NYFW S/S 2011: MAC for Edition Georges Chakra

That backstage calm I described at the Kimberly Ovitz show? That was a fluke. Or possibly it was the calm of an off-site show. Edition Georges Chakra was my first Lincoln Center show, and backstage was chaos. The situation was made even funnier by the fact that tech guys were building the set (drills, nailguns and all) as the models were getting ready.

The key artist for makeup was MAC’s Terry Barber, and the look he created was absolutely beautiful — one of my three favorites from fashion week. Georges Chakra designs these gorgeous gowns, and makeup, hair, and nails were all designed to complement those dresses.

Terry said his focus was on giving the models very hydrated skin (Studio Sculpt foundation), with a champagne-and-khaki eye (champagne on the lid, with a “dirty,” khaki crease). He gave them an amber-bronze cheek, which curved up in a C from cheek to temple, and finished the look with a peachy lip (another show making use of MAC’s upcoming Kissable Lip. I wonder if this product is a liquid lipstick).

The shadows Terry used both came from an upcoming MAC quad in a collection called Cham-pale. The bad thing about seeing products in advance is, of course, you want to wear them immediately (especially after seeing how gorgeous they are on the models). I suspect that Cham-pale is MAC’s “post-Christmas” collection (which would make 2010 the third year in a row they have totally killed me with their post-Christmas collection. See Chill; Warm & Cozy.)

Leon Gorman (for Cutler/Redken) designed the hair, and it was feminine and elegant from every angle. He and his team first slicked back the front half of the models’ hair with Redken Hardwear 16 Super Strong gel. Then they made a fishtail braid, and as a last step, grabbed the end of the braid, and shook it, loosening it.

Gorman explained that the hair was really designed for the collection: first, he needed to give the models something suitably glamorous. Second, many of the gowns had low cut, shaped backs, so he needed to get the hair out of the way of that detailing. He said he thought the girls looked like Greek goddesses; I was inclined to agree.

Nails were done by Dashing Diva, in a shade called Mr. Right Now (a sheer pink with gold shimmer).