JOSSELIN DOES BACKSTAGE FASHION WEEK LONDON

– The wonderful world of Mary Katrantzou –

I always find the shows of Mary Katrantzou to be gems as you are taken to a wonderful fairy tale world. Now, getting a front row ticket is quite difficult, so I was very pleased with the fact that I could peek backstage over the shoulders of M.A.C’s makeup artists. It seemed like no problem to me since there are grand models hopping around and the beauty looks are always very inspiring. Backstage is actually just much more fun. So I’ll take you along in my latest backstage beauty report from London Fashion Week.

You should know that the shows of Preen and Paul Smith had thrown my energy level a bit out of balance. Sounds quite airy-fairy, but god, I found it really tough. Waking up at 6 am does something to you, both with your behavior and your looks, and when you’re standing among those beautiful doll heads of models, it doesn’t really contribute to your confidence about your looks. Now Mary Katrantzou does bring some change to that, as you saw enough sequins and color prints around you that lift your spirits.

Not even a minute backstage, I ran into Maartje Verhoef the slender body. She had already done quite a few shows in London, but was looking forward to this show. She was in the makeup chair of Lucia Peroni, the head of makeup at M.A.C Cosmetics backstage. She had designed the looks and I really thought I could ask her a few questions about the look over Maartje's shiny shoulder. The looks were very flawless, but with an exciting accent on the eyes. Burgundy and cobalt blue were the core colors of the collection and they appeared on the girls' lashes. Extremely heavily applied and each lash was examined with tweezers before the models could slip into an outfit. Strict she was. Strict but fair. And good thing too, because the looks were really stunning.

The hair was taken care of by L’Oréal Professionel. The idea was to also replicate that flawless look, but with an extra touch. It became the ribbon that was worn like a band around the neck and tied at the back.

After all the looks were painted on the models, the rehearsal began. I walked in there nonchalantly as a seasoned backstage visitor, because I wanted to experience everything from start to finish. Not that I stood out, no, I naturally looked like a huge model – especially with my camera and makeup-free face – and suddenly I found myself front row. Yes, you read that right: front row. Although there was no one else sitting there since it was the rehearsal, I was able to sneak a good look. And that was actually the most fun part. They had to walk three times again to practice, so I had all the time to check out all the outfits and polishes from top to colored toe and actually had many more stripes for all the other audience members who did have a ticket. I told you backstage is actually much more fun? And that’s why I have a little video for you. Then you were just there too.