This is a hopeful forecast of some of the artistic beauty and hair that will be seen on this week's series of runway offerings for S/S 2013. Fingers crossed that at least a handful of designers will dig deep into their penchants for elaborate, dramatic beauty to give showgoers a real treat on the runway by way of dazzling runway beauty. I mean, dazzle us with great clothes and accessories too, but...give us a little extra.
For a little inspiration, here are a few shows that had amazing, one-of-a-kind looks that makes their collections utterly unforgettable.
A)Alexis Mabille's S/S 2012 Couture show featured models whose faces were painted to match the exact color of the gowns that they were wearing, replete with a giant, similarly colored paper flower propped atop their manes. According to
Style.com, Mabille was inspired by a photo of a model with a pink umbrella over her head through which the sun's rays cast a pinkish glow onto her face.
My immediate reaction upon seeing these photos was to believe that Mabille was actually influenced by the talking flowers in Alice in Wonderland. Granted that is one of my favorite movies, so I am definitely biased, but it makes me happy to believe that that is where the
real inspiration came from.
And how about
B) Chanel's Resort 2013 collection and
C) Chanel's F/W 2012 RTW shows? The setting for the Resort collection was in the much-storied and magnificent palace of Versailles where - appropriately enough - models were decked out in pastels with Easter egg-colored bobs, rich peachy-pink eyeshadows and Chanel insignia beauty marks as throwbacks to the opulent days of Marie Antoinette's court.
And the ready-to-wear show was no less beautiful, with models sporting eyebrows bedecked in an array of glittering materials, including beads and sequins, while maintaining an otherwise sparse, minimalist facade.
D) Bernhard Willhelm F/W 2012 RTW show was magnificent in its employment of gender-bending beauty theatrics that showcased models embodying Jekyll and Hyde two-faced versions of themselves, with one side firmly grounded in reality and the other side...not so much. When all elements of the show work together to create a beautiful tableau, then I'm hooked line and sinker.
But perhaps the label that consistently produced elaborate and dramatic beauty looks was
E) Christian Dior when John Galliano was at its helm. Galliano loved the big and the bold, as he took iconic beauty looks (50s glamour, sex kitten, etcetera) to new, exaggerated heights. And the results were nothing short of spectacular. The following pictures were from, respectively, Dior's F/W 2008 RTW show, the S/S 2007 Couture show, the F/W 2010 Couture show, and the S/S 2010 Couture show.
(Above photos c/o style.com)
I hope and pray that during this fashion week that designers will send out some beautiful hair and makeup eye candy along with their seasonal wardrobe offerings.
