Each year throughout my coverage of NYFW I can't wait to go backstage and get a look. A look, meaning something worth talking about. While every backstage glam squad has reasoning for 'leaving the hair down, straight and parted in the middle' or 'keeping the face fresh' for the runway, as a beauty journalist, it's boring! Backstage at Naeem Khan today I saw a stunning 1920's inspired beauty look that left me in awe.
Bumble and Bumble created a beautifully structured, chignon with sheen and Essie's lead manicurist, Michelle Saunders layered two oldie but goodies, Licorice and Bordeaux to create a devil red shade that had more black than red to compliment the 1920's inspiration.
"The clothes have a lot of color and texture and the hair has a beautiful sheen, so I didn't want the makeup to have anything glossy, James Boehmer the Director of Global Artistry for NARS. "It would be too much, so we played with other textures."
The look had a decadent feeling of the 1920's, focusing the strength on the brows. Using NARS's new mechanical pencil (coming out in fall), Boehmer defined the brow shape and then layered Coconut Grove shadow over them, which is a very deep brown, to set it. "I'm following the shape of the brows and then extending out and down forgetting about the arch," he commented. "I don't want to make it high, but straight and low so it has a '20's feel and not a '90's feel."
Two coats of Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara and a bit of smudged shadow lining the bottom rims finished the eyes. Inspired by the diffusion of the light in 1920's films, he shaded the cheeks to create a shadow and illuminated the corner of the eye with an eyeshadow shade called Alhambra Duo Eyeshadow. Using the same color, he highlighted the bow of the lip like a thumbprint. A dust of Zen Blush was swept on the apples of the models cheeks to give them a kick.
The Naeem Khan Spring/Summer 2012 show was by far my favorite show of the season. The show opened to a grungy rock and roll version of Marilyn Manson's, Sweet Dreams, which was a beautiful contrast against the glamour of the high fashion gowns that owned the mirrored runway. The energy was electric and the audience, left in awe.
Red beaded gowns with intricate detail, black tulle dresses, printed floral ball gowns, lace off the shoulder gowns, high slit skirts with ruffles, low back beaded tops and an ostrich feather skirt were all part of the collection.
After the show I had the opportunity to speak with Naeem Khan in the American Express Skybox. "With my collection, it's all about the emotional connection," he said. "The moment a woman feels glamourous in my clothes is the connection."
I wish I could just hand out tickets to all of you just for reading my blog and supporting my career to the fashion show of your choice, but unfortunately, I can't pull strings like that! However, there is a chance you can win a VIP ticket to a show this season and see what this crazy week is all about.
Leica Camera, a savvy digital camera brand is giving away six tickets to New York Fashion Week's sexiest shows including Lacoste, Derek Lam, Perry Ellis, Badgley Mischka, Herve Leger and Naeem Khan. To win all you have to do is follow @leica_camera on Twitter and Tweet about the giveaway including the brands twitter handle and the hashtags #NYFW and #MBFW.
