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As temperatures fell below freezing in Manhattan on Valentine’s Day, the LaQuan Smith show heated up downtown. Like any good date, the evening—which took place inside what used to be a private member’s club—flowed from one event to the next, with a cocktail hour downstairs, followed by the sultry show, then finally an afterparty upstairs.
While the runway presented provocative statement pieces at every turn—risky cutouts, ultra-low-rise bottoms, sizzling sequins, and barely-there skirts—the show’s beauty choices amplified the certain sexiness that is the LaQuan Smith girl. And who better to open the show than Julia Fox, sporting what can only be dubbed as the ultimate revenge dress along with dramatic pops of red across her eyes and nails.
“They are 1990s Barbies,” said makeup artist Sheika Daley of her inspiration as she etched a pencil across a model’s eye. “It’s a very strong, fierce cat-eye with a hint of red silhouettes from behind—giving it a red backlit effect.” She achieved this with a black MAC eyeliner and red lip liner, complementing the drama with “beautiful, buttery, glowing skin, and contour…the traditional LaQuan aesthetic,” Daley added. Skin was kept fresh with 111Skin’s depuffing eye and firming sheet masks. Every model’s lip was different; Daley picked from a selection of brown shades to create a set of distinct liner-focused looks.
Echoing the theme that Daley started, the show’s red nails were impossible to miss. Playing off the sex appeal of the collection and makeup, long stiletto-shaped press-ons were applied by Yukie Natori in Chanel’s Gitane.
The hair offered a moment of respite from the beauty action everywhere else. “Everyone’s hair should be sleek and clean. We’re not using a ton of hair extensions on this look; we’re just going with everyone’s natural hair type and texture,” hairstylist Lacy Redway explained. She used a cocktail of TRESemmé stylers to pull models’ hair back for a look she described as “icy,” and easily able to easily transition from day to night since one thing’s for sure: the LaQuan Smith girl is surely going somewhere.
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