At Dries Van Noten, Blade Runner Eyes and Feather Bangs Cause a Frenzy
Today in Paris, fashion lovers—make that die-hards—had their hearts set aflutter as Dries Van Noten presented his joint Spring 2020 collection with legendary French designer Christian Lacroix. A feast for the senses, there were vibrant and print-splashed embroidered opera coats, puff-sleeve dresses, and ruffled taffeta gowns with sequined caps and platform boots punctuating many of the looks. In every possible way, the beauty was an extension of the high-octane clothes, with metallic gold mouths, Blade Runner eye masks, and ostrich-feather-adorned hair abound.
Having conducted the hair and makeup tests for the show five months ago in Antwerp, Belgium, dream team Peter Philips and Sam McKnight were duly prepared to bring their directional concepts to life. But that didn’t make having to craft all of the intricate, individual looks backstage inside the Opéra Bastille any less chaotic. Per Van Noten, the jumping-off point for Philips was the 1982 sci-fi noir film Blade Runner, with the editorial pro putting his own twist on graphic makeup of Daryl Hannah’s character Pris Stratton with “brushstroke masks” running across the entire eye area in gold, black, and white. Then there were the shiny gold lips and stud decals; the latter of which inspired by the real-life piercings of one of the collection’s fit models.
Each model was assigned her own combination of the directional elements, making for a dynamic parade of adornment. “It’s a touch of Antwerp school with the tough rawness of the brushstrokes, but then there’s a bit of the refinement of the French school with the gold and pearls,” said Philips of nodding to the tell-tale signatures of Van Noten and Lacroix.
On that note, McKnight presented an arresting tribute to Lacroix, misting lengths with his Easy Up-Do texture spray and twisting them up into an effortless chignon before attaching fringe-like plumed extensions and sticking large black feathers into the styles of a select few. “Feathers were a big part of Christian Lacroix’s DNA,” explained McKnight, remnants of cobalt and fuschia feathers covering the floor below him. “So it was about retaining that old elegance and glamour, but then modernizing it by chopping them up and punking them out.” The debut of Van Noten and Lacroix’s collaboration providing the ultimate stage, McKnight proved that ostrich feathers are not only an outré-cool embellishment for any hair look, but also a non-committal alternative for anyone with fringe fever.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
