a side part and high pony, courtesy of Aveda.
Peter Som
For this early morning show, models had a wakeup call that had them arrive around 6 a.m.to begin the transition process. They slept in chairs, drank coffee and remained rather quiet as the beauty teams buzzed around them.
Tom Pexheux led the MAC team in smudged, vivid eye color that was inspired by "kids' play" for Peter Som's show. Makeup artists were instructed not to use brushes, only their fingers, and skip the mascara.
Zoya painted a creamy two toned manicure on all nails, mint blue with delightful orange tips, rounding out the colorful details.
Wella glued faded, pastel extensions into models hair then spritzer with Wella's Ocean Spritz. "For me it's kind of old New York meets new New York," Eugene Souleiman said of the look. "It's undone, unkempt and disheveled — and she doesn't care."
Billy Reid
It's nice to see that the guys put in their time in the makeup chair, too. Faces were flawless, and hair on both men and women was perfectly coiffed. There was nothing disheveled about this look. Only chic, intentional moves were made in the beauty department.
"I had this idea of this woman that was this incredible hostess," Billy Reid said backstage of the inspiration for his spring/summer 13 collection. In the spirit of that conscientious look, very last detail was attended to before the models hit the runway.
One last touch-up before the Billy Reid show begins.
Tommy Hilfiger
Suiting a mens collection titled "Prep Club," inspired by a day of high-class boating, mini hair straighteners and fine tooth combs were used on the guys' locks to create soft side parts and flowing body.
Eyes were touched up by MAC artists and skin perfected with moisturized and foundation. Eugene Souleiman texturized the hair to get that perfectly windblown look.
"We always do something that has one foot in formality and one foot in coolness," Souleiman said. "We wanted to the guys to still look slick, but a little raw-er."
Christian Siriano
The scene at Eyebeam hours before Christian Siriano's show was incredibly calm and collected and — hooray — he had a wonderful spread of food available for the models!
Aveda style director Antoinette Beenders created a bun atop the models' heads that looked more like that of a ballerina's after practice rather than before, welcoming any soft flyways
Polly Osmond for MAC created an understated pink palette for Siriano's spring/summer 13 girls as to not take away from the glamorous garments. She used a large fluffy blush to deposit MAC's Tenderling over Cream Colour Bases in Luna and Shell. Pick up lipstick in Creme Cup to finish out the lips.
Nails were painted in Linen Grapefruit by CND. Models draped their hands over their shoulders to quicken the makeup-and-manicure process.
