Tonight is Fashion's Night Out, and New York City will be filled with pretty much every big name in fashion and beauty. Designers, stylists, models, makeup artists, and more will be part of the most style-filled evening of the year. If you're headed out but don't know where to start, we've rounded up 10 can't-fail options for a beautiful time. Check out these choices, and come track us down to say hello!
>> It's a good time to be a Chinese model. Particularly when it comes to cosmetics contracts, widely considered the bread and butter of the modeling world. Shortly after Estee Lauder tapped Chinese model Liu Wen — the brand's first Asian face — earlier this year, Lauder global brand president Jane Hertzmark Hudis acknowledged: “China is our fastest-growing market. What better way to honor that than to hire a native of the country?” And Aerin Lauder, SVP and creative director, added: “We’re doing very well in Asia, and we’re No. 1 in China. So Liu Wen sends the perfect message at the perfect time.”
Now Maybelline is jumping on the idea »
>> Liu Wen Is Too Busy for a Boyfriend —22-year-old Chinese model Liu Wen is breaking all kinds of barriers — she was the first East Asian model to walk in the Victoria's Secret show last year, and then, this past April, became the first Asian face of Estee Lauder. Amongst all the recent model marriages and pregnancies, she tells W: “All the models talk about boyfriends. Even my mom asks me, ‘Where is your boyfriend?’ But I’m a little busy for that. Besides, in China girls marry at 24. So I have two years.” [W]
Model Liu Wen was recently named one of the new faces of Estée Lauder — the first Chinese spokesperson in the brand's history — and she looked gorgeous at the Met Ball. To complement her sparkling dress, Liu's makeup artist, Rick DiCecca, gave her a subtle glow. The sexy look involves smudgy black eye makeup, a sheer bronzer, and nude lips. To re-create the look, apply the brand's eye pencil in Onyx liberally, and smudge to blend. Sweep on Bronze Goddess Soft Shimmer Bronzer for a warm glow, and top off with the Powder Blush in Radiant Kiss. Finish off the look with Volume Lifting Mascara in Black and some Pure Color Gloss in Perfect Nude (available in June). As far as getting the rest of Liu's looks, we're still researching how to luck out in the genetic lottery.
Liu Wen, Constance Jablonski
Constance Jablonski and Liu Wen—who appeared together in the spring 2010 CK Calvin Klein advertising campaign (below)—have both signed Estée Lauder beauty contracts.
"Estée Lauder has always searched for global beauties that define a generation. Constance and Liu Wen are the beauties of our time. Both models have quickly captured the attention of the fashion and beauty world," said Aerin Lauder, senior vice president and creative director of Estée Lauder. Joining Elizabeth Hurley, Hilary Rhoda, Liya Kebede, and Carolyn Murphy, Jablonski and Wen are the first models from France and China, respectively, to sign on as faces of Estée Lauder.
CK Calvin Klein spring 2010 advertising campaign
>> For the second season in a row, Richard Chai chose to send his secondary line, Richard Chai Love, down the runway rather than his main line. "It just made sense," Chai explained to Style.com. "I want to nurture the [Love] business. The women's collection is already established." Another thing established: the gray-washed boots from Timberland Chai paired with his looks this season had quite a few fans even before they hit the runway — during fittings, the models were all asking to take them home.
Chai's close friend Phillip Lim sat front row chatting with Poppy Delevigne, Harley Viera-Newton, and Derek Blasberg, while on the runway, Meghan Collison made a return with a lighter head of hair; Liu Wen, meanwhile, sported a few chunky strips of reddish blonde on the back of her head. Long knit skirts, turned down waistlines, and cozy scrunched fingerless gloves added a taste of grunge to the collection, promptly counteracted by the glamour of shimmery tops and bits of fur.
Take Anja Rubik, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Edita Vilkeviciute, and Liu Wen, dress them in Alexander Wang, color them black and white, and you have one helluva ad campaign. Wang kept shots simple for Spring '10, like with Fall '09, allowing the ambitious styling do the talking. Each girl has one full shot and one closeup — how the clothes would look from afar and up close. And no smiling either, Wang's latest pieces are no laughing matter. Do you dig?
>> Abbey Lee Kershaw wasn't feeling well backstage, neither was Eniko Mihalik, but they pulled it together to walk in the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which taped today in New York City — on a big, sparkly V-shaped runway — and will air on CBS Dec. 1. Many of the girls chatted about what they had for breakfast — coffee and fruit for many — but Anja Rubik, who was convinced to walk the show for the first time by good friends (and fellow walkers) Mayna Linchuk and Caroline Trentini, admitted: "I've decided this will be my starving day today."
This year's big surprise? Heidi Klum decided to walk for the twelfth show in a row, after all, six weeks after giving birth to her fourth child. Adriana Lima, on the other hand, who gave birth Sunday, sat this one out; Emanuela de Paula and Flavia Oliveira, rumored to walk, were also nowhere to be seen.
The show features five sections of twelve outfits each — this year's themes are Star Trooper, All Aboard, Pink Planet, Enchanted Forest, and Romantic Journey. As show stylist Charlotte Stockdale explains it: “We came up with the idea of this girl who lands from outer space in Paris. She gets on a train that comes to a halt in Pinkland, where pink girls get on and off. Then they go into this fairy-tale forest and little lady bugs and butterflies land on them and vines grow up on their clothes. Then, there’s Tick-Tock Time; the wings in this section are based on clocks — there’s one modeled after a pocket watch with metallic feathers. And she ends up in this regal realm of princess-ness, where the wings have Swarovski jewels and peacock feathers.”
Zac Posen, Alexander Wang, Carine Roitfeld (in Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent Fall 2002), and Patrick Demarchelier were all in attendance, and Chanel Iman tossed her handbag into the audience as she walked.
>> The likes of Chanel Iman and Dorothea Barth Jorgensen are already getting primped and prepped for the two tapings of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show this afternoon — final cut airs Dec. 1 on CBS — but it seems like mood is light. When Caroline Trentini was asked for a photo backstage, she joked, "Sure! Want me to jump?"
Chanel Iman, meanwhile, prepared for her first Victoria's Secret catwalk by chatting with mentor Tyra Banks and doing a little research. “This might sound corny, but I went on YouTube and I did my homework by going and seeing the different years that Victoria’s Secret has had, the different shows and who did Victoria’s Secret, and studied their walks so that I can turn mine different from everyone else’s!”
