Panache Offblast

As much as Betsey was almost at a loss for words during the live stream for her Spring 2011 collection, I was also speechless when listening to the amount of passion and love she has for what she does. I really admire her not only aesthetically, but as a person in general. Her personality shines more than any other designer or artist in the fashion industry I know of; and she never fails to execute an incredible amount of devotion which clearly results in a presentation of beautiful garments and accessories. Betsey’s collections always have a positive message; she wants us all to soak in the many qualities she possesses – being fearless, energetic, optimistic, and passionate – all which I hope to continuously carry and display until “heaven”, as she states.

I’ve never done this before and to be honest, I’m not exactly sure why I did (maybe to make it seem like I was there by watching it online)… but I wrote commentaries on literally everything I was watching on the live stream (oops?) These will most likely be available on-line soon I’m sure, so I will spare you with every single extensive detail, and instead give you a brief re-cap in order of appearance:

Make-Up:  Make-up brand Stila’s celebrity makeup artist extraordinaire Sarah Lucero gave us the 411 on details going into the models fun and creative faces. Since this is a Betsey show, color is an absolute must! Each girl was presented with the following: Palm shade for Fiji Palette No. 5 eyeshadow (kelly green as requested by Betsey) all over lids and up to brows with an acrylic paint texture finish, extending past the sides and undersides of the top and bottom eye lines; two NYX pairs of lush false lashes on top of one another, joined with mascara; a brilliant hot pink pop of color onto the apples of the cheeks; Long Wear Liquid Lip Color in Caprice; and finish with colorful bandages placed in various areas the face. Lucero was able to see each garment before putting together a look for the models. She states that Betsey is all about “happiness, attitude, and optimism”, and that is exactly what these models gave us with the bright and bold colors plastered on their faces!

Hair: Redken’s Key Stylist Peter Gray had a spot-on approach when styling the models’ hair to match Betsey’s collection. Betsey had a cyclist/racer image in mind, which to most of the stylists meant “fun, attitude, silly, athletic, roadkill”… to name a few. Gray stated that it wasn’t about having smooth and shiny hair to achieve a fashionable look; and that bedhead hair looks great. He created a happy grunge display with colorful hair-ties in random places and those fun hair beads from the 70s. To further enhance the carefree image, Gray left hair conditioner that you’re suppose to rinse out, to give the models the perfect look. His goal was to create a style that looks crazy and difficult, but anybody can achieve with minimum effort. I was crazy about this hair, especially since I still have all of my beads from when I was little!

Nails: Nails were done by Nonie Creme of Butter London. The London-based stylist tells us that since there is always so much going on the day of a runway show, it’s difficult to apply fresh nail polish on each and every model. To make things easier, she used stick-ons! The nails took 10 hours to paint, with vegan brand Butter London; the models sported the rock n roll nails greatly; painted with a light pink base, with a yellow and black racing stripe at the tip!

Brows:
Brow expert Ramy Ghafni informed us not only of Betsey’s image for her collection but the reason why it also ties into this upcoming season’s trend. Brows are meant to be classic, not trendy; sure we can see them change a bit from season to season, but you shouldn’t follow a “brow trend”. If you don’t have a signature brow that suits your face best, try to keep a bold, classic brow that’s full and nicely arched, which works well for almost everyone. For the show, Ghafni gave the models theatrical versions of this classic brow – bold is the key word (and it shows!).

That’s everything covered from head to toe, aside from the beautiful garments themselves (pictures/clothes truly do speak for themselves when it comes to Betsey’s collections). When finally finding Betsey, host Robert Vendi was able to experience and feel the amount of passion and love she was presenting. In her own words (not exact, again it was too fast so I apologize), Betsey tells us that work should always be like a party, and always consist of fun. Before any runway show, even if everything is ready, she won’t start until everyone backstage is energetic, happy, and in the greatest mood. She kept stating how she’s “going to cry” from all of the work, love, devotion, and nostalgia she felt from this collection. For the final pieces showcased on the runway, beautiful ruffle gowns were airbrushed with puff paint, and will be auctioned off with funds going to breast cancer. Betsey tells us that she has always wanted to learn to airbrush, and was taught just a week before the show, spending each day working on a dress. She also states that this is her take on the modern style; when ending up in Timesquare after a bike tour, she witnessed all of the magical lights at night and had to incorporate it into her collection somehow. The incredible spectrum of bright and bold colors truly shined through every piece – whether it was shimmer, glitter, or the bold colors themselves. When the show was finished, she petaled on a bike down the runway, and finished off with her signature cartwheel. Betsey tells us that this was her happiest and most nostalgic collection, especially with the video featured at the end of her presentation, of her and her siblings riding bikes in the 1940s. Her dream and image truly came true and shined enormously; she left us with the great statement that we are “young and old from birth to heaven” and should be proud and happy 24/7.

Betsey’s collection was an energetic, colorful, and fun variety – filled with racer hates, skateboards, bicycle wheels, stripes, checker prints, retro and rockabilly dresses, rompers and skirts, sailor blazers and shorts, necklaces that say RIDE ME, and more all on a racetrack runway to complete the entire bicycle essence. What’s also fantastic about Betsey is her ability to create pieces that can relate to a variety of genres and people – it’s especially noticeable in this collection with the use of lace, mesh, sailor suits, hot-pants, stripes, checker-print, rockabilly, and so much more! Take a look at the photos below!