On Sunday night, Tia Adeola celebrated her 10-year anniversary as 500 Naira bills, inscribed with her name, showered the bouquet-adorned catwalk at 53 Scott in Brooklyn. It was as though we were at a traditional Nigerian celebration.
And the traditions didn’t stop here, either. The beauty looks paid homage to Adeola’s culture as well. Models were found wearing traditional braids and coral beads, “which carry rich meaning of ancestral connections, serve as both embellishments and focal touch points,” read the show notes.
From finger waves to hair wraps and even sewn-in cowrie shells, this season’s beauty was an extension of Black history. “We’re using a million techniques,” hair stylist Joseph DiMaggio tells ESSENCE exclusively before the show.
One look, for example, required the Duomo Professional Forming Gel and Shape Retention Mousse on pink finger waves. Meanwhile, another used African hair stretching threads with a pouf at the end.
For makeup, just like at any festive Nigerian gathering, the makeup was “really high glam,” says makeup artist T. Cooper. “The looks are super dramatic.”
At the show, guests received a gift bag which included products like Wyn Beauty’s Acceptance Speech Lip Gloss, a makeup brand, by our favorite Super Bowl c-walker Serena Williams, used exclusively backstage.
“There’s a lot of green because of Serena Williams and the tennis balls,” Cooper says about the 23-time grand slam champion. “We’re using green shadows [and] different dimensions to really define the eyes.” From wing liner to lashes, she used the Wyn Beauty Glideline eyeliners to shape the eyes with ultra-precision, while Starting Line Lip Liner and blush added neutral tones to the look.
“We pull it all in to make it cohesive,” she says. The end result? She adds, the look gives “that ‘It-Girl’.”
Below, get an exclusive, behind the scenes look at how the glam came together.
