WOMEN OF IRELAND — GOK WAN IS ON HIS WAY
Fashion guru Gok Wan has teamed up with Irish make-up artist Danielle Mahon in an effort to call time on faking it for selfies and social media so women can learn to let their true beauty shine...
He’s a fashion expert like no other — loved by thousands for his nononsense approach that shows women of all shapes and sizes how to love how they look again.
And now Gok Wan is taking to the highways of Ireland with leading make-up artist Danielle Mahon to help women take a step away from the over-blown, over-done ideas touted across the internet.
‘I love social media and I find it incredibly useful for work too,’ Gok says. ‘I get inspiration from it and I love uploading pictures and showing the world what I can see through my glasses. For me it is very important. However, I do think we have a massive problem with images that have been photoshopped and doctored.’
Too many people these days, he says, are selling ideas and visions that are completely false, putting people under pressure to achieve an ideal that actually isn’t real.
‘We look at an image of a girl in a bikini on a beach with a load of other people. She looks like the most popular girl in the world and we have visions of her being that because she is young and slim and beautiful and happy. But we can’t tell whether that is a real picture or not. And we need to be told so that people looking at the photo are not aspiring to be like the person in the picture when in actual fact, she doesn’t really exist.’
Make-up artist Danielle Mahon is of a similar view, determined to show women of all ages how to use their make-up palettes properly again.
‘Seeing this internet idea of make-up that’s all the rage at the moment is really upsetting to make-up artists,’ Danielle explains.
‘You have young girls using gallons of make-up to change the shape of their faces when they don’t really need to and doing things like giving themselves huge brows. They are not enhancing what they have — they are overdoing it.
‘I have trained with some of the most influential make-up artists in the world like Terry Barber, Pat McGrath and Lisa Eldridge. None of these artists do what people might tell you to do online.
‘So what I want to do is really pull things back and show people how you can create beautiful make up — a really flawless look — with seven products in just five minutes. That is how easy it is.’ ➤
These days, teens and 20-somethings are scouring the internet, looking for tips and tricks, a thing that can also be overwhelming to a generation used to a bit of false tan and a spot of BB cream.
This is a problem , as Danielle says: ‘A lot of people who are over the age of 30 don’t understand the art of product placement or how to use the products they have properly.’
It’s a notion all of us beauty lovers will know well —opening drawers full of contouring palettes plus various lotions and potions we never use.
‘One of the things we want to do is teach them how to use these products so people leave feeling inspired that they have actually learned something new. That’s what I want to bring to the roadshow anyway.’ So does Danielle dabble in contouring herself? ‘I use a contour palette, yes,’ she laughs. ‘But I use it in the right way.’
Sitting in the luxurious surroundings of the Westbury Hotel, Danielle and Gok are giddy with excitement about working together again.
‘It’s a bit of a hybrid show,’ Gok says. ‘It came about because I worked with Danielle last year. I was doing a fashion brunch club and she came to work on the show. We just hit it off —I loved her style, her creativity and her skill set but also the way she did business and treated people. Her philosophy her morals, her ethics. So we decided right, let’s just join forces.’
As the old saying goes, two heads are better than one and as a team, Gok and Danielle will be a force to be reckoned with.
‘When two people meet and have exactly the same idea of what they want to achieve, put those two people together and it becomes this eruption,’ Gok enthuses.
‘So what we are doing is a roadshow but it is also a great opportunity for any woman to get all the information she needs about either make up and beauty, or fashion, or both.’
But with Gok living in London and Danielle based in Dublin, it must be tricky to get everything together?
‘In a bizarre way we are like two parts of the same jigsaw,’ Gok says. ‘I am doing all the fashion and Danielle is doing all the beauty so we work on our separate parts of the show and our production manager Peter is dragging everything in and making sure it all works on the day.
‘It has been one of the easiest collaborations I have ever done. Both of us have the same end goal and both of us have the same style when it comes to delivering the information we’ve got. Apart from that I talk way too much,’ he adds, before laughing uproariously.
Being on the same page helps when it comes to creating a show that will inspire and uplift, rather than leaving women feeling deflated, says Gok. They need to know that looking good is achievable for them.
And forget trends and catwalks —Gok believes there are simple style rules that will help every woman make the best of their assets.
‘There’s a moment of psychology even before knowing the principles of dressing and that is your registered aesthetic,’ he explains.
‘We might have a completely different opinion about how you dress — however, it is your body and you are 100% in control of it so if you don’t like something on you, then that’s your instinct telling you not to wear it.
‘So forget trends, forget what fashion stylists like myself tell you, if you don’t like it then you mustn’t wear it. And that’s the first rule.’
After that, there are about 100 tips and tricks
“pull I want to things back and show people how to use products... you can create beautiful make- up, a really flawless look, with seven products in just five minutes
that will ensure you will never have a bad clothes day again, in spite of what the internet might tell you.
‘There are some classic principles and if you follow those principles right, you are never going to have a bad clothes day,’ Gok says.
‘These include dressing for your body shape, understanding your body shape, understanding the principles of dressing, tailoring, knowing that a dart is there for a reason so use it; if it’s not in the right place then it’s not going to do the right thing. Simply knowing how clothes are constructed — obviously there are classic styles as well— and the technology behind clothing helps. For example, what does a shoulder pad do? If you wear a mid length dress, what will it do for your body?
‘These are all classic principles and there are probably around maybe 100 at most so there really isn’t that much to learn,’ he insists.
Gok says he loves working with Danielle for her energy and her positivity.
‘I’m not very namaste,’ he admits. ‘I have no desire to sit crossed legged in the lotus position — I am not that kind of person. But the minute I met Danielle, I was so impressed that she was in love with her job and her energy. I meet very few people like that believe it or not. I am so passionate about what I do, I love waking up and going to work. And then I met Danielle and she was exactly the same way. I love that about her — it makes me really energised. I love watching her work, she is brilliant.’
And for Danielle’s part, she adores the fact that Gok is exactly the same on screen as he is in the flesh.
‘Gok is creative, academic, practical but also kind,’ Danielle says. ‘I have met people within the beauty industry who have really big egos. That has been really disappointing for me. But when I met Gok I realised what you see is what you get and that’s why I love him.’
With all this positivity about, it’s hard not to feel enthusiastic yourself. The buzz between Gok and Danielle is infectious, so it will be interesting to see how Ireland responds to their message. But modest Gok says he’s just doing his job. ‘I don’t think I am trying to push positivity,’ he says. ‘It has never been my mission to go out there and try and change the world — I have never had that much of a messiah complex. But I believe in what I believe and I have never been afraid to say: ‘Actually that’s wrong’ or ‘I think what you are doing is wrong’ or ‘Actually this entire industry is doing something wrong’, it doesn’t matter how big or small that industry is.
‘I am just doing what I think is right. So for me, if I woke up tomorrow thinking today’s job is to push positivity, I think I would have an anxiety attack with the responsibility of that. But if I wake up and say ‘Actually I am going to do my job how I believe it should be done’ then I know I can do it and really enjoy it.’
So what will the pair be bringing the audience who turn up to their three Irish dates?
‘Danielle will be bringing beauty back,’ Gok insists, underplaying his own vital role in the show. ‘And I will be bringing some really great spring rolls!’
Gok Wan and Danielle Mahon’s Fashion and Beauty Collective will be at the Clayton Hotel, Sligo on Sunday, March 4; Clontarf Castle, Dublin on Saturday, April 21 and Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork on April 22. Doors open 10.30am and the event runs until 4pm. Tickets are €125 from gokwandaniellemahon.com