New York Fashion Week: Baby Phat, Fall 2009

For Baby Phat Fall 2009, Kimora Lee Simmons' muse was the First Lady. "The inspiration is very sexy, curly hair but the length is Michelle Obama," said Odile Gilbert, lead hairstylist. To achieve the look, models' hair was put in rollers, teased within an inch of its life and shellac-ed with hairspray. When I asked if big hair will be a trend for fall, Odile cheekily answered, "It’s always a trend."

"We’re inspired by Michelle Obama," said James Kaliardos, lead artist for MAC. "I mean, when else can you be inspired by a First Lady? I think she’s so inspiring and so great and so stylish. And she wears Isabella Toledo. Kimora wanted a soft, pretty, classic look. It’s like a soft, pretty peachy version. There’s a little glamour and a little glitter on the eyelid, which Michelle probably won’t do...so it’s a soft, pretty sculpted beautiful look. It’s not as over the top...last time it was Cher, and that’s like hyper glam. This is a little bit more pulled back, a little bit more sophisticated. We’re scuplting and shaping under the cheekbones and in the crease of the eyelid."

To create the Michelle-inspired makeup, makeup artists used Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation, gold eye shadow, Cremesheen Glass lipgloss in Partial Pink, Pink Swoon Powder Blush and Zoom Lash Mascara. Individual eyelashes were applied to create a feathery and soft effect, which is "less drag queeny than a full strip," James explained.

Angi Wingle from CND called the Baby Phat Fall 2009 nail look "All-American girl with edge." "The theme is the Great Depression," she said...so the nails had a pearlized metallic finish - which was achieved by layering Gold Chrome (to be released in Fall 2009) over Iced Capuccino. The nails were meant to look like jewelry..."to accent the collection, like buttons on a jacket."

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