Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet always has a story when it comes to her presentations, and this season’s suited her personality to a T. The designer explained that she was inspired by two girls who fell asleep in the Palace of Versailles and the show was meant to follow their journey from day to night. Needless to say, it was pure Marie Antoinette from head to toe.
The most literal reflection? The model wearing an elaborate headpiece, complete with a dove mid-flight, attached to her head. Let’s hope her shoulders and back don’t hurt too much after carrying all that excess weight!
The other models had a markedly lighter load thanks to a beautiful, braided silk chignon. The hair team was led by Michael Dueñas, Schwarzkopf’s brand ambassador, who explained that it was Bendet’s idea to braid silk scarves into a classic chignon. The first step in creating the look was applying a holding mousse to the models’ dry hair from the scalp to the ends for control and shine. Hair was then parted in the middle and gathered into a low, tight ponytail, leaving out two small sections of hair near the hairline. A scarf matching the length of the hair was then pulled through the elastic to secure it to the ponytail. With the scarf in the middle, the ponytail was sectioned off into two parts creating a three-section braid. It was then braided to the ends and wrapped into a tight bun, and secured with large pins. The ends were hidden inside the bun, and loose hair was tucked behind the ears. A finishing spray was applied for hold.
With so much going on with hair, it was important that the makeup not be too dramatic, but still beautiful. In keeping with that, Stila’s Sarah Lucero created a look she called “Princesse de Palais.”
“It’s all about an ethereal glow,” said Lucero. “We used lots of powdery pastels. We wanted it to look hazy and dreamy, so absolutely no browns or anything too warm. Everything is glossy, everything has a sheen.” The one exception was the lip, which was kept matte. While a number of products were used, Lucero said the most important one was the Eyes Are The Window Shadow Palette. “I could create the whole look using just this palette if I needed to. The palette can be used to illuminate the eyes and gloss up the cheeks for that dreamy, soft focus.” For lips, Lucero used Cherry Crush Lip & Cheek Stain, while skin was evened out using Stay All Day Foundation & Concealer.
The finishing touch was the nails, created by Essie, which were inspired by macaron shades. Each model got a manicure with one of three shades, depending on her outfit. The first was a jelly melon called Resort Fling, the second was a pinky-orange called Tart Deco and the last was a pale lilac achieved by mixing Go Ginza and Limo-Scene.
