It's Pat, doing what she does best. Telling it how it is.

Vampires on the Catwalk

Continuing the theme of consumption on the catwalk, I read that in the 18^th century, TB was also sometimes regarded as vampirism. These folk beliefs originated from two observations: firstly, following the death from consumption of a family member, household contacts would lose their health slowly. This was attributed to the deeds of the recently deceased consumptive, who returned from the dead as a vampire to drain the life from the surviving relatives. Secondly, people who had TB exhibited symptoms similar to what people considered to be vampire traits, such as red, swollen eyes, sensitivity to bright light, pale skin, and a blood-producing cough. They "waste away" and "lose flesh" and at the same time remain active, and conserve a fierce will to live. This dichotomy of lust and "wasting away" was reflected in the vampires' desire for "food", which forced them to feed off living relatives, who, in turn, suffered a similar wasting away (Sledzik 1994). 

Looking at the Roberto Cavalli show, with make up created by Pat McGrath, and also Rick Owens and Nina Ricci, it is clear that this is a theme that has not only invaded popular culture with the success of television recent series such as True Blood and the Vampire Diaries.

Roberto Cavelli as seen on Style.com

Nina Ricci as seen on WWD.com

Rick Owens as seen on Style.Com

Beauty goes back to basics - Times Online Article

Nick Knight

The idea of burqa beauty, of one veil-like look that can be superimposed on everyone, is starting to pall. 

Edwina Ings-Chambers

The New Playground is the Face

Alex Box
Pat Mcgrath at Dior
Alex Box

February Vogue UK is always an interesting mix of articles, on the one hand there is the new New Season, new collections to look forward to unveiling, on the other hand there is the hangover from Christmas, where we readers despair about our weight, our wardrobe and our bank balance. However the Editor's Letter by Alexander Shulman signalled something that is beginning to stir in the minds of the fashion consumer, the trend of the return to make-up. She says,

"Of course, make-up has forever been part of a woman's arsenal, but the enthusiasm for high-voltage, in your face details, such as eye-lash extensions and sweeping eyeliner, carmine-red lips and green nails, is new. Forget about doing either the eyes or the lips - it's pile-it-on time now. No longer is make-up about looking natural; now it's about the more-embellished-and-obvious-the-better..."

In an article later in the magazine, aptly titled 'The Return To Make-Up', Lisa Armstrong identifies women who now find the use of make-up 'liberating', and have a sense of 'experimental abandon' not found within their wardrobe choices. She quotes Terry Barber, director of make-up artistry at MAC,

"In this country, make-up trends often start as working class reactionary movements - whether it's glam rock or punk, make-up is a statement as much as a beautifier."

He also mentions that "Technology has moved on so much" and that the "whole process is just much easier and more mischievous". Barber might be referring to improving on the image of perfection, but it serves to highlight general attitudes to how we see the face. It has become the new playground, one where we can choose to examine how we portray identity in much the same way the fashion deconstructionists choose to create deconstructed clothes that are meant to be discomforting, even jarring, to behold.