Follow Vogue Arabia

Gettin’ Flossy, Backstage at Anthony Vaccarello

anthony-vaccarelloInspiration comes from everywhere, and in the case of makeup artist Tom Pecheux, we mean everywhere. Before the face painter left for Milan, he had concocted an entirely different look with the designer. Upon returning to Paris, they both decided it wasn’t right. So what brilliant tool does one turn to when in need of something fresh? Floss. (Yes, really.) “That same morning before going to the fitting I had an appointment with the dentist, and I was sitting in the dentist’s chair, and I was like, ‘Ah, yes—floss,’” Pecheux said. (It wouldn’t have been my first thought while awaiting the drill, but hey, that’s what makes the man such a genius.) After prepping lids with powder and using a black pencil in between the lashes, he coated a strand of floss wound tightly between his fingers with Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipstick in Envious, then pressed it above the top lashes and below the bottom set. With model Liu Wen acting as his “sexy assistant” by holding the Double Wear Zero-Smudge Liquid Eyeliner while he ran the string over the tip, Pecheux framed the graphic red lines with skinny black bands, adding a final onyx slash in the “banana” (i.e., crease). Aside from a trip to the dentist’s office, illustrators like René Gruau and Tony Viramontes inspired the eighties-meets-rock-and-roll maquillage; the color palette came by way of the collection (particularly the shiny, crimson ruffle on Look 26). While this isn’t the first time Pecheux reached for floss in a fashion context (having used it for an editorial in V magazine), improvements in oral care did pose a new challenge: “Fifteen years ago dental floss was dry, and now it has wax on it, so it’s very slippery,” he noted.

The hair by Anthony Turner was equally as edgy, but in lieu of clean lines, the pro employed a “bit of bend” to give strands movement. After prepping with L’Oréal Professionnel Tecni Art Pli Thermo-Fixing Spray, he pressed sections in with his fingers while blow-drying. “It shouldn’t feel too sad—it’s not about grungy, lank, nothing hair,” he explained. A masculine side part was made, Wild Stylers Next Day Hair (“a dry shampoo without the dustiness”) was misted all over, and the length was tucked behind the ears and into the “polar necks” that completed the majority of the ensembles—a gesture we’ve seen multiple times throughout the season. “She means business, I reckon, this woman. She doesn’t even think about her hair,” said Turner. I reckon I’d agree.

Suggestions
Articles
View All
Vogue Collection
Topics