A Dream Team Reinvented Glamour at Sergio Hudson’s Fall Winter 2024 Show
Once the day turned to night, it was all hands on deck for Danessa Myricks, Sir John, Andrea Wilson and Tamika Gibson backstage at Sergio Hudson’s Fall Winter 2024 show. The whir of blow dryers, tapping of makeup brushes and production assistants yelling “It’s time to go, now!” created a blur of consistent white noise. The plethora of sounds and time constraints could frighten newcomers, but not these beauty industry giants.
Brand owner Danessa Myricks was the makeup sponsor. Celebrity makeup artist Sir John served as the artist for the night, while Andrea Wilson and Tamika Gibson worked their hairstyling magic. Reuniting certified industry changemakers, this dynamic group came up with a look that reimagined runway bombshells. Soft smokey eyes, full lips and thoughtfully placed weaves were pivotal parts of the look.
Ahead of the show, the glam team chatted with EnVi to give us the lowdown on what exactly went down in the beauty chair.
Strong is Sexy
Exuding a mantra of “Money, power, respect!” models strutted down Sergio Hudson’s runway on February 12. The designer’s latest collection, showcased as part of the New York Fashion Week calendar, reexamined what it means to be a strong sexy woman. Garments consisted of pinstripes paired with corsets, patent leather slacks, bodycon dresses and even midi-skirts. A beauty look with nods to ‘80s glamour and ‘90s supermodels accompanied the designs.
Making sure that fashion and beauty were paired in harmony was Sir John’s main focus when conceiving the glam. “It gives me chills to even think about how his collection has penetrated so much of our culture. And so what does that mean? How do we continue to uplift and inspire the women who want to get dressed? They have places to go. Don’t they have places to go and people to see?” he mused.
Strong Makeup Reimagined
Corsetry layered under blazers, pantsuits, leather coats and metallic dresses coexisted on Sergio Hudson’s catwalk. Sir John noticed the collection played with the idea of fluid femininity, which prompted him to rethink traditionally strong makeup styles. For Sir John, it was crucial to embrace strength and softness, which more often than not can be a challenging task — to achieve a makeup look that is deemed strong, sometimes makeup artists sacrifice femininity. “This often happens whenever we think about how we can empower, but it also dials away the softness,” he explained. “How can we as artists or designers still contribute toward the softness that you want to feel every day without making it too dolly or frilly? How can I have the juxtaposition of a little bit of blush, a little bit of a smokey eye, and then stop?”
If you’re wondering too, grab paper and pen and take notes.
A Resilient Base
Danessa Myricks — brand owner and makeup artist with over twenty years in the business and a heart for makeup education — broke down the runway look.
To start off, the resilient base that served as a canvas for the glam was created with the Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder. “It’s designed to look like skin. We like to say we use it to blur out the distractions and focus on what’s real,” said Myricks, who formulated the product to be undetectable and offer a matte finish. Blurring skin texture, the balm creates a sweat-proof filter for the skin. As part of the prep process, Sir John also used the Yummy Skin Mattifying Water Powder Serum on the T zone.
Soft Smokey Eyes
To achieve the soft smokey eye, Sir John swapped traditional gray and black tones for a handful of brown shades. He focused on creating a romantic shape and tone for the eyes with the Groundwork: Defining Neutrals Palette. This award-winning palette features pomades and powder shadows for the eyes, lips, and face.
A twenty-pan palette can be intimidating for makeup newcomers, but Myricks created a user-friendly product. “Makeup artists represent less than 1% of the population. Everyone else is trying to figure it out and they want to be able to do those things that they see artists do,” she told EnVi. “So the whole idea of this is building confidence. You cannot mess up with this! It’s the most non-scary texture. It builds slowly. This is the best for someone that is new to makeup or hasn’t really explored a lot and wants to build their confidence.”
Myricks took two years to formulate the multipurpose creamy pomade palette and in no time, it has charmed beauty professionals and enthusiasts with its versatility. “I wanted something that felt like you would have taken a wooden pencil and put it over your lid that’s still dry, but it has a lot of movement,” said Myricks.
Sir John shared his experience creating makeup looks with the award-winning palette. “You can see it on my hand. It gives that base. I love duality. Duality is key. You go from this medium sheer opacity — that happens to be medium coverage — to full coverage. You can do cardio on stage and it’s not going anywhere.”
Flushed Cheeks and Buffed Out Lips
Instead of the classic take on blush, Sir John combined the Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder Flushed and the Dewy Cheek & Lip Palette to flush the models’ cheeks. Mixing matte and dewy cheek products allowed the blush to pack a punch without overwhelming the sultry aesthetic. Peach and pink shades of blush topped the orbital bone — where highlighter usually goes — while the dewy finish served as a two-for-one, adding shine and color to the skin.
Sir John then grabbed his nearest fluffy blush brush to line up the lips. Yes, a big fluffy brush. Stay with us still. The makeup expert graced the Dewy Cheek & Lip Palette just over the lip line to create a full look. “Whenever you create volume on the cupid’s bow or the center of the lip, it creates visual interest that makes us want to stay there a little bit longer,” he explained. “Now it’s overdrawn, but not overdone.”
As a last step, Sir John topped off the blush with the Blooming Romance Palette, an unreleased Danessa Myricks product that will hit the market soon.
Always one step forward in the beauty game, Sir John also offered a master tip on how — or rather where — to apply blush for a sexy and feminine look: on the décolletage! “Bring blush into the chest to look sexy — [to] look like you came in from the slopes.” Noted!
Reviving Bouncy Curls & Blowouts
Big bouncy curls were alive and thriving at Sergio Hudson thanks to Andrea Wilson and Tamika Gibson. The duo birthed a new take on the bombshell blowout with voluminous curls and swooping curtain bangs.
“Everybody is wearing a wig,” explained Gibson. Such an occurrence is rarely seen on Ready-to-Wear runways, but the beauty team wanted to use hair as part of the storytelling. The wigs also allowed them to play around with sandy and caramel hues without dyeing the models’ hair.
As a multi-cultural hair expert, Wilson effortlessly crafted a voluminous ‘90s blowout with just a few steps and products such as the Kenra Root Lifting Spray, Volume Spray, and Mouse. Wilson described her technique as “old school.” “We’re blowing drying the product into the hair and giving it a big two-inch curler set to give it that smooth polished finish that the blow dryer doesn’t always give. And we just blend it out, run your fingers through it. When she’s walking, it should be like bounce, bounce, bounce!”
Uplifting Each Other
Exemplifying what is like to collaborate with people who have nothing but respect and support for one another, Danessa Myricks, Sir John, Andrea Wilson, and Tamika Gibson made a dream team at Sergio Hudson’s FW24 show.
“It’s Black History Month and I’m proud of Danessa,” Sir John said about Myricks’ work and how it empowers people. “She does so much as an artist to make us feel connected to not only what you guys use as consumers, but what we can do with our hands. It’s about looking up to women who lift all of us up!”
The admiration goes both ways. Myricks — dressed in a Sergio Hudson fit — gushed, “I’ve probably almost fainted at least ten times. It’s an honor to be partnering with Sir John. I’m obsessed with him and just how he looks at beauty, how he looks at skin. This is like my best day ever.”
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