If there’s one thing you can count on at Prada each season, it’s to expect the unexpected. But even Miuccia herself may have been surprised at the hysteria that was unfolding backstage over the shocking heavy-metal mouths created for her runway show tonight.
“More gold!” cried makeup artist Pat McGrath from the back of the house’s Via Fogazzaro show space at an hour until showtime, just as a pack of models darted toward a brightly lit corner in search of the perfect selfie (the sure sign of a Fashion Week hit). She was wielding an anonymous-looking unmarked tin of bright, glimmering 24-karat powder as she circled the room.
“We tried it on the mouth straightaway—Mrs. Prada had a feeling,” said McGrath, who riffed on the idea of ‘conservative eccentricity’ by bypassing a painted eye or brow in favor of a gilded lip. “There’s nothing more conservative than a perfectly drawn mouth,” continued McGrath, who was subverting the traditional makeup statement by rendering it in the surprising high impact shade.
At the test a few days earlier, she had pulled out all manner of the shade, from pale white golds to those with bronze undertones, before settling on one magic yellow pigment. “It’s super reflective, very gold, as metallic as it gets,” said McGrath. “The clothes are so strong, we thought, Why not do a mouth that’s punchy and really rich?” The rest of the face was stripped bare with a bit of foundation and framed with a halo of slick baby hairs (fixed in place by Guido Palau using Redken Hardwear Gel and Triple Take hairspray).
It all added up to something slightly futuristic but also beautifully surreal—a delicate Klimt-esque touch brought to life with an off-kilter Prada-ified twist. Which leaves just one question for McGrath, who dodged the question with a wink before dashing off for a final touch-up: What exactly is in that mysterious pot—and where can we get our hands on it? Stay tuned.
Watch the Prada Spring 2016 ready-to-wear show:
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