Hair and make-up at Yohji Yamamoto Fall 2019

When Yohji Yamamoto stages his semi-annual women’s runway show in Paris, the result straddles familiarity and unpredictability. A nearly all-black collection? Check. Signature abundant asymmetry and draping that never grows tiresome or out-of-season? Check.

What, then, can complement such complicated yet monochromatic mastery? The answer would be an equally intricate approach to the hair and make-up styling for the show, which began more than four hours prior to the scheduled start. The directives for the make-up:

SKIN – Beautiful. (That was the only word written.)

EYES – Black pencil on eyelash line, top and bottom lightly, and blend out.

A make-up artist works on a model's eyelids backstage at the Yohji Yamamoto Fall 2019 show in Paris. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine) — A make-up artist works on a model’s eyelids backstage at the Yohji Yamamoto Fall 2019 show in Paris. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

EYEBROWS – Draw the line with CL-25 Steel Gray (Ben Nye).

The lines are drawn at the Yohji Yamamoto Fall 2019 show in Paris. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

CHEEKS – Pure white (MAC Paintstick) and wipe off with baby wipe

Backstage at the Yohji Yamamoto Fall 2019 show in Paris. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

LIPS – Mix Cadaver Gray (Ben Nye), Death Blue Gray (Ben Nye), CL-25 steel gray (Ben Nye), and wipe off with baby wipe

Coloring for the lips required a combination of three different types of Ben Nye stage make-up products, painstaking applied with a lip brush in order to achieve a deep dark blue. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

Hairstyling proved to be more time-consuming, with various multi-colored threads (white, blue, black, gray) knotted and threaded into place, and held together with Wella Professionals products. Each model required two stylists.

In a rare pre-show move for a designer, Yamamoto headed over to the backstage beauty area – which was separate from the changing space at the Grand Palais – to check on preparations. He gave a thumbs-up to and shook the hand of one of the stylists.