#PFW: Just DIY at Lanvin A/W11

You’d think that runway beauty in Paris would be highly stylized and über hard to recreate, but not always. Case in point: Lanvin Fall 2011. Hairstylist (and Redken Creative Consultant) Guido gave each model a plain plait, while makeup artist Pat McGrath gave each girl a ‘lovely, but lived-in’ look.

Says Guido, “We’ve downplayed very glamorous clothes with a very easy hairstyle. Alber [Elbaz, Lanvin designer] wanted ease and femininity, so we did a very soft, very simple, very girly braid.”

We watched as Guido work his magic, and sure enough it is quite easy to recreate. First, he applied Redken’s Wool Shake 08 Gel-Slush Texturizer to rough-dried hair to give it a bit of texture, and then inserted a center part. Next, he pulled the hair back and braided her strands 90% of the way, securing it with a clear elastic. Any wipsy pieces that fell out of the braid or around the face were left, as isn’t wasn’t meant to be perfectly polished anyway.

For the makeup, “Alber wanted the models to look like they’re bad girls,” said McGrath. For her, that translated to smudgy, squared off black eyeshadow that was intentionally messy. “We wanted the girls to look like they’d done the makeup themselves.” To that end, masacra was applied (and re-applied) to each girl’s lashes, so that they’d look ‘cloggy and clumpy’, per McGrath. “The makeup is not at all perfect—it’s all about imperfection.”