Runway Beauty: Tracy Reese on the Glam Behind Her New Collection

One of our fave designers dishes on the glam behind her Spring 2015 collection. 

ESSENCE: How does beauty work its way into your designs each season?

TRACY REESE: When I first start to sketch, well, I can’t really get started until I figure out what the hair is. This has been an issue for me for years, since school [Parsons The New School for Design]. The hair and the shoes are a big part of the total look. Once the fabric is fleshed out and I know what I’m doing with prints, then I can start thinking about makeup and nails.

ESSENCE: And for spring 2015?

T.R.: I wanted the hair to look like a dancer’s hair—not perfect but relaxed. I wanted a strong brow, relatively nude lips, a sheer look to the nails with a sense of movement. I was really into the sheers and the tang of the orange. It was a very strong accent color for the collection.

ESSENCE: You’ve worked with Sally Hansen for 18 seasons, 18 collections. How did that come about?

T.R.: When Sally Hansen first approached me about teaming up, I thought it was an interesting idea. Nails were not a statement then the way they are now. This was a brand-new idea and I think it was really smart of them because nails complete the look. Now they’re like jewelry. I work with Sally six weeks before the show and they customize colors and textures just for us. We come up with a game plan for the show nail. [Thanks to the Sally Hansen polish], every person can get something from the runway- usually faster than they can get the clothes.

ESSENCE: And what about your first fragrance venture, with Anthropologie?

T.R.: We did candles with them before, which we loved. They’re one of my favorite retail part-ners and they’re very respectful of the process. They brought a really great team to the table to help us develop this floral fragrance.