September 12, 2017

Go Backstage at Carolina Herrera, Helmut Lang, and Oscar de la Renta

By Landon Speers and Biel Parklee

Photo: Landon Speers and Biel Parklee.

Before the elaborate confections (in the case of Oscar de la Renta, they literally looked like pink cupcakes) dreamed up by the designers can make their way down the runway, there’s backstage preparation to be done that’s anything but precious. Scissors perfect the tulle hems of ballgowns, Polaroids of models and their looks are lying around, and hair is straightened, curled, or gelled so it’s just so and ready to be marched in front of Diplo or Nicki Minaj. Some variant of this juxtaposition occurs at every runway show, no matter the final product.

Whether it’s the many varieties of bras that marched down the runway at Helmut Lang, Carolina Herrera’s purple gingham, or Phillip Lim’s reimagined menswear, click through to see the madness before the method at yesterday’s shows.