As far as Fashion Week goes, the shows in London get us a little more excited than the rest. Call us biased for our home town, but the Big Smoke always brings us the most exciting beauty looks – they push the boundaries and are a little braver when it comes to the catwalk; take Preen for example, where make-up artist Val Garland haphazardly stuck flowers on models’ faces and bodies or the extreme doll-like faces seen at Ryan Lo. We give you the top 5 trends spotted backstage this week at LFW…
Burberry and Christopher Kane
BOYISH BEAUTY
The lines of masculinity and femininity were blurred, as model troops sported androgynous looks at various shows. At Christopher Kane, mane man Guido Palau gave every model a boyish cut with side burns and bangs, while hair stylist Duffy slicked models’ hair into a sleek combover at Joseph. The make-up counterpart? Naturally bold brows and subtle contour, as seen at Anya Hindmarch and Burberry.
Unique
REVIVAL OF THE EIGHTIES
The Eighties brought us great things – from the birth of Super Mario Bros and Cabbage Patch Kids to Dirty Dancing and the rise of Madonna, but LFW saw our favourite of the lot come back – big, voluminous spiral curls (think Saved By The Bell’s Jessie). Thankfully, Topshop Unique brought back the ‘do with the help of hair stylist Duffy. Lead make-up artist Hannah Murray wanted to channel “the eighties power look with a soft and sexy finish,” which she created by pairing crimped locks with a burgundy smokey eye. Likewise, Paul Smith channelled the era with a wash of subtle pink hues across lids.
Julian Macdonald and Anya Hindmarch
‘SWEATY’ SKIN
Okay, it’s not as gross as it sounds, but we saw lots of shiny and radiant skin. We say sweaty, but in a sexy way, as make-up maestros made sure models were shining on the runway, literally. Val Garland used every tool of the trade to create a slick, glossy look at Anya Hindmarch (we spotted Egyptian Magic Cream, Elizabeth Arden’s 8 Hour Cream and lots of lip glosses), while at Julien Macdonald, models looked like they’d stepped straight out of the water as their shoulders glistened with body oil.
Preen
TEXTURED LOCKS
As a staple trend for SS'17, if there wasa time to get creative with your hair, it would be next season. From messy braids at Preen that matched their florally-adorned faces (we predict this will be 2017’s festival face), to braided buns as seen at Erdem, it proved easy to work texture into any style. At Versus, models sported a fresh-out-the-shower wet look, similar to Julien Macdonald’s sea-sprayed hair, while Fyodor Golan showcased colourful finger waves, beads and tight braids.
Mary Katrantzou and Molly Goddard
ACID MOUTHS
Hot lips were spotted at various shows, with Lynsey Alexander leading the lot at Mary Katrantzou with neon orange, pink and red lips. Pair with fresh, clean skin as models did to make mouths pop. Equally bright lips appeared at PPQ, Roksanda and Simone Rocha, where it was proved bright colours can be worn both matte and glossy. While those shows had neatly applied lips, we’re turning our heads to the outside-the-lines and messy red lips spotted at Mother of Pearl (actually nicknamed ‘Spaghetti Mouth’ by make-up artist Ciara O’Shea) and Molly Goddard.