It's All In The Details..

As we add the finishing touches to our SS20 collection, we begin our countdown for our Photoshoot in 10 days.  In preparations for our photoshoot we begin to brainstorm what we want the final look to be, from creating a theme to finding a location, accessories, models, photographer, poses, props, hair and makeup. This week's topic is an insight to why hair and makeup is so important in a fashion photoshoot and where we source our inspiration.

When it comes to things like photoshoots, every single detail is important and all of them come together to make the perfect shoot in the end. Besides the garments usually being the main feature of a shoot, hair & makeup and accessories are also vital to creating the complete look.

Dior's Spring/Summer 2018 Couture

Within fashion makeup and accessories are used in order to enhance a look on the runway, I always immediately think of Dior’s Spring 2018 Couture collection, which was influenced by surrealism. What I love about the makeup is how sharp and sleek it is, which reflects the garments in the collection. Everything is immaculate and one of the most memorable pieces to come out of styling for the collection is the eye masks that Stephen Jones created.

Make Up And Hair Inspiration Straight Off The Runway:

Continuing on from Dior, I also love the makeup and hair that has been done during John Galliano’s time at Dior as well as for his own brand. I think that they’re absolutely beautiful and they go beyond the normal expectation of what makeup is. They are living pieces of art. Whilst Galliano was at Dior (From 1996 until 2011,) his go to makeup artists for the shows was Pat McGrath, who is amazing in her own right. Some of my favourite examples of her work is the makeup that she did for Galliano’s Fall RTW in 2009. I love the makeup, hair and accessories so much because of how they add to Galliano’s garments and really tell the story of the collection. When I see the photos I almost feel like I’m transported to a cold and magical alternate universe.

I think the photos below (a selection of runway and photoshoot work from Galliano) really prove just how important it is to have a complete look and that styling your garments will push the garments to the next level. I think it’s important for designers to have a team around them to create these incredible looks.

Editorial Inspiration:

Unlike most editorial shoots, I feel like there is a difference in the style of makeup that is used when shooting bridal wear. In most cases, makeup for editorials can be a bit bolder and creative. Photoshoots for bridal wear have more of a focus on the garments themselves because they are the selling point of the photoshoots. The makeup is typically more toned down and the colours appear to be more neutral. This is the similar to the type of makeup that is worn by a bride on her actual wedding day.

Vera Wang is a popular designer who is known for her bridal wear collections. The photograph below is a collage of 3 different images from her Fall 2019 Bridal lookbook. From the images you can see that makeup really isn’t a big feature of these images, but the hair and accessories have been styled in order to reflect the drama and elegance of the dresses themselves instead. I think that if the makeup was bright it would be distracting. I really like these images because of how minimalistic they are.

Must Follow:

I personally follow a lot of MUA’s on Instagram because I enjoy seeing new makeup looks as well as being able to see the collaborations they do within fashion. I also like being able to see behind the scene photographs of getting ready for a photoshoots or how these looks are put together with garments. It is always important to think about the makeup and overall styling when it comes to planning a photoshoot or runway show because all the small details count and could make all the difference.

Pictured below is 12 different accounts on Instagram who each belong to different MUA’s or people who just have an interest in makeup. We have chosen them as we love their work and think they’re really doing something different with makeup and pushing it further than the norm – they’re creating something completely new that other people haven’t seen before.

Fashion Collab:

As well as looking at photoshoots on social media platforms, I also really enjoy finding them in traditional media like magazines such as Dazed or Wonderland because of how creative they are. I also like to to rip out the pages from physical copies and keep them as sources of inspiration for my own future photoshoots. Whilst I was researching about photoshoots on Dazed Beauty, I came across this particular one which shows a collaboration between the makeup brand 3ina and an embroidery artist called Marie Sophie Lockhart.

What I love about these photos is that there is a balance between the embroidery work as well as promoting the makeup that has been created for the collaboration. The hair, background and accessories have been kept quite minimal in order to let the colours of the makeup and embroidery really pop up. It is also a great example of how photoshoots have to be planned out quite meticulously in order to make sure that the best outcome for the shoot happens.