Wednesday, October 7, 2009

McQueen vs. Gary Oldman's Dracula



... more thoughts on the show here at 10horses.
Hair by Guido Palau
(... below Style.com / Tina Isaac)
There are times when conceptual art, rather than actual wearability, can resonate backstage as much as on the runway. Yesterday was one such occasion, when Alexander McQueen presented his Plato’s Atlantis collection, enlightening his hair and makeup team on the wonders of alien movies, Art Nouveau, and Darwinism—all of which informed his Spring presentation. In response, Redken’s Guido Palau and makeup artist Peter Philips crafted looks that were more about a feast for the eyes than anything else. “Some things are like couture,” noted Palau of his intricate amphibious coifs. “It’s a fantasy that’s there to inspire people.” Setting any notions of at-home duplication aside for a moment, Palau’s winged ‘dos and interwoven braids were awe-inspiring for their theatrical nature, which could place them comfortably in a sci-fi super-production—less so in real life. The makeup story unfolded in a similar manner, progressing from a uniform beige base to full-on prosthetics for an homage to otherworldly (or, rather, underworldly) creatures. To capture a certain extraterrestrial allure, Peter Philips started with shiny foundations to even out skin tone and to blank out brows, as is popular practice these days. He followed that up with varying warm and cool shades of Chanel and MAC pigments to conjure “evolutionary” skin tones and shapes. Not necessarily everyday wear, per se, but definitely handy inspiration with All Hallows’ Eve just around the corner.
—Tina Isaac

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