A meeting of aesthetic minds characterised the recent Redken Shapes & Shadows Show at the Audi Fashion Fest this year: Complex haircraft by Redken took tresses to new – sometimes literal – heights, while creative makeup artistry by Shu Uemura sculpted and deconstructed to exemplify the makeup sensibilities behind this world-renowned brand. The alliterative ‘Shapes & Shadows’ was an indubitably apt name for the presentation!
I was privvy to the behind-the-scenes action for this show, thanks to the good people at Redken and Shu Uemura who hosted my beauty blogger friends and me at the L’Oréal Académie where the preparation and prettifying took place.
In one room, hair stylists straightened, teased and pouffed hair.
The man of the hour was, of course, Philip Barwick, the artistic director of Redken. His intense concentration generated a certain energy about him; it was fascinating to watch his deft fingers fly and the gradual formation of his hair creations.
The completed bouffant!
In another room, the talented Shu Uemura makeup artists painted their models with their own interpretation of the night’s theme.
Structured eyes sat side by side with diffused, languorous colours, while vivid hues stood out in striking contrast to bare canvases.
All the models’ eyes were to be adorned eventually with Shu Uemura’s iconic lashes, the signature – and much-coveted – products of the brand. The fash-lash focus? Ethnocolor Scope, the Tokyo Lash Bar 2011 lash collection comprising 8 different types of falsies.
As you can tell from the series of photos above, the makeup artists themselves were already made up and wearing their own dramatic lashes – in a lovely the-creator-behind-the-creation twist, they’d be walking the runway with their models!
The show was an aural and visual feast – music that was in turn languid and energising played to reflect the mood and theme of each walk, while haute couture black shared the spotlight with a kaleidoscope of colours that burst onto the runway with rainbow hues on the models’ faces and fashion frocks.
Here are photos from the brilliant show:
C’est très bien!
And here I am with my friends: Kas, Iris, Sara, Chantana and Sophia. Many thanks to Shu Uemura and Redken for hosting us! :)
Image source: Shu Uemura Singapore
You get invited to the most fun events. I’d love to be a blogger in Singapore (well other than the heat and my grandson is in the US!!).
Hi Marcia,
I had a wonderful time. If you ever make it here for a holiday and the timing is right, let’s attend one of these together! :D