W
e’ve heard it talked about,
but the London ‘look’ is
really just a rebuttal of
homogenised beauty. “British
designers take risks on new
and unusual girls,” says Daniel Robson, senior
agent at Premier Model Management. “You
might come across someone who you think
is a Burberry or a JW Anderson type, but you
can never be sure who a designer will respond
to – it’s super-varied. That’s why London is the
best city to launch new models. It’s hugely
exciting when you see the requests start to roll
in – it sets the tone for a girl to go on and
smash it in Milan and Paris.” This season,
Burundi native Nella Ngingo (pictured here)
was one of the standout models. She secured
coveted catwalk spots at Mary Katrantzou,
Christopher Kane and opened for Richard
Malone, all in her first season.
Tina Outen, session hair stylist for L’Oréal
Professionnel, who is based in New York,
agrees: “You meet the new and younger faces
working backstage in London. There’s a
freshness and sense of excitement all week.”
And just as there isn’t a type of girl, there
isn’t a distinct aesthetic when it comes to
the hair or make-up: “You have the freedom
to push the envelope when it comes to
developing looks. You can be a little more
creative working with the likes of MarkusLupfer, David Koma and Charlotte Knowles.
And when I look back on the most recent
styles I created for Bora Aksu, the references
he supplied range from the suffragettes
to romantic poets, and this season the
collection had a space-age feel.”
It’s true that the mood board is always
really fleshed out in London. As the beauty
press gather round to hear the ‘how-to’,
the make-up artist, hair stylist or manicurist
morph into story-tellers. “We like to be able
to trace the girl,” says Val Garland, global
make-up director at L'Oréal Paris, who we
spotted backstage at Gareth Pugh, being
trailed by a camera crew as she
filmed BBC Three’s Glow Up
series. “British creatives are
sticklers when it comes to
conveying the narrative behind a
look, we want it to be authentic.”
And perhaps a backstory gives
a beauty look more mileage? Val
recalls the infamous ‘snogged lip’
she created for Preen AW17: “This
girl goes clubbing, she’s confident
and loves kissing,” she said at the
time. The boundary-pushing
blurred mouth resurfaced, albeit
in more refined iterations, in
Milan and Paris. “I always think
a great moment starts in London- there’s an art and savagery about
the work here – and then it gets
sort of honed and softened en
route to Paris. The make-up look
in Milan is usually beautiful but
minimal – unless it’s Prada or Miu
Miu. So if I’m going to do something edgy,
it’s got to be in London – and designers
such as Mary Katrantzou, Erdem, Preen
and Westwood want those full-on looks.”
THE
LONDON
LOOK
Brave concepts, always with a
colourful backstory, and awe-
inspiring artistry. Plus, we get to
know this season’s model museCLOCKWISE
FROM RIGHT
Mary Katrantzou,
Richard Malone
and Ashley
Williams shows,
all at London
Fashion WeekW
e’ve heard it talked about,
but the London ‘look’ is
really just a rebuttal of
homogenised beauty. “British
designers take risks on new
and unusual girls,” says Daniel Robson, senior
agent at Premier Model Management. “You
might come across someone who you think
is a Burberry or a JW Anderson type, but you
can never be sure who a designer will respond
to – it’s super-varied. That’s why London is the
best city to launch new models. It’s hugely
exciting when you see the requests start to roll
in – it sets the tone for a girl to go on and
smash it in Milan and Paris.” This season,
Burundi native Nella Ngingo (pictured here)
was one of the standout models. She secured
coveted catwalk spots at Mary Katrantzou,
Christopher Kane and opened for Richard
Malone, all in her first season.
Tina Outen, session hair stylist for L’Oréal
Professionnel, who is based in New York,
agrees: “You meet the new and younger faces
working backstage in London. There’s a
freshness and sense of excitement all week.”
And just as there isn’t a type of girl, there
isn’t a distinct aesthetic when it comes to
the hair or make-up: “You have the freedom
to push the envelope when it comes to
developing looks. You can be a little more
creative working with the likes of MarkusLupfer, David Koma and Charlotte Knowles.
And when I look back on the most recent
styles I created for Bora Aksu, the references
he supplied range from the suffragettes
to romantic poets, and this season the
collection had a space-age feel.”
It’s true that the mood board is always
really fleshed out in London. As the beauty
press gather round to hear the ‘how-to’,
the make-up artist, hair stylist or manicurist
morph into story-tellers. “We like to be able
to trace the girl,” says Val Garland, global
make-up director at L'Oréal Paris, who we
spottedbackstage at Gareth Pugh, being
trailed by a camera crew as she
filmed BBC Three’s Glow Up
series. “British creatives are
sticklers when it comes to
conveying the narrative behind a
look, we want it to be authentic.”
And perhaps a backstory gives
a beauty look more mileage? Val
recalls the infamous ‘snogged lip’
she created for Preen AW17: “This
girl goes clubbing, she’s confident
and loves kissing,” she said at the
time. The boundary-pushing
blurred mouth resurfaced, albeit
in more refined iterations, in
Milan and Paris. “I always think
a great moment starts in London- there’s an art and savagery about
the work here – and then it gets
sort of honed and softened en
route to Paris. The make-up look
in Milan is usually beautiful but
minimal – unless it’s Prada or Miu
Miu. So if I’m going to do something edgy,
it’s got to be in London – and designers
such as Mary Katrantzou, Erdem, Preen
and Westwood want those full-on looks.”
THE
LONDON
LOOK
Brave concepts, always with a
colourful backstory, and awe-
inspiring artistry. Plus, we get to
know this season’s model museCLOCKWISE
FROM RIGHT
Mary Katrantzou,
Richard Malone
and Ashley
Williams shows,
all at London
Fashion Week