The freezing rain couldn’t keep rock royalty—in the shape of Gene, Anais and Lennon Gallagher— from showing up at Chanel’s Métiers d’art show in Manchester yesterday. Their attendance was fitting, as the beauty visible on Virginie Viard’s runway paid homage to the music culture that runs through their veins. Legendary bands like Oasis and Joy Division call Manchester home, after all, and the models—with their pearls, slept-in black eyeliner and side bangs—appeared as though they might have just washed off a hand stamp after sneaking back from a show at Pip’s Disco.
“Manchester is the basis of a music culture that has changed the face of the world,” Viard tells Vogue. To play off of the “vibrant pop spirit” that she infused in the house’s tweeds and quilted leather, models were given smudged-up reverse eyeliner that read like slept-in makeup after a night of chasing afterparties.
Rather than a single black pencil, the look mixed deep red and denim for dimensional depth. First, Stylo Ombre et Contour khôl shadow stick in 08 Rouge Noir was applied outside the lash line and faded out gently. Next, a trace of Le Crayon Yeux eyeliner in 19 Blue Jean along the upper lids, before lashes were coated in jet black Le Volume Révolution de Chanel mascara.
At dusk, as the looks strolled down the umbrella-dotted outdoor runway on Thomas Street to the sounds of Soft Cell and New Order, the effect came alive. Manchester is the city of music,” says Viard. For everyone who secretly loves a touch of “I’m-with-the-band” beauty, consider this permission to turn up the volume.
This story was originally published on British Vogue.
