The ‘80s are fast emerging as the decade of the moment. Tonight, inside an industrial space off the West Side Highway, Proenza Schouler offered up the subtlest of nods to the notoriously ostentatious era.
“The ‘80s are funny,” said Guido Palau with a grin backstage while in between passes of his Sultra Bombshell Volumizing Dryer. “People cringe about it, but it had such great style to it.” Honing in on the decade’s flair for directional detail and silhouettes, the hair pro sculpted a trio of glossy, slicked-back looks that were “very dramatic in their simplicity.” The first was a long, waist-grazing ponytail wrapped in leather in shades of black, white, and terra-cotta. And in a similar high-shine, masculine-structured spirit, there was a short sculptural updo looped at the neck, as well as a classic slick back, each style combed and shellacked into place with Redken’s Hardwear Gel for a drenched effect.
Photo: Corey Tenold
Similarly, makeup artist Diane Kendal’s reflective smoky eyes brought shine while subverting the hallmarks of the ‘80s. Blending either a cool charcoal or tawny brown shadow on the lids and up to the brow bones, she then tapped Maybelline’s Baby Lips in Quench over the top and gently blotted it away for a “diffused effect.” Finishing the look with curled lashes, groomed brows, and a soft wash of bronzer on the apples of the cheeks, the overall look was a lesson in “hinting at the ‘80s,” as opposed to replicating the aesthetic of the era. Taking a pared-back, androgynous approach to the decade with serious gravitas, Proenza Schouler’s spring vision, from the boxy blazers to the tough-chic hair, is proof that there is such a thing as ‘80s minimalism.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
