Catwalk queen
It’s a scene repeated the next morning at Simone Rocha, where in the packed, frenetic backstage area Mac makeup artists are islands of calm as they battle to get 23 models catwalk-fit in an equally tight time-frame. Clothes horses love fashion week, a twice-annual event in autumn and spring that’s the culmination of half a year’s work for a designer. For those on the Frow — or the front row — it’s 10 or 15 minutes of admiring the clothes before they head to the next presentation, but so much more goes on behind the scenes; and for a beauty buff, there’s just as much to admire.
Because it’s backstage where makeup trends for six months down the line are incubated, hothoused and finessed by some of the world’s leading artists like Terry Barber, Val Garland and Charlotte Tilbury: expect what they send down the catwalk now to adorn eyes, lips and cheeks in Autumn 2012. For Simone Rocha’s show, the inspiration came firmly from her native land. “We wanted the makeup to look outdoorsy and weathered,” said key artist Shinobu, who created the look. Rocha’s modern clothes have deep roots into Irish craft traditions and this was reflected by the use of pale skin, flushed cheeks and faux freckles for a fresh take on a west of Ireland beauty.
But how does it all fall into place on the day? Here’s how the magic was created for the Simone Rocha AW12 show.
Earlier that week ...
“On Monday, we headed out to Simone’s studio in Hackney to do the makeup test,” says Lesley Keane, senior Irish artist for Mac cosmetics. “It’s always tied into the clothes and she had three ideas — a strong lip, the chartreuse colour used in the collection or a graphic liner. In the end though we were really inspired by the collection. There’s a beautiful mix of synthetic and natural and we wanted to do something to work with that, but which wouldn’t be too “makeuppy” or girlie.”
On the day ...
9am: “This was our call time to be backstage so we set up our kits, prepped and got everything ready. The models are meant to start filtering in from about 10am as their call time is two hours in advance, but because a lot of them are walking in other shows, they can often arrive very late. We’ve learned to work with it,” laughs Keane.
10am: With models now arriving and two hours to go, “we were working, working; really starting to get into the swing of things,” Keane dishes. Kits were out, and a vast array of Mac makeup products were spread across stations and tables as its professional artists set to work recreating the look.
10.30am: 23 girls need to be prepped, made up and have full hair and nails attended to for the show. This represents an opportunity for the makeup artists to test new products that the brand is developing, and report back to research and development on whether they think they’ll make the grade for consumer use.
11.30am: Things don’t always run to plan backstage, reveals Keane: “With seven models yet to arrive and just half an hour to go, we had to do to the rehearsal run-through without them, checking that everything looked good with the clothes, that we were happy with the finish on the makeup itself and that it didn’t need any extra powder when we checked it under the lights, for example.”
12pm: The crowd is waiting and the show should be starting as the missing models finally turn up and are hurried backstage. “I threw myself into a team and lay on the ground under a model as she sat forward in a chair having her hair braided so I could do her makeup,” divulges Keane. It’s an insight into how time-tight and pressurised the backstage environment can be, and how well teams have to work together to produce professional, consistent results in mere minutes.
12.15pm: the models hit the runway, showcasing Simone Rocha’s modern Irish aesthetic as well as Mac’s fresh, outdoorsy beauty look. As they nonchalantly paraded up and down the Embankment Gallery Show Space in Somerset House, the home of London Fashion Week, there was no hint of the scramble or stress of the last couple of hours. With only three models requiring a clothes change, the makeup artist’s main job at this point was to check body skin for bruises and bumps. “This was a really well-cast show,” Keane reveals. “We didn’t have much in the way of work as the girls lined up — sometimes you’d have a lot of cover-up to do on bruises and veins.”
12.30pm: It’s all over. The fash-pack filters out, but for Lesley Keane and her makeup artists, the working day continues. “We handed the girls a wipe so they could remove makeup. Most of them were off to another show or to a casting,” she says. For her, with a makeup test for Roksanda Ilincic’s show later that evening and prep for Marios Schwab and McQ and then the shows in Paris to think about, it’s all go in the business of beauty.
“This is like a modern take on an Aran Island beauty”, says Lesley Keane, senior Irish artist for Mac cosmetics, on Mac’s Connemara queen beauty look for Simone Rocha. For us, it’s a pretty easy one to pull off too — the focus is on the skin and cheeks, there are no complicated steps for eyes (mascara’s a no-go) and all you need for lips is a slick of balm. Here’s what to use:
Mac’s Studio Sculpt SPF15, €35.50, was used all over the skin but importantly, it wasn’t set with any powder.
“We did the opposite of what you’d normally do,” noted Shinobu. The look was about putting colour onto the face as opposed to correcting it back out, so artists used Mac’s Cremeblend Blush, €21.50, in Tea Petal and delicately applied to skin with fingers.
Many pale Celtic natives won’t have to fake freckles, but that’s exactly what was done backstage at the Simone Rocha show, using Mac Brow Pencils, €16.50, in Lingering, Spiked and Strut. The three tones were dotted across the bridge of the nose and cheeks to give a realistic smattering of pigmentation.
Redness was taken out of the skin with concealer but no shadow or mascara was used. Curl lashes if they’re very straight, but less is definitely more with this look.
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