Back to The Backstage: What Color of Fashion Reminded Me About Who Actually Sets The Trends

There was a time when fashion shows were a long-awaited event. Super exclusive, no spoilers and an impossibly strict guest list. And for those of us who weren’t in attendance (spoiler alert, I’m talking about myself here), we anxiously awaited for the media coverage to get a peek into the elaborate world of fashion. 

We waited for the five-minute exclusives that told us exactly what products the makeup artist and hairstylist used on the models, because whilst some of us didn’t have the budget for couture, we most definitely had the budget to purchase Naomi Campbell’s exact lip color. 

Then came the product list in print, then digital, hyperlinked, and curated by experts like Paul Mitchell, Pat McGrath, and those building the looks face by face while  bringing the designer’s vision to life. For a beauty gal like me, it literally felt like I was blessed with a beauty bible, well, until the next season, that is.

Now, some would argue the runway shows have lost their allure. We’re so bogged down by pre-event content — Vogue’s Get Ready With Me’s, a model’s Day in the Life, an influencer’s Pack With Me — that by the time we get to the actual coverage, the hype has already worn off, and the product lists go unnoticed. Somewhere in there, the expert spotlight got pushed to the back while influencers took center stage and started dictating trends instead of decoding them, usually with a brand deal attached to the explanation. And before you deem me an influencer hater, not tewwww much honey, because I create some content myself, mkay?!

Sitting at Color of Fashion Season VI, “Party Like a Rockstar,” felt like stepping back into that old system, the one where artistry, not algorithm, decided what was next. And for the first time ever, I got to fulfill my tweenage dreams and got a peek backstage (ekk)! 

READ: Color of Fashion is Forming Denver’s Fashion Identity

I chatted with the experts and learned that what I saw on the runway wasn’t manufactured by trends. Instead, I witnessed a concept and a vision dreamed up and collaborated on by both the designers and experts. I’m here to tell the tale, with a hyperlink to some of the standout products. See how I’m honoring nostalgia? Very mindful, very demure. 

And so, without further ado, here’s what’s actually trending, straight from the people doing the work; along with the runway products you can use at home, and why it matters.

RED CHEEKS, BLUE LIDS, AND A LITTLE BIT OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

Blush is having a moment this year. Painted by Esther put bright, perfectly blended blush back on the map in a major way. Her technique caused quite a stir in the beauty world — brands jumped on the trend and launched new blushes, influencers coined the term “blush blindness,” and blush sales skyrocketed. 

As we know, the trend cycle moves faster than before; sure enough, the internet is now going all the way left, deeming it the “anti-blush” trend… Everyone is so creative.

I got to speak to lead makeup artist Kyle Hamilton, and he told me bright blush isn’t going anywhere — phew! Patrick Ta’s “She Left Me on Red” blush was the exact shade artists used to create a bright, bold red blush moment for the Color of Fashion beauty showcase. 

PATRICK TA Major Headlines Double-Take Crème & Powder Blush Duo: She Left Me On Red

The skin was prepped with MAC and Aveda skincare to ensure the bright blush wasn’t patchy and blended flawlessly for the showcase. Blush was the star, but it was perfectly complemented with full coverage, heavy smoky liner, glitter, and a boldly-lined peachy lip. When you think of a rockstar, you think of smokey eyes and red lips, so the red blush was a nod to that color palette, but in an updated way.

READ: Behind the Beauty at Color of Fashion

The House of Aama models wore a softer look to complement the brand’s feminine pieces and silhouettes, with dewy skin and coral blush for a more ethereal look, paired with powdery blue eyeshadow. Lesson learned? Choose a blush that fits the look; don’t force a fad into your makeup for the sake of being on trend.

Speaking of trends, blue eyeshadow isn’t really a trend at all. It’s timeless, always cycling back around in a fresh way. It’s the first color of eyeshadow we all gravitate toward while playing in our mom’s makeup bag; there’s a scene in every rom-com where the lead puts on an icy blue shadow that makes them instantly hotter. 

When I saw the gorgeous blue eyelids on the House of Aama models, I caught on immediately — it felt nostalgic, current and relevant, but also a more modern take on 60’s-style makeup. The shadow was pigmented and looked good on everyone, courtesy of the Danessa Myricks Beauty ColorFix Matte in Sky Blue Pastel. It was applied perfectly to each model’s eye shape; not copied and pasted, but expertly placed to enhance natural beauty. That’s artistry.

Colorfix Mattes in Oasis (Sky Blue Pastel)

For Vinnage Abroad, the artists maintained a really clean look. And if we’re still talking trends, the infamous “clean girl” look would technically be out. But for this menswear line, dewy skin prepped by Aveda and brows groomed and slightly fluffed was all that was needed. When a look is this clean, the best accessory is good skin, and as a makeup lover, I really respect and admire restraint. Imagine if the designer or artists had gotten pulled into trends? But by staying true to the brand’s aesthetic instead, the look actually landed.

THE HIGHER THE HAIR, THE CLOSER TO GOD

The last time runway hair made an impression on me was at my first Victoria’s Secret runway show in 2012. Jasmine Tookes was the first Black girl I saw achieve the forever-unattainable effortless beach wave on textured hair. Since then, I haven’t seen any hairstyles, outside of hair shows, of course, that really “wowed” me. Little did I know that my next major hair inspo would be right here in Denver.

At Color of Fashion, hair leads Keva Morris and James Mucker did NOT come to play. I’m not talking the effortless tousled waves I mentioned before. Honey, these looks were over the top! Half of the models had a wet, slicked-back look that stood up to all of the accessories. Silver clips and safety pins took on a new life, becoming hair jewels and adornments rather than emergency outfit savers. I spotted tons of hair glue used to hold the hair jewels, chains and spikes in place.

And I’m sure you’re thinking, “Girl, when am I going to need this?” Just remember, Halloween is right around the corner, babe! There was, of course, a nod to rock and roll with space buns, spiky hair and baby bangs. Finger-waved hair plastered on foreheads with lots and lots of Got2b.

House of Aama featured natural hair, using traditional African braiding styles, upping the ante with kanekalon hair, adding length, sculptural shape and thickness. Models wore elaborate, intricate hairstyles that defied gravity while still looking soft, with some featuring gorgeous puffs with defined, spiraled curls courtesy of The Doux and Aveda. It was a love story, paying homage to how my ancestors wore theirs. It reminded me just how versatile my natural hair is. Tons of inspo and products that I peeped backstage that I’ll certainly add to my arsenal include: The Doux Big Poppa Defining Gel, Kenra Flexible Hairspray, and more Got2b, to name a few!

THE ART OF GATEKEEPING

Before makeup even touches a model, or hair is dreamt up, the artists and designers sit down with a mood board and the designer’s vision, not a social media trend report. They took the rockstar theme to heart and agreed on metal accents and hair embellishments, then married that vision with products they know will hold up under those hot runway lights for hours.

None of these three looks came from a comment section or a “get ready with me.” For an established brand like House of Aama, that meant studying past collections and visual archives to understand the brand’s aesthetic. For a debut designer like Vinnage Abroad, it meant building the look from the ground up, straight from the clothes on the rack. 

The artistry came from a group who trained for this, saw the vision and executed it. Hamilton and his team understood skin, bone structure, color theory and the history of the looks they’re referencing. Morris and Mucker studied African braiding techniques and modernized them to fit flawlessly into the House of Aama world. That’s the artistry we lost sight of when the beauty conversation got outsourced to whoever had the biggest following instead of the steadiest hand.

So can we please bring this back, for nostalgia’s sake?!  Back to where gatekeeping was in, tickets were limited and patience paid off? I’ll admit, this was my first Color of Fashion show, and going in, I didn’t fully understand what they were building. Little did I know I was watching their mission play out in real time — spotlighting underrepresented talent, reshaping what beauty looks like — while also handing me back to exactly what I’d been missing: a fashion show as a long-awaited event, not a leaked preview. 

And they’re already embodying the slow-reveal type I crave, teasing what’s to come, keeping the excitement up, but gatekeeping juuuusssstttt enough that you have to attend the show to see what the lore is all about.

MORE PRODUCTS

Want to accomplish the looks at Color of Fashion? Behold, my additional product suggestions.

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