7 Beauty Moments We Loved This Weekend at the Spring 2015 Shows: From Rihanna's Sleek Sophistication to Donatella's Major Model Tribe
From **Alexander Wang’**s Stan Smith–inspired tennis dresses—and the fittingly athletic hair and makeup that went with them—to **Joseph Altuzarra’**s Catherine Deneuve–influenced beauty look, there was plenty to process over the weekend during New York Fashion Week. These mega moments are part of the spring 2015 story that continues to unfold. Here, we celebrate our favorite street style sightings, front row fixtures, and blockbuster backstage show spaces.
Photographed by Kevin Tachman1/7THAKOON TAKES THE PLUNGE
This weekend saw its fair share of sleek hair—a perennial spring favorite—but hairstylist Odile Gilbert took things one step further, giving models a gel-slicked style that wasn’t so much damp, as soaking wet. “It’s [the idea of] these beautiful girls coming out of the water, like Helena Christensen in the Chris Isaak [music] video,” Gilbert explained. (Cue the “Wicked Game” sound track that’s now playing in your head.) “It’s sensual,” she continued of the center-parted twists, which formed a low-slung coronet on the back.
Photo: Getty Images2/7WHITE HOT RIRI
After wowing in the front row at Alexander Wang’s sneaker-fetishist homage on Saturday night in a (wide) open metallic trench, and again at Altuzarra in a slit-to-there chest-baring black dress, Rihanna resurfaced at Edun today in an ivory jacket that showcased a slightly finer sliver of décolletage, which she accessorized with body jewelry, glowing skin, and her own take on the sleek hair trend.
Photographed by Kevin Tachman3/7DONATELLA’S SUPERMODEL TRIBE
For her highly anticipated Versus collectsion with Anthony Vaccarello, Donatella Versace assembled her own swat team of mega models—including Anja Rubik, who made her first New York Fashion Week appearance in recent memory—in order to mimic the confidence and individuality of the original nineties supers. “There's not one look,” Pat McGrath explained of the job she and hairstylist Guido Palau were tasked with, namely to “enhance” each girl’s unique, natural beauty. “Jamie [Bochert] is Jamie; that's how Joan [Smalls] walked in, and Andreea [Diaconu] is herself,” said Palau, referencing the raw sex appeal of old Versace ads. A fresh-faced Smalls offered confirmation: “I came from home with straight hair that I did on my own,” she said.
Photographed by Gordon von Steiner4/7THE “ANACONDA” WORKOUT AT ALEX WANG
It was impossible not to stare at the superfit Nicki Minaj’s gravity-defying curves in a body-conscious crop top and skirt in Wang’s front row, despite her seat assignment next to the distractingly beautiful Lauren Hutton. After the sneak-inspired show, Minaj gave the designer’s model corps a lesson in her “Anaconda” antics—revealing what may well be the ultimate ab-toning, leg sculpting workout.
Photo: Courtesy of Opening Ceremony5/7KEEPING IT REAL AT OPENING CEREMONY
“Real girl beauty” has made the rounds as a backstage inspiration for the past few seasons, but Carol Lim and Humberto Leon made it meta at their Opening Ceremony show last night where the director Spike Jonze reimagined their runway as a one-act play cowritten by the actor Jonah Hill. “The production is kind of a day-in-the-life of everybody involved in the fittings,” hairstylist Anthony Turner explained of the models, who were meant to appear as though they were actually playing themselves at a morning casting—self-made ponytails and “last night’s makeup” courtesy of Yadim included. Lim and Leon also called in a few professionals to complete the illusion, having Elle Fanning and Karlie Kloss “play” models, while Rashida Jones and Catherine Keener were cast as members of the styling and design team.
Photographed by Kevin Tachman6/7ALTUZARRA’S FRENCH CONNECTION
Deliberately doll-like makeup can be gimmicky, but not under the direction of Joseph Altuzarra. “There is something French to it,” makeup artist Tom Pecheux explained of the fluttery, fake lashes he adhered only to the center of models’ lids. Their icy pink lips—meant to channel a young Catherine Deneuve—made a pretty complement to the designer’s irresistible seersucker gingham prints for spring.
Photographed by Mimi Ritzen Crawford7/7DVF’S BARDOT BOMBSHELLS
Diane von Furstenberg enlisted the beauty big guns for her “Brigitte Bardot from today”–inspired show in the form of makeup artist Pat McGrath and hairstylist Orlando Pita. A model-of-the-moment casting helped sell the bombshell message, as Kendall Jenner, Candice Swanepoel, and Lily Donaldson sported the iconic sixties actress’s nude, pillowy lips, smoky brown lids, and tousled, voluminous waves. As Donaldson put it backstage: “Every girl wants to be Brigitte Bardot pretty much.” Agreed.
