Inspiration is everywhere is a statement that rings especially true during New York Fashion Week. It could be a time, a place, a person, or a 200-year-old poem (as was the case at Oscar de la Renta) that inspires the look, beauty and theater behind a collection.
At Rodarte’s FW2020 show, Nars Makeup Director James Kaliardos drew inspiration from an unlikely but also perfectly fitting place: Winona Ryder as gothic but delicate vampire’s-wife Mina Harker in 1992 Francis Ford Coppola classic Bram Stoker’s Dracula. With her bordeaux lips, translucent skin, and long wispy lashes, she was the perfect beauty muse for a designer that always delivers a show that’s whimsical, romantic, and Edwardian all at once, complete with frothy tulle, delicate embroidery and long gowns that sweep the floor.
“I have crossed oceans of time to find you,” Kaliardos quoted backstage at the FW2020 show in a rich, haughty, Dracula-type accent. The gothic innuendo was rife, from the dimly lit altar-cum-runway, to the religious location of St. Bartholomew’s Church. As far as beauty was concerned, skin was buffed to a Vampire-level of creamy perfection using the Nars Natural Radiance Longwear Foundation and Radiant Creamy Concealer. Kaliardos used highlighter to create a “controlled level of glow,” avoiding anything that would make the finished look too hyperbolic or “scary.” Eyes were bare except for a few long, side-swept lashes on the outer corners. The feature was the dark, vampy pout that appeared black at a glance but was actually a deep, saturated black cherry. James used the Star Rockin Precision Lip Pencil to line the lips, before filling with Train Bleu Velvet Matte Lip Pencil.
Hair was piled high above each model’s head in a fluffy, airy half updo, complete with flower embellishments and a tulle veil that looked almost bridal. And because the devil is in the detail at Rodarte, nails were also painted a dark shade of blood red – the perfect accompaniment to the dark, brooding makeup look.
Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train Bleu, $41 via Mecca Cosmetica. SHOP NOW
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