Backstage Diaries: Paris Fashion Week with Wilhelmina's Damien Neva

PARIS, March 2 — Saturday I spent the morning into early afternoon backstage at Viktor & Rolf Fall 2013. This was my first show of the season staged in the Jardin des Tuileries, which from Paris to New York is easily my favorite of all the "tents." Despite the venue's tent status, designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren never fail to transform the runway into something other than a temporary structure fashioned out of stretched vinyl over an aluminum skeleton. Saturday's show was no exception. A herringbone woodgrain graphic (below, left) in grayscale covered the surface of the runway and flowers and leaves (below, right) in the same color scheme climbed the wall at the runway's base.  

Backstage there were familiar faces in casting director Andrew Weir, Pat McGrath and Luigi Murenu. During first looks, Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain popped up for a public relations photo moment with designers Viktor and Rolf. I am unashamed to admit that even I was taken by that moment and duly shuttered an Instagram.

In early evening I made a backstage rendezvous with Manon Leloup and Soo Joo at Loewe Fall 2013. The show was staged at the Galerie de Minéralogie du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle on the Left Bank. The narrowness of the show gallery made possible the illusion of a nearly endless runway (below). And it stretched for miles! During runway rehearsal I situated myself nearly two thirds of the way toward end near the photo riser, which meant that when the models entered the runway they were but tiny points of light in my camera's iris. During my two previous seasons in Paris, Loewe held its shows at 12 Rue de l'École de Médecine, which made for a circuitous runway with all manner. Portishead provided the finale score for the second time this week. Saturday night it was the Bristol group's 12" single, "Chase the Tear." 

Guido and Pat McGrath took hair and makeup honors respectively Saturday night at Loewe, which cranked beauty levels to 11. There was one picture in particular that I snapped of Manon moments before she took to the runway. She is pictured wearing her sunnies and exudes an effortless cool, something straight from a lost film from a bygone era. Soo Joo also had a breathtaking look. Guido and Pat have an uncanny mastery of their crafts. How they transform naturally beautiful girls into even more beautiful models is akin to hitting achieving immediate acceleration in a Ferrari that is already doing 150 miles per hour. 

I drink a lot of espresso and take Instagrams of coffee like some do of cupcakes. The coffee last night at Loewe might have been dire, but at least it was served in a proper cup with a saucer. I will never weary of this continental presentation, the insistence on doing things properly. That said, if the French brought the same level of attention to their coffee that they do for its presentation, then this would be Milan, not Paris.

 

All images courtesy Damien Neva for Wilhelmina Models

Damien Neva is the Director of Social Media at Wilhelmina Models. For more of his unique perspective and behind-the-scenes take on modeling and fashion, you can follow Wilhelmina on Instagram, Twitter and Youtube. 

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