Makeup artist Bree Masco and hairstylist Katie Quigley saw Pat McGrath’s makeup looks from the Maison Margiela spring 2024 fashion show and knew they were seeing something truly innovative. “I think she blew just about every makeup artist in the world’s minds with the glass-skin technique she used on the models.”
Masco and Quigley were compelled to try the look out for themselves, using Ilsa Dento as their model.
“To achieve that glass-skin makeup look, I mixed a peel-off mask with water and airbrushed it onto the skin,” says Masco. She then mixed it with more water to “dilute it down to a viscosity that would allow it to be airbrushed onto the skin. I would airbrush it onto the makeup in thin layers, using a blow dryer to dry the skin between each layer, and continued to do that until we got the desired level of shine.”
The resulting look, complete with thin painted brows and a bold cupid’s-bow red lip, immediately brings to mind a living doll. Quigley was inspired by the hair on antique porcelain dolls. She was also inspired by the styles Duffy—the hairstylist for the Margiela show—designed.
“I created a look by curling and pinning the top to hide the natural hairline, as many porcelain dolls have a hairline that looks unnatural. Also, I used products that would create almost an unnatural sheen on the hair because often doll hair is synthetic and I wanted that effect without using a wig.”
Photographer and stylist Greg Hollar wanted to continue the retro theme by choosing modern clothing that is also a throwback to lost eras. It’s also a commentary on that old adage: everything old is new again.
Hollar says that, to him, there is a “lack of clear subcultures or genres in modern fashion, with everything being a reference to something else, often influenced by social media and mass media.” Hollar leans into this, and the whole shoot has a vintage vibe that is at once classic and utterly new.
And what’s the best way to showcase a living doll? By staging the shoot in a mansion that’s as elaborate and charming as the most exquisite dollhouse. The Wadsworth Homestead in Geneseo was built in 1804 and is today a stately mansion that is open for historic tours as well as public and private events. wadsworthhomestead.com
“When we went in, [we knew] it was exactly what we had in mind,” says Hollar about the house that is owned and run by the living relatives of the original owners. “The story of the house is pretty cool, but really the thing that drew us there was the aesthetic of it.”
Photography and wardrobe: Greg Hollar
Makeup: Bree Masco on Instagram @Bladedbeauty_Bree
Hair: Katie Quigley on Instagram @looks.by.kq
Model: Ilsa Denton
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of (585).
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