Yesterday, model, animal activist and general babe Kenya Kinski-Jones was unveiled as one of the faces of Stella McCartney’s new fragrance, POP, joining Grimes and two as-yet unnamed co-campaign stars.
When we headed backstage before the AW16 show this morning in Paris, Kinski-Jones was there hanging out with models, posing for pics and spritzing herself in the gorgeous new fragrance – more on that later – before excitedly heading out to join the front row as the show started. Stella has been friends with Kenya's father (that's Quincy Jones) for many years but the union actually runs deeper than that, as both Kinski-Jones and McCartney share a genuine passion for conscious fashion and animal protection.
"I really admire how [Stella] has built such an incredible brand for herself that has a conscience and stands for something," Kenya explained to Refinery29. "We had so much fun doing this. Everyone had their own thing and brought their own magic to the table. It was really good to come together and feed off each other."
For her first new perfume in four years, a scent which combines tuberose and sandalwood, McCartney was inspired by a road trip she took by herself, in her youth, which was her first proper taste of independence – a transformative feeling which made her "pop". Evoking that youthful and liberating experience, the scent's essence is about championing assertive, independent, young women and celebrating the supportive relationships between girlfriends. With that in mind, it's clear to see why both Kenya and Grimes are the perfect representatives for this fierce, strong and compassionate female creative. The remaining two faces of the gutsy girl gang will be revealed this week.
So how was this idea embodied by the girls walking in the show? First and foremost, they were all wearing POP of course. Secondly, hair and makeup was created by grooming gurus Pat McGrath and Eugene Souleiman. Pat's vision was of strong, independent women with no-makeup-makeup, just a hint of brown mascara, a V-shape of nude/beige eyeliner in the corner of the eye, a tiny bit of pick-me-up blush, groomed brows and a hint of lip balm. Prettified but still hard, and we're into it in a big way. Prior to the minimal application of makeup, models including Edie Campbell, Binx Walton, Lineisy Montero and Vanessa Moody were treated to a Sunday Riley mini-facial as skin was prepped to perfection with a warm wash cloth, Ceramic Slip Clay Cleanser and Good Genes Treatment, finished off with the brand new product launching in April, Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream. Hello radiant, flawless skin.
The look was completed with a loose wave to frame the face and low-slung ponytail. Eugene Souleiman explained: "I was going to do these wet Marcel waves with great texture but then Marc Jacobs did it! Then all these old Yohji [Yamamoto] references came out of these waves with a piece of wispy hair across the face – we liked the shine, we liked the control, but the fact that something was free. So I decided maybe we should do the waves but in a more broken way. It's tougher... With Stella the huge thing that she has is this diversity of girls so my exercise is to find a thread to bring it all together."
We say cheers to Stella's continual appreciation of diversity, not only evident in the stunning AW16 show but also encapsulated by the four uniquely different but equally fierce female characters fronting the new POP campaign. We look forward to seeing the full lineup soon. Watch this space.