EUDON CHOI London Fashion Week SS2010

Eudon Choi was such a pleasure to be around. This was his first big show and he was very anxious and nervous when I met him. When I first saw his collection I was very impressed on how wearable and beautifully made it was.  The clothes were so tailored and clean which I love anyway. But they really did inspire me, as I would wear his clothes any time of day.

The 1920’s warehouse coat was the starting points for Choi and he played with the functionality of work wear garments, manipulating their masculine overtones to create a feminine silhouette.

We took a while to create the final make up look as we had based it on working girls ‘Sweating’. Somehow I had to create the wet look without looking too greasy, as we still wanted the girls to look naturally beautiful.

By massaging the skin with moisturizer before hand I placed a little bit of tinted moisturizer to even out the skin tone.  Using highlighters and face gloss I placed it predominantly on the high cheekbones and forehead. Also using a soft shimmer I placed this all over so it looked pearlescent.  On the eyes was soft taupe cream color with the cheeks for contouring and added a splash on the lips. We kept it quite minimal in keeping with the working girl theme.  The white eyeliner was placed to work in contrast to the taupe eye shadow, which is called ‘Quite Natural’ cream base color by MAC. This was used on the eyes, cheeks and lips.

Elizabeth Emanuel ''Art of Being''

Elizabeth Emanuel and her label “ ART of BEING”

Iconic British fashion designer, Elizabeth Emanuel launched today after 10 years being off the catwalk. She showed her dedicated collection based on the little black dress.  Beautiful ready to wear full of textures and various tones of black which can be worn day or dressed up for night. A stunning show with a star studded audience including:

Beverly Knight, Kate Nash, Sonique, Emma Noble, Colin Jackson, Trudie Styler, Amy Smart, Lady Suzanne Olivier, Keira Chaplin, Elizabeth Minnett, Matthew Mellon, Martine McCutcheon, Jo Woods, and Miss J Alexander were amongst the guests

Famous for designing Princess Diana wedding dress, throughout the 1990s Elizabeth designed exclusive dresses for Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, Elizabeth Hurley, Jane Seymour, Jerry Hall, Twiggy, Ivana Trump, Anne Margret, Carolina Herrera, Drew Barrymore, Daryl Hannah, Charlize Theron, Dannii Minogue, Helena Bonham- Carter, countless films, theatrical productions and even re-designed the uniforms for two airlines.

So it was a privilege to be part of her show.

John Gallianos was the inspiration for the make up. Elizabeth told me she wanted her show to be couture make up. A showpiece! So during the test I blocked off the eyebrow and showed her how extreme we could go. High brows recreated like the 1920’s and strong graphic eyeliner. Eyelashes on top and bottom and strong red but matte lips were the key points. To modify the look we changed the eyebrows to a more 1940s style and rather than black we used a dark warm brown.  Once all the girls were made up they looked womanly and doll like which gave sophistication to the way they portrayed themselves.  By placing the blush under the eye and graduating it out wards in two toned pink it gave it a deconstructed feel with an edge.

The lovely Elizabeth rocking the red lipstick!

I had the pleasure of working with Sonique

Rituals Cosmetics sponsored all products.

LONDON FASHION WEEK 2010

So its that time of season where designers are frantically organising their shows and final collections. London has the buzz of whats in store next season, to the looks, models, make up and hair styles, accessories and general press go into a different world for the next few days. For me it is a time where you step out of reality for a little while.  Everything you know and understand is a challenge, because after all the press are looking at you for the ideas of whats in store next!

Prior to the show I had to meet the designers and discuss what has inspired their collection and try to translate their thoughts and ideas into reality. Then we arranged a test to go over what I had in mind in relation to make up with their clothes.  I always get a bit nervous and excited at the same time because I know all the hard work that is to come. It can be so manic and stressful but very job satisfying each season, that sometimes I often wonder how lucky I am to be where I am today. Right in the middle of fashion week.




DAY 1

PROPHETIK spring/summer 2011

Fashion Stylist Rebekah Roy at work

Botticelli's Venus takes centre stage for Prophetik's spring /summer 2011 collection called 'Midnight Garden.  Designed by Jeff Garner, the men's and womenswear label provokes mystery and innocence with beautiful flowing Southern ball gowns trimmed with beaded leather ropes and delicate lace, exquisitely tailored jackets and waistcoats decorated with antique buttons, pin-tucked tea dresses, hooded tunics and long hemmed bloomers.

working backstage

palette: ivory, indigo, oatmeal, lavender, copper, sea foam, raspberry, coral.

Tim from Toni&Guy

Set in Vauxhall Fashion Scout in Free Masons Hall in Covent Garden the early morning call at 8am was maybe a bit too early for a few of us. However we were greeted with the sound of live music which was  got us in the spirit. All ready to go I went straight into my demonstration for the team.

The finished look 

The make up was based on ethereal and mermaids but not quite fantasy. Jeff wanted the eyes to sparkle had suggested that maybe we could have diamond eyelashes. Luckily in the test I had a pair that had crystal beads on them and they worked out quite well. Swarovski had supplied us with crystals too. What I didn't expect was that they didn't sell the particular eyelashes I used so I ended up searching for 2 days and spending 3 nights working out the best way to make them myself. It got easier to make after the 8th pair although my fingers got glued together! my main colour palette was pink and peach with white and pink glitter dust.

Perfeckt gel primers and eyelashes that I made with sponsored crystals from Swarovski

So after a quick run through we had less than 40mins to finish all the models in both make up and hair and getting them dressed for their first outfits. Luckily I had a great team of assistants supplied from AOFM and a few make up artist friends of mine we cracked on quickly together working in pairs to do as much as we could and finish the look. I absolutely love the hair that Tim from Toni and Guy had designed. It was based on medieval and tribal which he allowed his team to have creative flair so each of the model had their own style to suite their hair length and face. Rebekah who kept everything and everyone in running order and in time backstage and for front stage did a great job with her team. The show ran smoothly with an orchestra playing in the background as the models walked down the grass runway.

Fabulous stylist Rebekah Roy, myself with amazing hair by Tim Furressdon

DAY 2

Lako Bukia SS11 Collection

Lako Bukia hit the runway for the first time at Vauxhall Fashion Scout this week at London Fashion Week. The inspiration for the collection was taken from Soviet Union Architecture and the block buildings, which remain in the Soviet Union Countries. The collection color pallet was soft hues of blue, pink and natural tones.

When I first met Lako for her test at Tim at Toni and Guy Salon I was surprised how gentle and quiet she was. She was also laid back and let me demonstrate what I thought would suit her collection. It was a tough call because as a make up artist you want to do make up, but when the pallet is as soft and clean as hers I decided to hold back and keep the look soft in color tones but we gave the look a modern edge by making the eyebrows nice and strong but soft enough that it was still elegant.

Interview by Peak at MO-AM

models backstage preparing

I used a dark shadow under the eyebrow so it unified the look on each model to their shape and kept it natural to their face. Cheeks were highlighted with Benefits High Beam and MAC silver dusk. This gave it a beautiful contour at the same time. Sockets were kept creamy with a soft pink gloss and just a splash of mascara to keep the eyes defined. White MAC pencil was used to make the eyes look bigger and fresher. Lips were soft and nude with a sparkly white shimmer gloss. 

I really enjoyed the show and loved the simple dresses which were made of crepe and organza

Team at work backstage

Lako gives it the go ahead before show

ShowCASE make up

As it is coming up to London Fashion Week - one of my favourite events of the year I often get asked where does my inspiration comes from and how I decide on a look. Here I will look over past events of creative show make up and talk about how I created the looks. Many of the ideas usually branch from a brief given from the client. Then I would go away and create a mood board from various materials and tear sheets from magazines, films, iconic eras, make up brands and materials available.

Rembrant

Picasso

Chagall

I get inspired by art books in particular as they usually have interesting paintings and colours that I get attracted to. My favourite artists would have to be Rembrant for his skill of directional light and use of tones in colours. Picasso for contrasting colour and organised mess as I would call it. Chagall for use of illusions and surreal images.

I still can remember my very first design for a major show which was for L'Oreal. It was my first experience in the design process in a team and working with over 30 artists. It was a success and I learnt that practice makes perfect. Working alongside Kim Gavin famous choreographer for the likes of Take That, Viva La Diva and many major shows and artists and renowned hairdresser Trevor Sorbe. We created different characters to suit the sections of the show which was held in Earls Court. Rock and Punk, Toons and Disco. We used a mixture of materials such as greaspaints, bodypaints, eyelashes and plenty of gold leave.

The above is a presentation for Vidal Sassoon. Based on geisha look with a modern twist. I used colour eyelashes with colourful glitter and shadows. Keeping the skin porcelain was the key for this look rather than the usual powder.

The above show was with Andrew Barton who was director for SAKS. Based on voodoo woman, animals and tribal. This was fun as it was very characteristic and the looks speak for themselves. 

This was at IMATS Alexandra trade show working with AOFM the Academy Of Freelance Make Up. I was demonstrating the use of various mediums such as glitter, greasepaint, customised eyelashes, texture of greasepaint and cream eyeshadows. We were also promoting the launch of Make up is Art book.

The using of creative materials and textures can be often scary to work with but with a lot of practice on myself and models it saves time and mishaps before the show day. Which is why I probably look like I know what I'm doing and make it look easy. Sometimes people forget all about the research that goes on behind the scenes and how much time I spent searching and testing brands and materials to see if they can work together. I'm lucky to still have my eyebrows with the amount of eyebrow wax and testing I do in blocking out eyebrows. You can see samples above what happens when you have no eyebrows - allows you to have more space for reshaping the eye area. Using diamonds and swarovski crystals is one of my favourite looks. 

One of my first London Fashion Week shows with Inbar Spector below. Using glitter gel on eyebrows.

Based on Gothic Couture

Working with Inbar Spector was inspirational and a great experience. I had to deal with many trials to get the right look and even went to her studio late night before the show date to change the idea. It was quite stressful but on the day it all came together and we had great press which led her to go to Paris and sell her collection. 

Having creative freedom with designers is an honour and one that is treasured in my heart as every show and design I do, I feel it is a part of me and my believe on how a make up look should be. Working with teams over weeks in designing for the show and preparing 4 hours before the show that only lasts for 15 mins seems like such a shame sometimes.

Here are sample of my on schedule show with Gavin Douglas  and then Bernard Chandran which was a special moment for me as this was what I aspired to do when I first started designing shows. Being around all the chaos and packed audience and press it was one of my most memorable times. Working along side stylist consultant for Gavin at the time Karen Biggs. She gave me great advice in surviving the fashion industry.

Below: Gavin Douglas

Bernard Chandran

During this time I also got to meet the organisers at Vauxhall Fashion Scout and ended up doing some great designers. Below are examples of some of my designs at the shows at Vauxhall.

Below: Danny Tang                                 Harriets Muse 

 Jasper Garvida

Prophetik

Romeo Pires

William Tempest

My experience with William Tempest has been a learning curve. If you are lucky enough to work with a designer from the start of their career who grows to be one of the most established is a rare and lucky occasion. I have been there from one of his first shows and now he has left London to show in New York which is an amazing step. William always knows what he wants and has a lot of input to how the make up should look which is great. He has grown so quickly over the years and is now one of the big names. It has been a pleasure working with him and I look forward to see what is to come next.

Watch this space as I start work on the next season............