Beauty Insider – Fashion Week Special

By Ellen Burney

Legendary make-up artist Kay Montano has been working backstage at London Fashion Week since it started 25 years ago. Here, she recalls the dynamic beauty scene of the 1980s and reveals how the look – which is big news in beauty again this year - has been updated for 2009.

ELLE meets Kay

This year London Fashion Week celebrates 25 years and, in a timely twist of fate, the trends that dominated the fashion agenda back then are influencing a whole new generation of fashion mavens in London today. In beauty, as in fashion, influencers have been moving things forward by looking back. And while the 1980s is sometimes called the decade that fashion forgot – yes, until recently, people laughed at leggings and bum bags– designers and make-up artists have been plundering these flamboyant times for inspiration. The result? A look that feels bold, edgy and totally now.
Kay Montano has been working London Fashion Week since the day it started. Now an internationally renowned make-up artist, she was responsible for creating some of the iconic looks from the 1980s, including Nick Kamen’s cover for Face, where he was covered in white ink, and Jeny Howorth for ELLE – all dramatic contouring and matte red lips.
But even Kay is the first to admit that while 2009’s make-up scene may not be as directional as it was in the 1980s, the way the look has been pared down and modernised is absolutely right for now. ‘I loved the unique strong expression of people like Human League, Madonna and John Galliano,’ she says, ‘as well as the dense, heavily-pigmented make-up from Mary Quant and Biba, but today’s look is healthier and more wearable.
‘Still, I wish there was more of a sub-culture surrounding fashion. But nothing is left alone these days. It all ends up in the papers and becomes commercialised. The people doing interesting things are likely to be approached by LVMH or running Gucci within a year.’
The upside, though, she says is that modern make-up formulations are much more accessible and you can afford to make mistakes. We asked Kay to recall the looks she created in the 1980s, and show us how to wear the trend so it’s right for now.