Makeup artist extraordinaire Tom Pecheux, using MAC products, chose to focus on the mouth, plumping for a two-tone pout. He gave upper lips a slick of reddish-orange MAC Morange. Lower lips were painted with Violetta, a dark fuchsia. A sweep of MAC Prep & Prime Transparent Finishing Powder - which will bow this fall - added a satin sheen.
Eyes and cheeks went bare, while foundation was kept super-light, or not used at all. “It’s a clean, modern take on the Eighties,” said Pecheux backstage. “The look is kept fresh by focusing on just one feature, not all of them at once.”
Hair was more Noughties than Eighties - ha ha. Stylist Jimmy Paul tamed models’ locks into a nonchalant chignon. “Think Kate Moss, with her easy chic style,” Paul explained. To get the look, he used tons of Thickening Spray by his sponsor Bumble & bumble. After pulling long tresses into a rough ponytail, he rolled it into a croissant shape and pinned the bun unevenly, leaving some loose hairs for that extra home-made look.
If there’s a formula Esteban Cortazar has established for himself at Emanuel Ungaro in his brief tenure there, it’s that he likes his girls young, sexy and with a cocktail in hand. Emphasis is on the word “girls,” because there are few clothing options here for those not hitting the club circuit on a nightly basis. Thus, fall amounted to a parade of thigh-grazing and body-conscious party frocks, with some puffy-skirted numbers thrown in. Throughout, he worked in a relentless polkadot motif to dizzying effect. Cortazar spliced together bands of spots on a bustier dress worn over a dotted blouse, and covered other garments with prints of spots within spots. An added styling measure fell flat: the variety of spotted tights, which were kitsch veering on ridiculous.
The designer also dabbled a bit in tailoring — slouchy blazers; a leisurely smoking combo — but it felt like a forced attempt to keep the lineup from being too one-note. And when he tried to be edgy, with chained fringe on an angora pullover, or architectural, as in the finale dress with angled hips, the results just looked out of sync with the rest of the collection.
The designer also dabbled a bit in tailoring — slouchy blazers; a leisurely smoking combo — but it felt like a forced attempt to keep the lineup from being too one-note. And when he tried to be edgy, with chained fringe on an angora pullover, or architectural, as in the finale dress with angled hips, the results just looked out of sync with the rest of the collection.
