I’m firmly entrenched in fashion week preparations at present. You see not only will I be backstage hustling for heel-space in an effort to report on the very latest looks as they happen, but I’ll also be there in the capacity of Make-up Director, creating my very own looks on fifty or more models with three times as many assistants to help me. Hectic? Not even close.
In order to wrap my head around the coming week I’ve been pouring over slideshows and video footage of past collections, getting all-together inspired by the world’s foremost make-up maestros. While I’m a self-confessed fan of the look associated with Stella McCartney, Balenciaga and Jill Sander, I found myself drawn to the more outrageous looks, those that belonged to the more outrageous, envelope-pushing designers with a penchant for theatre, tricks, spills and thrills: Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dior, Miu Miu, Givenchy and Jean Paul Gaultier.
Needless to say my head is swimming. But I’m not alone; all the other hair and make-up directors are in the thick of trials and pre-RAFW trunk shows too. It can only be a good thing, surely; these sleepless nights I’m experiencing. The best scientists are the mad ones, right?