Once showgoers got over the shock-and-awe of Viktor & Rolf’s relatively shock-and-awe-free collection, they likely shifted their focus from the unusually wearable clothes to the equally wearable—and downright beautiful—hair and makeup. “It’s pretty, non?” Luigi Murenu asked, looking over a gorgeous interwoven coronet. “It’s innocence and youth for once,” he joked—a remark that he, of all people, is more than qualified to make. As the design duo’s longtime coiffing collaborator, Murenu has been a part of his fair share of backstage heroics here that have included braids in the past, an apparent soft spot for monsieurs Snoren and Horsting, but braids that are almost always paired with something extreme (Fall 2011’s allover red faces immediately come to mind). This season, Pat McGrath’s “fresh, young, and finished” blush-colored lids and contours made the soft, texturized plaits Murenu treated with Kérastase Nutritive Mousse Nutri-Sculpt seem that much more accessible—and instantly covetable. Full disclosure: We tried to replicate Murenu’s center-parted, crisscrossing inverted French braids (also called Dutch braids, which is appropriate for the Amsterdam-based fashion house) this morning with little success. But, as they say, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again”—and watch as many YouTube tutorials as you can find online.
