How does one celebrate their first off-season collection showing? With elaborate face masks and natural cool-girl beauty. That’s exactly what Alexander Wang did for his Collection 1 Spring Summer 2019 showing — quite the statement after announcing his clothing line would no longer be previewed during the traditional fashion week shows. Of course, the show was such big news that the A-List came out in full force, with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Pusha T attending (and sipping on Fiji Waters , and ever supermodel from Kaia Gerber and Bella Hadid to Behati Prinsloo hitting the catwalk.
Collection 1 was inspired by Americana — and specifically Wang’s interpretation of Americana with immigrant roots. The clothes referenced West Coast iconography like Dickies-esque khakis, tracksuits and windbreakers (all of which were trendy during Wang’s formative years growing up in California).
But the hair and makeup of the showcase was really what took things up a notch. Wang often showcases model-off-duty beauty with low-key makeup stables like glowing, barely there skin, undone ‘dos and glossy lips — but this time around there was an added twist. Models sported braids and bandanas, referencing American rock icons Brett Michaels and Axl Rose. That’s not all though. While lips were dabbed with the new NARS Orgasm lip balm, some models had graphic masks either painted or applied to their faces. The options: a black and white stars and stripes mask which clearly references the American flag or daring black lace masks that are reportedly references to Wang’s Taiwanese heritage.
This isn’t the first time that daring masks have been used to show collections — Givenchy showed them for the Spring 2016 collection. Considering the statement, Wang’s new leaf for his line could not have made a better initial impression.
