Why Zambesi's Beauty Look Was The Strongest Of NZ Fashion Week 2019

The strongest runway look of the week owed more than a little to 1960s sci-fi.

Models strode forth with sculptural beehives, wearing exaggerated Nerfertiti-style wings of black liner with lilac shadow on the eye lids. Hair director Michael Beel for l’Oreal Professionnel spoke of being after a bookish alien vibe and lead makeup artist Kiekie Stanners for M.A.C said she wanted to “create an army of Zambesi fembots.” And they did.

READ: Zambesi Celebrates 40 Years Of New Zealand Fashion

In less capable hands and worn with less confidently cut clothes this could all have been a mess. Instead it was a masterful reminder of a cohesive fashion show’s ability to transport. In this case through time and back to an other-worldly now.

As a label that has always used a diverse cast of models, applying some out-of-vogue uniformity to their beauty look was a welcome statement underlining the collection’s coherence. To be truly memorable big shows need more than pretty staging and styling and everyday beauty looks. This delivered and some.

Details wise the retro hair look obviously isn’t one that screams everyday wear, but the lilac eye shadow is well worth a swirl and who doesn’t want luminescent skin and glossy lips. The beehives were prepped with Root Lift product then backcombed, of course, and cunningly shaped and pinned over a padded hair donut.

READ: The Best Of Backstage Beauty At NZ Fashion Week 2019

But the clever trick was to create a squared-off shape more fantasy modern than mid-century, using an elastic near the base of the cone of hair, then spraying and setting with a Dyson Supersonic dryer which once the tie was removed left a boxy indent.

Facial iridescence and the lilac eye shadow reflected fabrics in the collection and was achieved with Strobe cream in Silverlite and multi-purpose Extra Dimension Crystal Glaze Gloss.

Watch: Celebrate Zambesi & Its Decades Of Backstage Beauty Artistry with M.A.C