Six-Strand Side Braids, Muted Lips, And Shadowy, Stain-Like Lids At Alexandre Herchcovitch Fall 2011

Though he has historically flaunted an endearing affinity for the eccentric, flashy, loud and kooky, Brazilian fashion designer Alexandre Herchcovitch took a surprisingly understated approach when designing his Fall 2011 collection — all without sacrificing innovation and edge. Accordingly, the makeup and hair looks developed for the show were a huge deviation from previous seasons, such as Herchcovitch’s Spring 2011 show, when models sported criss-crossed chignons and neon-colored lips or his Fall 2010 show, when models’ lower lashlines were brushed with an orange pigment for a punk-meets-tribal look, their hair tied into braided chignons with loose strands, some worked into tiny braids, framing their faces. But just because the inspiration for the Fall 2011 show’s hair and beauty looks were devoid of heavily conceptual reference points, that hardly made them less stunning — in fact, they were among the most creative and jaw-droppingly beautiful looks seen during New York Fashion Week.

As usual, the magnificent Rolando Beauchamp led the Bumble and Bumble team backstage, creating yet another applause-worthy look. Since Herchovitch’s Fall 2011 collection emphasized layering and played with textural juxtapositions, Beauchamp decided to create an expansive six-strand braid that resembled a section of a macramé scarf. The collection’s black, gray, gunmetal and silver tones lent it an air of intrigue, which Beauchamp replicated by making a deep side part before commencing the braiding process and draping the front section of the hair across the face so that it would cover one eye, adding to the sense of concealment and thereby heightening the enigmatic effect.

Creating the look involved three to four people working as a team, manipulating the various sections of hair, and Beauchamp typically stood at the center weaving the pieces together. In terms of the products used, Beauchamo says he relied on Bumble and Bumble’s Holding Spray or the Thickening Hairspray, applying them to the hair below the deep side part and then brushing that section of hair along the side and back of the head, all the way to the opposite side. He also used Bumble and Bumble’s Grooming Cream on the ends of hair to weigh them down a bit and facilitate the subsequent hair weaving process. Once the six-strand braid was complete, Beauchamp secured it with an elastic and, right before the show, he tucked the ends of the braid underneath the hair to create a cap-like effect.

To hear Beauchamp himself describe how the look was achieved, check out the video above or click here.

Renowned makeup artist Philippe Chansel led the MAC Cosmetics team backstage at the Herchcovitch show for the fifth consecutive season (clearly, Herchcovitch, Chansel, and Beauchamp constitute a fashion and beauty dream team!). This time around, Chansel says Herchcovitch wanted a look that wasn’t too makeup-y but instead played more with the face’s natural contours and shadows.

Chansel applied a new foundation, set for a Fall 2011 release, on models’ faces, which he says features a new formula that makes it look incredibly natural atop the skin. No powder was applied atop the foundation — just a new MAC Pro Sculpting Cream in Sandbrown, a taupe-ish brown hue, blended below the cheekbones to add some contour.

As part of the Product Development team at MAC Pro, Chansel creates new formulations, improves upon existing textures, and masterminds new colors. During the Herchcovitch Fall 2011 show, he debuted one such new product, the MAC Pro Smothered cream color, a steely dark blue shade which should hopefully be released in the fall (fingers crossed that it will be included in the very same cream color quad see backstage, pictured in the second image below, after the jump). This color was applied along the crease and under the eyes, dabbed gingerly onto the skin, so that it would look like a stain. This grayish blue tone, then, simply accentuated the eye’s natural shadows — particularly under the runway lights. No liner or mascara followed, but he did use the MAC Brow Set in Clear to keep eyebrows in place and swept it atop lashes to clear any debris that might have fallen on them during the makeup application process.

Last, Chansel applied MAC Lip Conditioner to models’ lips and followed with the MAC Cream Colour Base in Fresco, a coral-tinged nude shade, pressing it onto their lips for a melted-on effect.

Manicurists from NYC’s Haven Spa painted models’ nails with Zoya Nail Polish in Kelly, a creamy gray shade with purple and blue undertones, for ultimate synergy with the Smothered cream color used on eyes.

Check out more photos below to see the Bumble and Bumble, Zoya, and MAC teams at work!