Every season, Simone Rocha treats us to a most whimsical runway show, packed full of diaphanous dresses, season-stealing hair slides and more feathered slippers than you could wear in a lifetime. And every season we swoon. If ever we wanted our signature style to be 'pastel-hued Victorian child', it's when we're backstage at Simone Rocha.
Hitting us with the look of London Fashion Week once again (AW19's beaded crowns are still on our lust list), Rocha drew on her Irish heritage for SS20's next level beauty look.
Inspired by the Irish Wren Boys, who would prance from door to door singing for money circa 1875, this season's hair and make-up was all about the Victorian countryside with an otherworldly embellished twist. Think pearl-studded nails, raffia woven braids and hand-painted bird feathers.
The Hair
Pro hairstylist Duffy dreamed up a hair 'journey' for SS20's nod to the Irish countryside. 'There are four looks. Each one has the same simple, masculine silhouette from the front, with varying finishes in the back,' he explained.
'Some models have their natural hair left down, some have a French braid, some have a box braid with raffia woven into it, and some have five or six box braids woven with raffia into a sculptural silhouette.'
Mimicking the macramé aprons and raffia harnesses in the collection, Duffy's intertwined braids are officially the SS20 way to work plaits. Business in the front, party in the back but make it Victorian.
The Nails
Continuing the tough take on traditional Irish Victoriana was manicurist Ama Quashie on nails. 'Simone wanted the jewellery from the collection to work all the way down to the models' tips,' Quashie told ELLE UK. 'I'm applying pearls either at the tip of the nail or the cuticle but keeping the nail itself matte for a tomboyish take on embellishment.'
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The best bit? It's the most DIY-friendly part of the entire show (ok, apart from the raffia). Quashie used Kure Bazaar nail polish in French Nude as a base then studded each nail with a pearl (you can get these from any haberdashery or on Amazon HERE) using a dot of regular nail glue. And that's it. Adorned nails in no time.
The Make-Up
For SS20 Rocha called on the creative genius of make-up artist Thomas de Kluyver to channel her ode to the Wren Boys. For such a brief, only two fantastical make-up looks would suffice. 'I'm keeping the skin raw and then adding detail on top,' explained de Kluyver backstage (incidentally wearing the mini cowboy-meets-fisherman hat we're coveting this season).
'For half of the models I'm taking a black or off white eyeliner pencil and quickly drawing on messy lashes. I want it to feel painterly and playful, not too focussed. Then I'm using a dry cotton bud to smudge the lines out to get a sort of psychedelic punk shape. After that, I'm using a liquid eyeliner to add in more detail.'
And the other half of the line up? This is where the more literal celebration of Rocha's Irish heritage really comes into play. 'We're hand painting Irish bird feathers onto the centre of models' foreheads,' de Kluyver told us. 'We've chosen six final feather designs. I love how it transforms make-up into an accessory.'
Every High Fashion Make-Up Look From Backstage At Fashion Week SS20
