This Corset Braid Is the Best of Balletcore
Are you sick of pink? Are you sick of Barbie pink? Are you sick of unabashed femininity? Good, because Christian Siriano is not. The backstage of the Pierre Hotel for his Spring 2024 15th anniversary show was an explosion of pink sparkles, pink ribbons, and pink and more pink.
The unifying idea of the beauty design for his show was yes, pink! but also, balletcore confectionery, inspired by the tulle and airy confections that Siriano would design, and singer Sia would later wear, in a surprise performance in front of Janet Jackson, Quinta Brunson, Laura Linney, and Padma Lakshmi. Charlotte Tilbury’s niece, Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury, designed the makeup look, pairing an angled cat eye with a frosty pink glitter shade from the brand’s The Uptown Girl palette on the lids and diffused coat of the Airbrush Flawless Lip Blur on the lips and the cheeks. Hints of soft peach glitter gleamed at showgoers from the runway.
For the hair, stylist Lacy Redway created two styles, inspired by the fairy-like nature of the clothes Siriano showed her from the test. Barre Braids was a corseted ballet braided bun that would take the entirety of time at three barre classes for any amateur to make. But the whimsical style came together for her professional team who weaved together two braids into one ponytail, and later wrapped them into a long bun at the nape of the neck. They then hand-weaved pink ribbon into each side, so that it looked like it was cinched and stitched together with a needle. “My hands are shaking,” I overheard one hairstylist say, in trying to thread the ribbon into one side of the hair, without the entire thing falling apart. Other models like Coco Rocha had Satin Strands, a style that paired “inches” with inches of ribbon. Their hair was straightened to sleekness, and invisible ribbon “extensions” were added so that they peeked out as models twirled on the runway. The key products for this look was the Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Protectant Spray, Two Extra Hold Mousse, and the Tres Two Extra Hold Hair Spray.
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Coco Rocha at Christian Siriano
As a finishing touch, nail artist Julie Kandalec for Essie created a sparkly pink nude, using a base of Polished and Poised, with Birthday Girl on top – a sheer, glittery shade that shimmered like a pink disco ball. After a Barbiecore summer, you can get ready for a balletcore Spring 2024.
ELLE Beauty Director
Kathleen Hou is ELLE”s Beauty Director. Previously, she held the same title at New York Magazine’s The Cut. She’s appeared in publications such as New York, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue India, Forbes, and Allure. She was also a co-founder of Donate Beauty, a grassroots beauty donation project started during the COVID-19 crisis, which donated over 500,000 products to over 30,000 healthcare workers across 500+ hospitals.