Beauty
Makeup
Material Culture
As the definition of makeup grows to include everything from felt and string to sequins and stamps, Jessica Kerwin Jenkins checks in on the craft-cosmetics movement.
STATE OF THE ART MODEL JULIA BERGSHOEFF IN THREAD AND FLOCK LIDS
AND BROWS BY MAKEUP ARTIST PAT MCGRATH. PHOTOGRAPHED BY CHARLOTTE WALES. BACKGROUND: FELT SWATCHES.
My two daughters, now seven and a half and almost ten, are heartbeats away from outgrowing those peak crafting years when we would while away the hours at the dining-room table, snipping and gluing delicate tulles and feathers, and trimming doll clothes with my collection of antique ribbons. Truthfully, I’ m a little wistful about what will become of these glittering mementos, all crammed into an overstuffed closet at our home in Maine, though if the latest runways are any indication, they may find a second life in an unlikely place: my makeup bag.
The very concept of cosmetics has been stretched in recent seasons by artists like Pat McGrath, who wound a length of colorful string from brow to nose bridge at Maison Margiela’ s spring couture show. Since the early nineties, McGrath’ s nontraditional makeup kit has included strips of chain mail( a gift from Donatella Versace), faux fur, and anything else she might find in designers’ ateliers.“ When you have the freedom to create a look from experimental materials, a realm of limitless possibility opens,” says McGrath. There is also a practicality in choosing colorful cat-eye paper cuttings over more traditional pencils and gel pots, she admits.“ Drawing on eyeliner is labor intensive!”
Thanks to platforms like Instagram, a new generation of fans and followers— more than a million of them— have been emboldened by McGrath’ s techniques, making things like the Swarovski-studded mouth she debuted for John Galliano fifteen years ago( and later reprised for Raf Simons),“ a basic,” she says, bemused. This willingness to supplement lipsticks and eye-shadow palettes with items gleaned from the world of high fashion— or online, which is where Erin Parsons picked up the flocking powder she used for the Muppet-like red lids and lips at LRS’ s fall show— is a confirmation that“ the fear of makeup is totally gone,” says Peter Philips. The creative and image director of Dior Makeup, who brought an elfin twinkle to the house’ s spring couture runway with strategically placed star-shaped sequins, also credits social media for the cosmetics coup. YouTube daredevils have taken cues from the pros, proliferating the trend by gluing on everything from wildflower lashes to crystal tears( see also: Alessandro Michele’ s fall Gucci show).
Our collective audacity has rarely been so evident, yet why now? Does decorating the face deliver that crafty catharsis people seek when taking up knitting? Or do homespun materials lend comfort in a climate of polarized politics? McGrath recalls another era when beauty turned wild: London’ s punk scene, with its visceral expression of social unrest.“ You don’ t put safety pins through your face as a reaction to feeling safe and sound,” she says. Even so, this latest incarnation of extreme beauty has a uniquely folksy vibe, offering what we desire most in uncertain times: joy.
Uplifting creativity is what women crave right now, according to Georgie Greville, a cofounder of Milk Makeup, which debuted a series of Tattoo Stamp styluses made of face-safe ink in peace symbols, hearts, stars, and smiley faces earlier this year. As Greville, a busy working mother who often wears a small stamped heart on her cheek like a New Wave beauty mark, explains,“ That’ s what makes us feel alive.” □
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SITTINGS EDITOR: EMILIE KAREH. HAIR, TOMO JIDAI; MAKEUP, PAT MCGRATH. BACKGROUND: STEVE GORTON / GETTY IMAGES. DETAILS, SEE IN THIS ISSUE.
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VOGUE JUNE 2017