ELLE Style Awards 2010 Backstage

It was a fantastic day amongst a room full of some of the best Make up Artists backstage at the ELLE Style Awards 2010. The team was led by Dirk Jensma and included Chiao-Li Hsu, Katerina Brans, Mascha Meyer, and Severine van Donkelaar.


I'm in the video too!


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WANT

Wants a leather gilet and this one fits the bill.  Just look at the geometric detailing!  Gots to have this!
TOPSHOP Spring 2010

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He Never Loses The Darkness In His Soul

"He never loses the darkness in his soul"  Tim Blanks on Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy during the label's Spring 2010 show. 

The pieces had a sort of mesmerizing power that drew everyone watching into the center of them.  A complex exterior wanting to be unraveled perhaps.  Somewhat of a romantic notion.

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Other-Worldly Queens

Something that I rarely mention about me is that I'm a bit of a science fiction fanatic.  I have had many a weekend when instead of going out to bars or catching a birthday bash, I opt to have a Sci-fi marathon at home.  So it is to no surprise that I was all over it when I saw McQueen's Spring 2010 RTW collection shown in Paris.  Watching the show was like being at a set for a Science fiction movie but with fabulous exhibition-esque clothes.  Braids were woven atop model's heads like tentacles and thorny flesh jutted out of their faces.  However, the clothes and the shoes told a slightly variation on the story.  The clothes had the most beuatiful victorian painting prints merged with reptilian motif.  And the shoes...oh the shoes!  The models were utterly other-worldly Hive Queens that have ruled their domains for eons.


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Inspirational Clip - Black, Shine & Studs

Art direction: Thomas Vermeer
Make up and Hair: Ferry van der Nat
Model: Feline

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Miucha Edges

There was a lot of unfinished business on the runway of the Prada Spring Ready-to-wear 2010 show in Milan.  Edges were hacked off and ever so slightly pulled which resulted in a beautiful balance of structure and destructed.  Fragile or not?  Piece after piece appeared and one could hardly believe one's eyes or blink in fear of missing just a second of the show.

I recently worked with a garment at a photoshoot that resembled a softly decaying blossom.  The edges, like those seen at the Prada show, were unfinished and tattered.  That piece was so delicate so much that at every 10 camera clicks the garment transformed itself right before us.  Perhaps it is a reference to the unstable nature of beauty. Or maybe we simply get bored with wearing something that looks the same all the time.  But which ever way we would like to interpret it, I think I love the way things are going for Spring of 2010.  Stagnation has been driven out of town!

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Chanel Short Movies

A little indulgence during lunch break.  This and many other cute short movies from Chanel about their new Coco Cocoon bags.

Enjoy!


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Watch Out

Some news to totally follow and watch for.  Chanel's shoot at the Russian embassy in Paris (for Vogue Russia) and Lily Allen as the face for the launch of new Coco Cocoon handbag line (in stores October 3rd).

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Arrive In Fiat-Style

Quirky yet fun idea:  run from show to show at the New York fashion week with free rides in vintage Fiat 500s.  These rides offer show to show stops and live show streaming to attendees of NYFW (just show your invitation).

“While the fashion community is struggling to find cabs, StyleCaster is providing free rides to make their lives easier. While others are taking pictures and posting the next day, we are streaming runway shows live to audiences across the world,” said Ari Goldberg, StyleCaster’s CEO. “One way or another we are going to bring style to the people and we are not going to stop until we do.”

To get a free ride to your next show look for the vintage Fiat 500’s with the StyleCaster logo and simply show the driver your invitation.

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Anticipation

Even with the heat of Summer prevelant, I can't help but anxiously await the arrival of Autumn. A bit of time spent surfing on style.com does that to me every season. The anticipation of new colors, textures, shapes and even more choices in ways we will be encouraged to play with our hair and makeup is mind blowing.

And before my mind drifts off somewhere else let me just put this down. Balmain's Fall 2009 collection has at so many levels encompassed all of the feelings aforementioned. In Balmain's case, the new color is a vibrant blue, drizzling sequins as the new texture, and the new shape is the elongated line drawing focus on cutting edge shoulders.

And then just look at those boots!


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Bjorn Borg - Westergasterras Fashion Show

Yesterday evening was spent backstage with a few fantastic makeup artists from House of Orange such as Kathinka Gernant, Fabienne Jansen and Severine van Donkelaar. The famous model Doutsen Kroes made an appearance chaperoned by her personal body guard. She is as beautiful in person as she is in those L'oreal Paris campaigns like the one seen in the video below:





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SuperTrash Catwalk Show S/S 2010 - AIFW July 2009

Gorgeous girls with shiny bouncy waves strutted the runway as onlookers such as Janice Dickinson watched on. The collection is feminine and definitely sexy. All the pieces slithered about on the body capturing the essence of the label SuperTrash. The clothes reflected on the attitudes of the models as well. The models who wore the clothes couldn't help but feel really sexy.

Footage backstage - all the commotion and Janice Dickinson herself:




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Replay - AIFW July 2009

Amidst leggy models wearing rolled up slouchy jeans at the Replay S/S 2010 catwalk show at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week, the center piece of the collection was a creme fraiche silk dress with studded denim bust. The audience fanned themselves in the packed salon watched as the men strolled out with swimming pool hair and the women with beach waves.


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LEW S/S '10 - Amsterdam International Fashion Week July 2009

before the show

LEW (Leemans En Wicker) is a label with a distinctive eye for color, patching and layers. Their creations look gently fresh and modern. See photos below taken of their Spring/Summer 2010 collection at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week (AIFW) of July 2009.

Another element of the show I loved as well was the hairstyle. From the front the models had Veronica Lake-esque waves but from the side and the back, braiding was revealed and done to keep long hair off the neck....great idea to keep some heat off in Summer.

I'm crazy about the glasses!

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Blue Blood S/S '10- AIFW July 2009

Always in tune with the calm, cool and collected, Blue Blood presented their Spring/Summer 2010 collection at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week (AIFW). Keeping in mind both him and her, the label makes wearable luxury street fashion that impacts a certain statement. That is what denim should be about after all. I find myself wanting yet another jumpsuit from the label and the slanted tee felt pen-marked with "HELLO". And there is something beautiful about wearing a universe-printed top.


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Badgley Mischka S/S '10 - AIFW July 2009

Badgley Mischka with Club Brillant (who styled the outfits with eyewear), presented their Summer 2010 collection on Wednesday at the 11th edition of the Amsterdam International Fashion Week. This was the first show of the season and it set the tone for what's to come in this week of fashion and beauty.




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Fashion Week Is Coming!

As previously, I'll have the privilege to be at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week, reporting on the upcoming fashion collections and makeup/hair looks. This Summer/Spring 2010 edition of the AIFW welcomes back some previous designers such as Blue Blood, llja Visser, Individuals and Monique Collignon. I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next season! This fashion week in Amsterdam also welcomes new participating designers at the AIFW such as Badgley Mischka and LEW. 2 shows that I am personally looking forward to seeing.

So join me won't you?

Opening downtown @ Heineken the City open to public, Amstelstraat 31, Amsterdam

Official schedule (invites only): Catwalk schedule
Downtown schedule (open to public): Public program


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Diesel VIP Event

I love to live in my jeans. Even if I adore the classic denim pair, ones that have been restyled such as ones pictured below make an unforgettable statement.

The AvantGarde magazine asked 10 Dutch designers to let loose their creativity; to use a simple pair of jeans as their canvas. The participating designers Jeroen van Tuyl, Filiz Akcakal, Gerrit Uittenboogaard, Tessa M. De Graaf, Hans Ubbink, Claes Iversen, Emily Hermans, Ilja Visser, Marga Weimans and Antoine Peters will be showing their creations from the 20th - 27th (during Fashion week) of July at the Diesel flagship store in Amsterdam.

Come say hello (I will be there too greeting you with a makeup in hand) and to check out the new jeans creations. This VIP Evening gives you the chance to win one of those special jeans, meet & greet the designers, a fashion prediction from Bastiaan van Schaik (Fashion Director of AvantGarde), beauty makeovers (hair from the L'Oreal team and makeup from the Maybelline team) and of course, the Goodiebag (yeah!).

Details:
Date - July 20th, 2009
Time - 19:30 - 22:00
Location - Diesel flagship store Amterdam Heiligeweg (close to the MAC store)


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Quick Update

A quick update on what I've been up to lately. Sorry for the lack of posts...maybe it is time for me to get a mobile/cell phone that is from this century. Then I can finally stay connected easily...

The lineup. The makeup I did for a beautiful collection by Tuija M. The clothing was luxuriously adorned with real deer fur.

The makeup we did for And Beyond which I absolutely loved. Shown at the Mode Biennale.

Rahsan Memik, the woman who designed the makeup looks for the designers Peter Hornstein, Monique van Heist, and And Beyond. She led us (the team of makeup artists) at the Mode Biennale in Arnhem.

A shoot I did with Kultivate, a young company who produces statement street wear. It was fun to work that hair!

Tessa W. created a collection inspired by the hecticness of the everyday life. The idea is that the white blinders provided a sort of shield. So I did the makeup and hair accordingly :)

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