Jason Wu Spring 2010 RTW

Jason Wu presented his collection this afternoon at the St. Regis, where hair and makeup mirrored the same femininity as the collection itself. Hair was pinned up throughout with full fabric bows created by hairstylist Odile Gilbert, who was working on behalf of Aveda.

“The inspiration is a bit like a chignon from the Seventies but updated for today,” said Gilbert. “We wanted a modernity and transparency — so hair is up and out of the face, with volume.” Gilbert pulled models' hair into a ponytail using Aveda Smooth Infusion Style Prep Smoother to get rid of any frizz or texture, and then applied the Aveda Glossing Straightner to make hair shiny and sleek. She then crossed loops of the black mesh fabric together with sections of the hair before pinning and setting with Aveda Air Control spray. “The collection is sophisticated but simple at the same time,” said Gilbert. “So we wanted the same direction for the hair.”

Bold, rich, dark lips, natural complexion with a bit of shine - simple and fresh with a hint of dark. “The clothes are incredibly beautiful and chic but with a tiny edge to them, and that’s what were trying to bring into the faces,” said makeup artist Lucia Pieroni, who was working on behalf of MAC Cosmetics. “They’re these gorgeous women, but they’re not uptight and so perfectly made up — they have a little rawness to them.” To achieve this, Pieroni offset natural skin with a little shine and glitter, dotting the top of eyelids with MAC’s Crushed Metal Pigment Powder. On lips she used one of three dramatic MAC lip shades — Media Lipstick, Cyber Lipstick and Dame Mattene — chosen after considering each model's skin tone. “All dark girls are getting the dark brown burgundy color, the blond girls are getting bright red, and all the others are getting a kind of deep, black currant-like one.”

Jason Wu's inspiration for his Spring 2010 RTW collection? Artist Tara Donovan with a hint of Tim Burton. To be truthful, Wu's fashion is not altogeter my cup of tea, but I did manage to find a few pieces that struck a semblance of a chord; perhaps more for the colors and patterns, though, than the design. C'est la vie.

images: WWD