Industry insider dishes on non-L’Oréal product scandal at LG Fashion Week

There were some sore toes and bruised egos backstage at LG Fashion Week Beauty by L’Oréal Paris last month, and not because models had to walk the runway in small shoes. Rather than work directly with the artists provided by sponsor L’Oréal Paris, a coterie of labels—we hear Pink Tartan and Line were among them—quietly brought in their own makeup experts to provide their brand’s beauty direction and supervise its execution. When a non-sanctioned manicurist was spotted working on a model’s nails, a Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC) representative reportedly insisted, “Everything that touches the skin must be L’Oréal.” Really? We’re pretty sure blue lipstick does not fall into the beauty brand’s extensive repertoire.

From the designers’ perspective, however, having their own makeup artists on site was not so much subversive as an effort to work with people who already understand their brand. “We brought the same team we always use for our photo shoots to get the look right,” Line’s Jennifer Wells explained with regard to the artist they used, who asked not to be identified. “But we wanted a collaboration with the L’Oréal team, and definitely consulted with them to nail down a final look.”

Another beauty artist, who also preferred to remain anonymous, sees herself as an extension of the designer, in the same capacity as a stylist. “I helped create the designer’s artistic direction, plus I speak the same language as the hair and makeup team,” said the artist. “I’m a liaison to communicate the designer’s beauty vision while he’s backstage concentrating on the clothes.”

According to an artist with another label, L’Oréal didn’t want her crossing their turf and she was instructed by the FDCC to stay hidden from backstage traffic and the press. “There was no communication because L’Oréal’s team didn’t want to discuss direction. I had to get my assistants to scout for models who had had their makeup and hair done, usher them into our hidden cubicle and adjust the looks,” she said.

“I just hope we can eventually start to support each other,” she added. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to do so. Our fashion community will never grow without that support.”

That support certainly seemed lacking in the demeanor of some L’Oréal makeup artists. One scenario that was reported to us involved a model being worked on by a non-sanctioned nail technician. The technician asked the model a question without realizing that if she answered it might interfere with the work of an official makeup artist, who was applying makeup to the model’s lips. The technician apologized, only to be told by the sanctioned artist, “You better watch what you do or I’ll knock your fucking teeth out.”

NIMBY attitude aside, there seem to be fewer and fewer reasons for LG Fashion Week to keep a single corporate beautifier. L’Oréal Paris apparently had trouble communicating the brand’s hair and makeup inspiration to the media. Company reps described Line knitwear’s look as “ski lodge,” but a journalist who later interviewed the designers discovered that inspiration was taken from European settlers travelling to North America in the 1930s and ’40s.

It is commonly understood that no one beauty brand has every shade or texture in its makeup arsenal, yet L’Oréal Canada’s general manager, Stephane Berube, claims that L’Oréal has an exclusive at LG Fashion Week, which means “no one has the authorization to use any other products.” We understand why a title sponsor would want to monopolize hair and makeup, but identifying moments of off-brand product use merely as “incidents” suggests that spectators at LG Fashion Week should blindly assume all makeup artists and products are from L’Oréal. When asked if any acknowledgments of the off-brand products used during LG Fashion Week were made, Berube swiftly replied, “No. It must never be mentioned anywhere.”

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