Backstage Beauty: Band of Outsiders Fashion Show

High-wattage fashion met classic celluloid heroes at NYFW’s Band of Outsiders show.  The muse for this collection was none other than The Brady Bunch star, Jan Brady.  The charmingly awkward yet artistic middle sister in the cult fave TV series, was the brainchild of Band of Outsiders’ designer Scott Sternberg.  He told us, that he’s “a big fan of Jan Brady! The hair is very California, very ‘70s. For his collection, Scott was very influenced by Jan Brady going to the beach.”

The long, textured tresses created by Didier Malige of Art Partner —exclusively with René Furterer styling products—had an aprés-swim, surfer girl ease that was right in sync with the beachwear-inspired, effortless elegance of the Band of Outsiders collection, which ran the gamut from Malibu-worthy hoodies and anoraks to fluid washed silk crêpe shirtdresses.

For a sophisticated take on the quintessential California Girl, makeup artist extraordinaire Dick Page, Artistic Director for Shiseido, gave eyes, lips and cheeks a sensual glow with sun-washed neutrals for eyes, lips and cheeks. Here we go backstage to follow Didier and his team making waves for the runway.

FRONT ROW FLAWLESSNESS

For the Band of Outsiders Spring/Summer 2014, Shiseido Makeup Artistic Director Dick Page created an “easy, open” look that radiated a strong warmth.  Inspired by the “dispersed elements” of the collection, including both muted and bright colors, the finished result was sporty and pure with an overall warm complexion and a “light halo” around the eye.

EYES:

Dick created a “reverse raccoon” effect with the NEWShimmering Cream Eye Color in Yuba  swept on the lid and blended towards the brow.  The soft beige shade was also applied deep along the lower lash line for a “pale halo” of un-tanned skin.

FACE:

To warm up the complexion a “band of tone” from the NEW Face Color Enhancing Trio in Plum was diffused along the cheeks and towards the nose.  Bronzer increased the effect under the eye and between the brows, and the “bronzed, matte” look was completed with more of the beige shade from the Trio on the lower cheeks.

LIPS:

Lips provided a slight contrast but still radiated warmth, featuring a light application of the NEW Lacquer RouteGloss in Debut, an “innocent pinkish beige.”  The NEW ShimmeringCream Eye Color in Yuba provided added definition along the bow of the lip.

BRADY BEAUTY

Didier Maliage shared her insight into achieving this artistic style at home:

STEP #1: I start on clean, dry hair and make a low side part so that hair falls to the right. Next, starting at the roots, I mist hair generously with René Furterer FIORAVANTI shine enhancing no rinse detangling spray, combing it through and massaging it in with my hands. This helps to bring back the natural curl, whatever texture the model has. Even if you have straight hair, you can bring out the wave with this product.  Once all the hair is sprayed, we repeat this step, from roots to ends, several times. You can use a lot of the FIORAVANTI detangling spray because it doesn’t get greasy and has a very good texture. 

STEP #2: Next, in front I sweep the hair to the right of the part across the forehead. The focus of this look is the sweep of hair to the side. It has to be really flat in front, like Jan Brady would do. The movement has to be exaggerated. Then I lift the end of this “bang” and hold it with a clip. I put a bit of paper under the clip so it won’t leave a dent. The hair is also clipped behind the left ear in the same way.

STEP #3: To secure the side-swept hair in a soft wave behind the right ear, I slip in two bobby pins right above the ear, matching the pins to the model’s hair color. We want the pins to be matte so that they are invisible on the runway. So before putting them in the hair, we “sand” them with an emery board. When the pins are matte they won’t pick up the light on the runway.

STEP #4: To continue building the texture I continue to spray hair with the FIORAVANTI detangling spray, lightly ruffling the hair with my hands as I go. This look isn’t so much about hairdressing, it’s more about styling. We are not using blow-dryers. And it’s best not to use combs or brushes, and just use your hands. We’re not “doing” the hair—we’re just touching it.

STEP #4: Last, hair in back from crown to ends is sprayed with René Furterer VOLUMEA volumizing conditioning spray no rinse and massaged in with my hands. This gives the texture we created a controlled volume and a light, airy natural finish. The clips are removed, hair is again lightly ruffled and we’re ready for the runway!