ABSENT MINDED
THIS SEASON’S HOTTEST COLOURS AREN’T ACTUALLY COLOURS AT ALL
Chanel’s new colour collection is more about the lack of it.
IT MAY SEEM PREDICTABLE, even bordering on cliché, that the latest makeup collection from Chanel is inspired by Paris. The brand is, after all, a national treasure, and Paris is the fashion industry’s most beloved muse. But Chanel’s X factor is Lucia Pica, global creative makeup and colour designer, and her MO is anything but ordinary. Forget the classic Parisian trope – there’s no red lip around here. Instead, Pica finds inspiration in the nuances, and for the new AW19-20 Noir et Blanc de Chanel collection, she was inspired by black and white – the literal absence of colour. How’s that for unexpected?
“I started with the black and white concept — which is, of course, the pillar [palette] of the house — but I wanted to bring more of an urban feel to it,” says Pica. So she set off around Paris with a duo of creatives, photographer Max Farago and videographer Clara Cullen, taking in the details of the city through their respective lenses. “We were in the studio and outside for about four days, documenting Paris in a fresh way,” says Pica. “It’s a very monochromatic city, with the greys of the rooftops and creams and whites of the buildings. It became clear that black and white represented two universes: the light and the dark. So shadow and light became a huge inspiration throughout the collection as well.”
Born in Naples, Italy, Pica moved to London when she was 22 and trained under British makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury (perhaps you’ve heard of her?). Pica was tapped for the coveted role at Chanel in 2015, and ever since, she has been creating colour collections each year, and she now helms the backstage beauty at the house’s six annual fashion extravaganzas.
It was at the recent cruise show in Paris that the Noir et Blanc collection came to life in all its mysterious, monochromatic glory. The pièce de résistance? A dramatic “expensive-looking punk” pout, which Pica created by layering two of the star lip products — Rouge Allure Velvet Extrême lipstick in Rouge Obscur under a healthy dose of Rouge Coco Gloss in Laque Noir.
Meeting her would be intimidating if she weren’t so damn nice. She has an innate coolness intertwined with a warm, welcoming nature that has us instantly enamoured. She treats you like a close friend, letting you in on life’s best secrets — so if she says a black gloss is happening, who are we to argue? How the whole did you face? incorporate black and white across I decided to keep the staple colours of black and white where they are most acceptable: on the eyes, with liner, and the nails, for example. And then I played with the idea of shadow and reflection for other areas. The eyeshadow palettes are really creamy, velvety shades of grey, brown and burgundy, and I’ve created two shimmery shadows that can be used as a top coat across the lid. They are quite transparent, so it’s like putting a veil of light onto the eyes. Even though it’s a monochromatic palette, it’s still very feminine and glamorous, but done in a modern way. Can you tell us about Le Gel Pailleté? A glitter gel is new for the brand. It’s inspired by the way light hits water, so it’s a subtle shimmer in a gel texture that’s designed to melt into skin. You can also use it as a highlighter or dabbed onto the décolletage. And the lip shades? I certainly wasn’t going to do a white lipstick, so I thought about [old] black-and-white photographs where the models are wearing red but it comes across as mauve – I tried to focus on this family of rosewood, burgundy and mauve. The Laque Noir gloss is black with a red undertone. It’s still approachable — it can be a light stain or layered into a dark, glossy look. Texture is also a big element of this collection. It’s something I pay a lot of attention to. I want to create a medium that’s easy to use. I want women to have fun playing with a single product, or layering them to create depth. Even though the concept is quite strong, there also has to be wearability. What excites you about the industry right now? I like that there is space for everything. There is space for natural makeup and space for what I’m doing, as well as what Pat Mcgrath is doing [with her makeup brand, Pat Mcgrath Labs] and what Charlotte Tilbury is doing with her glamorous bombshell thing. What I don’t love is when it becomes all about one look to follow. Over-contouring and highlighting, forgetting about the texture of skin — I like to see the woman behind the makeup. I prefer the modernity of transparency and textures that allow you to feel glamorous without weighing you down or putting in too much effort.
“BLACK and WHITE REPRESENTS two UNIVERSES: the LIGHT and the DARK”