Herve Leger: Fall 2011 Backstage Beauty

For Fall 2011, hair at Herve Leger was sporty, and inspired by the “flipped back look you get when coming out of a swimming pool”.

The hair team was led by lead Stylist: Neil Moodie for Bumble and Bumble

To get the look, add extensions for volume and length. Start by spraying Bumble and Bumble Prep, Thickening, and Styling sprays on wet hair. Blow dry. Slick back sides of hair with gel, then pin in back.

The front, center section is then teased, and brushed over the top of the pinned sides while being blow dried.

To complete the look, the ends of the extensions were then trimmed, leaving the hair with a blunt edge.

The finished look:

(Pins removed once hair has set.)

Photos: Maureen Kaveney for The Greyest Ghost
Words: Rachel Scroggins ®2011 The Greyest Ghost

See the full photo set here.

HONOR: Fall/Winter 2011 Backstage

James Pecis for Bumble and Bumble created a glam, Parisian look for HONOR’s Fall 2011 show, inspired by designer Giovanna Randall’s childhood trip to a closing Caldor department store.

The overall style is very 1970’s: straight, with a slight curl at the bottom.

To get the look:
Mist hair with Bumble and Bumble Thickening Spray, then blow dry to add body.

Hair was then curled and pinned up to create a “classic set”. When pins are removed, brush hair extensively to create a “static lightness”. Finish with Spray de mode hair spray.

HONOR designer Givanna Randall trying the look out for herself.

The romantic by “slightly punky” makeup look was created by NARS Cosmetics International Lead Makeup Artist James Boehmer.

To get the look:
Start with Sheer Glow foundation on the face. Use “Sex Appeal” blush to add a glow to cheeks.

For eyes: Boehmer used a variation of two blushes, “Exhibit A” and “Taj Mahal” , applied over “Red Square” Velvet Matte Lip Pencil. Triple X Lipgloss was applied to lids to add additional shine. Finish off the eye with Via Vento Larger Than Life longwear eyeliner, and Larger Than Life Lengthening Mascara.

On lips: Roman Holiday Velvet Matte Lip Pencil.

The result: Gorgeous 70’s influenced glam, with an edgy twist!

See the full photo set here.

All photos and content ®2011 Rachel Scroggins/The Greyest Ghost.

Rachel Comey Fall/Winter 2011: Backstage

The first days of NYFW seem so long ago! I’ve decided against posting things in order, since that’s boring, but know a lot of you are probably aching for some of that early coverage. My backstage images from Rachel Comey’s show, which turned out downright ethereal from amazing sunset lighting, seemed like the perfect choice to post next.

The lighting coerced me into making the decision to stay backstage for the entirety of the show. Held at Chelsea Piers at 5pm, in a studio space with floor to ceiling windows, I just couldn’t resist the warm glow shining down onto the models. (And no, none of these have been edited in any way!)

I saw a lot of amazing, and truly unique hair this season, but this has got to be one of my tops looks for Fall:
Maybe it’s because (with much help!) I could actually see myself pulling this look off. : )

The hair team was led by Hirofumi Kera for Shiseido.
Wish I would have had a chance to get the step by step instructions!

A more detailed look.

Oscar de la Renta Fall/Winter 2011

Looking back after its conclusion, Fall 2011 will going down in my mind as the season where everything got crazy. After a week of hectic re-scheduling, sick days, and late starts, on the second to last afternoon, I found myself in the most pleasant backstage atmosphere I’ve ever experienced: at Oscar de la Renta. Thanks to a wonderful friend, I was invited to capture the atmosphere and preparations pre-show. After visiting the studio with Styled On last summer, I went in expecting a tiny bit of magic. Little did I know what a real life fairy tale I was about to take part in.

Despite dozens of hair and makeup stations readying a small army of models, no one was rushed.

The word “hectic” does not exist backstage at Oscar. Models sipped tea and ate pastries, and read books while having their hair curled, and faces painted.

Everyone seemed happy and excited for the show to come. Oscar himself stood near the room’s entryway, quietly giving interviews to a small handful of press representatives. No one rushed him, or kept him at a distance from admirers or onlookers, something I’ve found all too common backstage at other shows.

A Subtle Smile From Oscar.

Despite nearing the end of what must have been a tiring week, the models smiled too:

The hair and makeup were as elegant as to be expected:

Tools of the Trade.

The final look:

Chanel was the only model who never smiled. Too bad!

Sneak Peek: Vera Wang F/W ’11

Anna Wintour, Front Row at Vera Wang.
By Maureen Kaveney for The Greyest Ghost

Fall 2011: Post NYFW Reflections

Even though I love it so much, I’m always glad once fashion week ends. Ten days of non-stop shows (on top of an illness that almost put me into the hospital this season!) really takes its toll. I’ve tried to keep up with the “sneak peek” images to give everyone a little taste of what’s to come. And in the next week, I’ll be sharing the full photo sets and reports from the runway and backstage at all of the shows we covered here at The Greyest Ghost.

The final tally: 43 shows! More than ever before. 21 shot by me, Rachel, and 22 by my assistant photographer Maureen. With an additional 22 backstage beauty reports to come, thrown in the middle of it all. : ) I’m so excited to share everything with all of our readers! This season was both the hardest, and most rewarding season of NYFW so far. Never could I imagine I’d have the opportunity to cover so many amazing shows. Or get so much support for my work, from so many amazing people!

Styled On is currently featuring my NYFW photo diary, with work I have yet to post here. Keep checking back for our full show coverage. Until then, I’ll leave you with this list of the good, the bad, and the ugly of NYFW:

The Good:

Oscar de la Renta. Need I say more? Top on the list of “shows I never thought I’d shoot”. The single most elegant show I’ve ever seen. If I had to stop shooting tomorrow, I’d be happy knowing I was able to cover Oscar at least once.

My amazing friends, and support team: I couldn’t have survived this season without Maureen. The help and support of my friends at Style Wylde. And the entire PR team at Krupp Group. And all of my fellow blogger friends, helping me keep things in perspective. Thank you all for loving and supporting me all week. And being my #1 cheerleaders!

Cynthia from Style Wylde and I, after our last show of the season!

The Bad:

Missing Katie Gallagher’s show. Probably my #1 regret about this season. I’ve been following Katie’s work for the past 3 seasons. Not only is she incredibly talented and hard working, she’s also really sweet! I’m a huge fan, and the fact that I got sick the day of her show totally broke my heart. Luckily Maureen was able to cover the show for me, so expect a post soon. But it still makes me terribly sad I couldn’t attend myself.

The photo pits at Lincoln Center. After my fourth full season, I can say that they (sadly) seemed to be more poorly organized than ever. Which was glaringly obvious in contrast to other, off site shows. If Milk Studios can calmly cram a mini herd of photographers into a pit 1/18th the size of the Theater, why can’t Lincoln Center handle it? I saw fights, photographers ejected from the pit, and even had a jerk try to sit ON me at Betsey Johnson— and then harass me at every show for the rest of the week. Seriously? It made me want to stay off site forever.

Rude Bloggers: Especially those who RSVP to every show under the sun, then don’t go. You make all bloggers look bad. And take a spot from someone who would absolutely kill to get into the shows you just blew off. I saw and heard of multiple people doing this. Some even going as far as bragging on twitter about the “two cool shows they have at the same time” and how they were just going to RSVP for both, despite attending being physically impossible. It makes those of us who see this as work and not “party time” look unprofessional. It’s also incredibly rude to the PR reps who organize things! And don’t even get me started on the attention whores who think they deserve front row at every show…

The Ugly:

Pervy Photographers. I’ve been encoutering jerky photogs since I shot my first concerts at age 14. It’s an epidemic! But this season, it was just gross: My first backstage of the week, we had to leave early because creepers were taking photos of the girls dressing. Be respectful guys, you only hurt the rest of us who follow the rules. And you seriously cut into my short window of time shooting first looks. If you want a free show, go surf the internet.

Also gross: The weather! Thank god it’s now starting to feel like Spring! : )

Sneak Peek: L.A.M.B F/W ’11

L.A.M.B Run Through.

Directing the Models.

Sneak Peek: Mackage F/W ’11

2/15/11, Lincoln Center.

Sneak Peek: Frank Tell F/W ’11

2/15/11, Lincoln Center.

Sneak Peek: Bibhu Mohapatra

2/15/11, Lincoln Center.