Direct from the Runway: Agent Provocateur Spring 2010

What better way to kick off Fashion Week than with Agent Provocateur! Backstage, everyone was talking about, what else? Sex. You can’t do hair and makeup for Agent Provocateur without major sexiness. Specifically, 70’s Playboy pinup sexiness for Agent Provocateur’s new couture line, Soiree.



Chantel Miller for M.A.C created dramatic turquoise eyes and red lips, saying that she wanted to evoke the image of the “timeless, sexy woman.” She also got her inspiration from the Soho Grand, where the presentation took place. Taking a literal translation from the environment, she matched bright blue eyes to the hotel’s sofas. For such a heavy eye and lip look, Chantel swears by perfect skin, made possible by M.A.C Mineralize Skin Foundation SPF 15, which is not yet out.

I asked Chantel how to translate her sexy looks to the real bedroom; you know, so makeup stays the face and not all over the pillowcases and bed sheets. Her brilliant answer: “Waterproof everything and use M.A.C’s Pro Longwear Lipcolour.”

For hair, Pasquale Ferrante for Davines curled large sections of hair with lots of hairspray, going more for “texture than bouncy curls.” He emphasized that a gorgeous woman is sexiest when she is natural, so instead of perfect curls, he brushed out the hair to create voluminous waves. His suggestion for making hair last through an Agent Provocateur kind of night is to use LOTS of hairspray (he prefers hairspray, which he finds lighter, to mousse). The look was SO sexy, even before the models changed into lingerie!

--Jennifer Lee