London Fashion Week has arrived, following the stumbles of NYFW, the Maccies party following the Alexander Wang show and the 90s hair styles making center stage at both Thakoon and Marc Jacobs. If you were lucky to be back stage at NYFW you would find your self surrounded models, makeup artists, hair stylists and press that is loaded up with food and drinks. There's certainly no shortage of hands reaching for sustenance, including models who will chomp and chew on the hummus plates and bright green salads to Compartes S'mores Chocolate, while they're getting their makeup and hair done. The team at Pop Sugar were curious, though, about what models specifically eat and drink in order to prep their skin for Fashion Week and other events, Interestingly, some are stringent or creative with their diets, while others are all about that pizza and chocolate life with no repercussions (#blessedcomplexion). So we thought why not test our IMM girls, in the run up to fashion week on what they are eating in order to maintain a good complexion.
It appears ginger was the main go to for pre-runway beauty; model Louise Lefebure subscribes to the mentality that "less is more." Drinking lots of water with lemon and freshly cut ginger, prepared by herself; Its both yummy and keeps her hydrated, she explains, plus ginger is loaded with antioxidants that keep your whole body — incuding skin — healthy. Li Ming, who was all smiles in the Banana Republic presentation, says she has two go-to beverages when it comes to maintaining a healthy complexion. "First, I drink a lot of iced matcha green tea with lemon," she says. "I also like to juice turmeric, ginger, and half an apple and drink that. Both are refreshing and tasty."
However with backstage tables come treats, including A Détacher who had all models drooling over cheesy pizzas topped with crushed potato chips and one model had no issue with unrestricted nomming sessions pre show (damn good genetics) Sasha Tsibizova, "Honestly, I do nothing at all," she told us with a kind laugh after we asked her what she does to prep her skin for events such as Fashion Week. "I've been drinking Coca-Cola, and I'm going to eat pizza after my makeup is done."
Top recipe to try for London fashion week? Model Samantha Basalari, backstage at the Katie Gallagher, "This sounds kind of diet-y, but I love blending bananas, cinnamon, and ice," says Samantha Basalari. "It tastes kind of like ice cream, but you feel really good after and it's refreshing." Although all models know chugging water is a must to feel refreshed and keep skin hydrated it can be boring.. intentional model Xiara Waller backstage at Tibi spoke about her backstage solution; prep it up with fruit, which she sometimes freezes and uses as ice cubes. "I love pineapples, apples, grapes, strawberries, and peaches, and when they're frozen it makes the water really cold and yummy," she says.
With London Fashion Week taking centre stage this weekend we caught up with our model Rosalie; recently being part of #NoSizeFitsAll campaign this girl is hitting fashion week, our #onetowatch this weekend is the 'This Is The Uniform' presentation featuring a few of our curve models, we know it will be a hit. Check out what Rosalie and new face Lara had to say for preparing pre #LFW and make sure to tick of her checklist below.
Firstly, I like to take extra care of my skin and body. I usually have a bath the night before fashion week begins try to relax my body for the week to come; In the weeks coming up to the shows I use coconut oil to prepare my hair for the heat that will come with styling and I use Indian healing clay mixed with apple cider vinegar as a face mask as it is deep cleansing and tightening.
For anyone aspiring to do shows during fashion week, there's a few tips I can give -
• download a couple of good tracks or tv shows to your phone or iPad because there's a lot of waiting around backstage between shows and preparations!
• always bring a snack!
• always bring make up wipes, I use baby wipes! :)
"So I'm preparing for tomorrow's presentation by having an early night, drinking lots of water and putting on a hair and face mask. Just making sure I look my best really. In terms of the advice I would give its gotta just be to be the best version of yourself and make sure that you are as friendly and welcoming as possible. The main thing I'm looking forward to for LFW has to be seeing the street styles that are going to emerge from the madness of this week and meeting all the creatives along the way!"
