Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2007-ARAKS

I wondered what time the PR staff from People's Revolution had to get up to be at the front of the Altman Building. There they were, and all smiles too, when I arrived at 9:45 A.M. on Super Bowl Sunday. More amazingly, as always, the PR people were beautifully dressed up, even though it was ever chillier today than yesterday and they were sitting right behind the front doors. Since I already knew where backstage was from Gustavo Arango's show on Saturday, I immediately made my way downstairs to the back stage area, to interview James Boehmer, the lead makeup artist for NARS Cosmetics. I met Rachel, my friendly, helpful contact from NARS, and she introduced me to James. I guess I got there a bit later than usual, because many of the models were already "done," but there were still some being made up. James graciously stopped what he was doing to chat with me, stopping our interview only occasionally to check one of the other makeup artists' work.

As you can see from this close-up, this look for ARAKS for Fall is about a balanced, fresh feeling on the entire face. It's not just eyes, or cheeks, or lips. James said the look was inspired by Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice (and that was totally in keeping with the romantic nature of the clothes, too). I loved the slightly flushed, "English rose" cheeks and soft pink lip and you will too, it's just about perfect to add some life to your complexion, especially since you'll be wearing a lot of soft and subdued colors this Fall. The Fall ARAKS look is all about the skin...a flawless but fresh face, NARS "Turkish Red" Cream blush and "Desire" pink powder blush adding a hit of color, but not harsh or brash. "Blend, blend, blend" advises James. On Eyes was part of a new shadow duo that won't be available until the end of August, but worth the wait. "Calahari" is a soft brown" that was blended with another new color "Voyage," a soft fawn with a bit of glitter. On lips, NARS"Tempest" lip gloss --a pink with a bit of mauve, but softened so that it will be universally flattering. It looked beautiful on all the models. This is less about "drama" or making a "statement," and more about bringing your own, natural, glowing, beauty. I'll be posting more photos of makeup and hair, and the clothes, of course, shortly on the Advice Sisters web --- check our FEATURES page http://www.advicesisters.net/Features/Features.html for all the latest after Fashion Week, along with "do-the-look" makeup instructions, courtesy of NARS.

After speaking with James, I wandered over to Peter Elofsson and his artistic team from RUSK. Peter did the hair for ARAKS last season, too. When I arrived, he was busy using a straightening/smoothing iron on a model. Peter explained that his look for ARAKS was inspired by the elegance of the clothes--a soft of Catherine Deneuve feel, but with more "street" (meaning; texture) in it. You'll see that in my photos. Nearly all of the models had long hair, so the "texture" was added by "bending" the hair a bit (you can see this clearly in my photos, which I'll be using in my photo essays on the Advice Sisters Web Site. Hair had a side part and some models had a tiny silver barette holding a few pieces back to the side. Then, hair was sprayed with a RUSK hair spray to keep it in place, but still swingy. For Fall, Peter says long hair isn't just going to "hang" anymore, but will have a sharper edge and more details.

FYI: Creative Nail design (they did the nails for ARAKS last season, too) did the model's manicures with "Fedora," a very dark polish, and "Decadence," a translucent red.


and the ARAKS collection clothes? Unlike the Spring season's diaphanous clothes, these were more substantial for Fall, with soft movement from rich wools, silk and cotton fabrics. There was some color in this collection, although it was still subdued and mostly dark shades of blue, berry, green, and silver (plus the usual black, ivory, coal, and white) One that I particularly liked was a wool/cotton double face dress with bell sleeves that was in a color called "Night," just a shade lighter than the color of the sky just before all the light dies after the day is over. Another was a coat in a color I'd call "Raspberry" but I think it was called "Gooseberry" in the show description. It was tailored, but with gathering in the back, so it looked dressy, and elegant. A pine silk twill drop shoulder dress with drop puff sleeve was fresh and young, and very pretty. The fashion critics may disagree with me, but the only "miss" for me were the outfits with knickers or shorts, paired with lace-up boots. "Hot pants" or long knickers are "stage-y" and cute for a party, but not flattering on everyone. A cute look that is easy to wear and modern, were the lace-up ankle boots with traditional "oxford" detailing shown with many of the outfits.