The world renowned make-up artist sheds light on how he created a modern pierrot look for the cover of AnOther Magazine S/S18
Amid a beautiful mélange of Alessandro Michele’s S/S18 collection for Gucci and the original Elton John archive looks that inspired it, Peter Philips wanted to make a look for Saoirse Ronan that “still felt like her, just with a hint of showgirl and circus”. Here, the doyen of glitter dust tells us how...
On teamwork…
“There were different elements at play: first of all Katie [Shillingford]’s styling – all the amazing Elton John outfits – it was all so showbiz. Craig [McDean] also wanted a blurry, moving effect, so I thought it would be great to have something reflective. It was good teamwork: we made a plan in advance – it’s hard to go back and change things once you’ve started – it’s almost a military operation. It was also easier for her because that way there’s no insecurity – she knew that the team behind her knew exactly what they were doing.”
On Saoirse...
“She was up for it! You can’t do this look to everyone’s face. For practical reasons, we just built it up bit-by-bit. And I didn’t want to traumatise her by whacking it all on at once. We wanted the Elton John inspiration combined with her own personality. And there was a 70s approach to the make-up as well as the way she posed.”
On keeping it her…
“It was about opening up her eyes with heavy eye make-up. There was a pierrot effect to it, without making it too clowny. I didn’t want to make it a carnival look. I wanted to make sure we saw her – wearing an over-the-top-outfit and still being really sexy: she pulled it off. I didn’t want it to overtake her. We didn’t want to transform her. It still felt like her, just with a hint of showgirl and circus.”
On the glory of glitter...
“I have a whole suitcase full of glitter! And now with Kirakira, you can never have enough! I love glitter, it’s just beautiful.”
Hair: Recine for Rodin. Make-up: Peter Philips for Dior. Set design: Randall Peacock at The Magnet Agency. Manicure: Yuko Tsuchihashi at Susan Price using Deborah Lippman. Digital tech: Nick Ong. Photographic assistants: Nick Brinley, Maru Teppei, Kris Shacochis and Will Takahashi. Styling assistants: Molly Shillingford and Jessica Gerardi. Hair assistant: Kabuto Okuzawa. Make-up assistant: Kuma. Set-design assistants: Todd Knopke and Hisham Bharoocha. Producer: Gracey Connelly. Post-production: Dtouch NYC.
This full story originally featured in the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of AnOther Magazine is on sale now.
