Backstage at Stolen Girlfriends Club’s 2020 runway show at Shed 10. Image by James Yang.
M.A.C Cosmetics’, Senior Global makeup artist Kiekie Stanners was the creative lead for the Stolen Girlfriends Club show last night and as always, the beauty looks did not disappoint. The show was a nod to the tumultuous year that was, with bright beginnings, descending into heavy, dark elements, coming back into the light at the end of the show and the makeup looks beautifully reflected that. Models sported radiant skin and pastel eyes opening and closing the show – reminiscent of the beginning and end of the year, while the middle of the show had the models walking with neon spraypaint across their faces, referencing “cancelling beauty” during the dark times we faced this year.
We were lucky enough to peek backstage and have a chat with Kiekie about her makeup looks for the SGC show:
Can you please explain the makeup look?
The makeup look was broken into three different sections for the show – an opening section of colourful pieces where the makeup matches with a warm peach wash over the eye and ultra-radiant skin.
The show then goes into a darker section with black leather styling where I wanted to enhance this mood by airbrushing neon paint over the face to look like graffiti spray paint. I felt that this section needed an ‘anti-beauty’ look – something too classically beauty just wouldn’t have worked.
And then we closed with the lightness of fresh baby blue styling and I replicated this colourway with a wash of pastel blue over the eyes teamed again with the freshest, illuminated skin.
What was the inspiration for the makeup look?
This season’s Stolen Girlfriends Club show really captures the mood of 2020. The opening references brighter times at the start of the year then quickly heads into darker territory where we saw the world turned upside down. The finale brings us to present-day – a light on the horizon here in New Zealand – and I really wanted the beauty story to take you on this journey too.
The opening and closing beauty looks showcase a refinement and optimism – radiant wet-look skin, strong brows and a pastel wash of colour over the eyelids as a nod to the sunny days and blue skies at either end of the year. Yet through the middle of the show, amongst the dark leather-clad styling, we see a type of ‘Mad Max’ gang where classic beauty just wouldn’t fit. This is where I wanted to create a post-punk makeup vibe hence the graphic neon spray-paint effect across the face. The idea of this part of the year was cancelled, so beauty was cancelled for this moment too.
What is your creative process for creating these bespoke makeup looks for SGC?
When working with SGC to create a beauty look for their show it’s so important to me that we collaborate to ensure the end result on the runway tells the best story. I like to understand the story that Creative Director Marc Moore has in mind i.e. who is the muse for this season’s show and what does he wants his audience to feel from attending the event? I will always do some research on the latest international trends, and take my vision to the team after I’ve viewed the collection – taking inspiration from fabrics and colour stories in the range. I also work closely with stylists Seb and Dylan to make sure that their vision for the styling is harmonious with the hair and makeup, and the overall look on the runway is a complete package.
What were the key products used for the runway looks?
FACE:
M·A·C Strobe Cream in Goldlite
M·A·C Pro Face Palette in Illuminate
M·A·C Pro Face Palette in Contour
M·A·C Glow Play Blush in That’s Peachy
M·A·C Hyper Real Glow Palette in Flash + Awe
M·A·C Pro Performance HD Airbrush Makeup – a custom mix of colour to create a neon spray effect
EYES:
M·A·C Shape and Shade Brow Tint
M·A·C Chromaline – a custom mix of colour to create complementary Eye Shadow shades
LIPS:
M·A·C Lipglass in Clear
Check out the runway review and see every look from the Stolen Girlfriends Club show here.
Images by James Yang.