How This Model Took Off-White’s Runway Makeup Straight to the Streets
Today in Paris, designer Virgil Abloh staged Off-White’s Fall 2019 menswear show in Paris and, true to disruptive form, he introduced a new kind of runway experience. Dubbed “Public Television,” the set inside the Carrousel du Louvre was designed and conceptualized with the online streaming experience top of mind—models wafting through a virtual, green-screened wilderness in boxy plaid suiting, slouchy wide-leg denim trousers, and generously-sized puffer outerwear.
By the book, Abloh’s show was dedicated to the boys—but the standout moment came when top model Soo Joo Park glided down the runway wearing a shiny plastic football helmet and billowy white gown with a dramatic pleated train. And while the Korean beauty’s face was largely obscured, peaking out from behind her protective headgear was a deep russet pout that was equal parts powerful and idiosyncratic. “This season, women wear menswear and can pull off a bold, masculine look while still feeling feminine,” explains makeup artist Fara Homidi of the striking lip look. Adding a swathe of L'Oreal Paris’s Infallible Pro Matte Les Chocolats liquid lipstick in Yum to each pout, she then used a fluffy lip brush to diffuse the edges for a slightly blurred effect. “It’s a statement lip color, but with a softer application,” she says.
And proving that the dramatic shade boasts real-life wearability, Park then took it to the streets after the show. In tandem with her signature white-platinum lengths (returned to their translucent glory after her recent neon orange dye job transformation) and off-duty look—a cropped denim jacket layered over a cream hoodie, paired with low slung, midriff-bearing jeans spray-painted with a purple skyline—it demonstrated that a gothic chocolate lip is more versatile than one might think. And, in turn, could offer a cool alternative to a classic red this winter.
