Givenchy and the Avant Garde

Avant Garde means new and experimental ideas in art, music or literature. It is a phrase commonly used to describe creative, artistic make up that pushes the boundaries of the normal feature perfecting style of application and turns it into an art form in its own right. Pat Mcgrath, who has been named most influential make up artist by Vogue, has worked with Givenchy on the make up for their shows over the last three years and there has been a noticeable change in the style of the make up.

Examples of Dior's Haute Couture Catwalk Looks

Prior to 2014, Givenchy's ready to wear make up looks were fairly natural and minimal but from 2014 onwards Riccardo Tisci clearly decided to push the normal boundaries of his shows and celebrate artistic and avant garde make up. Clearly inspired by the Avant Garde catwalk looks seen at the likes of Dior, Pat Mcgrath has designed the make up for the shows since 2014 and says she takes inspiration from the fabrics and garmetns when creating the designs. The images below show some of the images she has created for the brand.

Jewels and embellishments seem to be key for her make up style and this 'masked' idea is one she has repeated multiple times when working with Givenchy, changing up the materials, patterns and placement. The designs she created for S/S16 have a slight strangeness to them, which she says in an interview is what Riccardo Tisci wanted from the looks. Avant Garde make up really pushes make up as an art form and shows it is so much more than just the everyday application used to define features. 

Fatale, M.B. (2016) Beauty inspiration: Makeup at haute couture shows. Available at: http://www.makeup4all.com/beauty-inspiration-makeup-at-haute-couture-shows/ (Accessed: 24 April 2016).
http://www.vogue.com/867197/the-beauty-report-givenchys-jeweled-tribal-face-masks/
G, L. (2016) 2015’s greatest makeup moments!. Available at: http://mascarawars.com/2015-makeup-moments/ (Accessed: 25 April 2016).
Young, K. (2015) Fierce face lace at Givenchy SS16. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/make-up/beauty-Givenchy-SS16/ (Accessed: 25 April 2016).

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