“This season is about freedom and adventure, the feeling of windows down, music up, and the road ahead,” Theophilio founder Edvin Thompson wrote on Instagram ahead of his SS26 show. “It’s a love letter to the culture I carry with me, reminding the world that wherever I go, the Caribbean comes too.” Much like the brand’s Jamaican roots, this season’s beauty was an ode to “RIDDIM”—the title of the show translated as “rhythm” in Patois. In other words, it was a celebration of movement, memory, and the road that connects us.
“The inspiration is movement, flowing, rhythm, just like a party,” lead hairstylist Yusef Williams tells ESSENCE exclusively before the show, as he stenciled and spray painted red waves onto a model’s tattooed head. Just like the head paint—which was executed with B Wild Temporary Hair Color Spray—there were also bone-straight, asymmetrically cut wigs sitting on the shelf above Williams with the same waves stenciled on. Then, on the floor to the left was a box full of mannequin heads with red, green, and yellow braids glued onto black wave caps.
But, spray paint didn’t end with hair. Airbrush—led by airbrush artist Mab—was used as body paint to brush on yellow, green, and red abs on two models. Meanwhile, white powder was found on the bikini line of another. “Edvin is very specific about what he wants to see, keeping it very true to his culture,” Williams shares.
The same movement was seen in the makeup by way of Jamaican makeup artist Romero Jennings. “The models are getting this crystal eye,” he says, while he was gluing crystals onto DJ Honey Dijon (which made sense, given some models walked out with Nothing headphones on). “[She’s] special so we’re giving her a super glam look with that beautiful Skin Finish highlighter from MAC but we’re adding some swarovski crystals as well.” Swatched on the back of Honey’s hand, she showed me the luminous finish of the highlighter, which illuminated the models’s skin.
By show time, the beauty looks were debuted after models exited from a yellow Volkswagen parked on the runway—perfectly encapsulating the “riddim” and essence of Caribbean magic.
Airbrushed Abs
The Glow Getters
Green & White Waves
Wave-Tatted Scalps
Color Coded
Spray Painted Hair
Pin-Straight Wigs
After The Install
Bikini Line Powder
Finishing Touch
The Final Look
It’s All About the Contour
Fierce & Focused
