Would You Wear Face Jewelry?
Photo: Givenchy
There’s always something at a Givenchy show: bejeweled face masks, glittering skulls. Like Dior and Anna Sui, the show serves as a playground for makeup artist Pat McGrath. While plenty of reviewers (and social media) wondered if designer Riccardo Tisci drew inspiration from FKA Twigs for the FW 2015 runway show in Paris last night, the direction he gave McGrath was “Victorian Chola.” (The official release says, “Riccardo Tisci reinvents the Givenchy Woman for his FW 15 collection through a clash of cultures. Inspired by the dark and poetic spirit of the Victorian juxtaposed against the aesthetics of Chola girls from the South American gang known for its aggressive aesthetics.”) Putting aside the potential offense that term might cause, what McGrath, and hairstylist Luigi Murenu, did with the directive is stunning. Stunning in the way a runway look should be—so opulently over the top, so outside the realm of reality that you can’t help but stare. McGrath told Allure, “Riccardo gave us a basic reference but then asked us to be free and work within the girls’ features. But the jewels were quite heavy so it took some time to work out how to get them to stay on.”
Photo: Givenchy
In the end, it appears the jewels were glued on with “a combination of prosthetic and theatrical glues to anchor them into place,” writes Vogue.com, while the chandelier earrings were clipped onto lobes and the septum rings most likely clamped onto cartilage. The slicked back hair and shiny curls framed the jewels which, it turns out, aren’t just meant for the runway. Tisci told Style.com’s Nicole Phelps that the face jewelry will be sold. By the time it hits shelves (or, more likely, a select handful of Givenchy boutiques), we imagine it will weigh less and come with self-adhesive stickers, since most people won’t have McGrath on hand for a six hour application process. The question is, will you wear it? It’s not hard to picture Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid bopping around Coachella with pearls on their faces, but where (and when) else might face jewelry be appropriate?
