M·A·C Cosmetics

Fashion Week, written by hand: backstage, trend books and Viva Glam.

M·A·C Cosmetics2011/14

M·A·C Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Week poster: Milan in black script over a pink and orange eye

The briefM·A·C

Make M·A·C the voice of backstage at every Fashion Week, and carry that from the runway to the counter.

Runway→ Fashion Week

Backstage→ The looks

Seasons→ Four cities, every season

Trend→ AW13 trend book

Editorial→ Maczine

Retail→ M·A·C on 3

Red carpet→ Artist Relations

Cause→ Viva Glam

Three years. Every season, written by hand.

Design Director, Special Projects, for three years. Each Fashion Week season I art directed M·A·C’s global trend books, presentations, education pieces and windows, hand-lettering Milan, London, New York and Paris from backstage to the store. I also led creative for Viva Glam, M·A·C’s charity lipstick, including the Rihanna launch, one of the largest in M·A·C history.

ClientM·A·C Cosmetics, Estée Lauder

RoleDesign Director, Special Projects

Years2011 to 2014

ChannelsTrend books, presentations, windows, print, campaign, education

Part IRunway

Fashion Week

In which four cities are written by hand.

Each season M·A·C is backstage at hundreds of shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris. I art directed the global trend story that came out of it: the trend books, presentations, education pieces and windows, all in one hand-lettered voice.

Fashion Week AW12, trend film. 41 seconds. Tap for sound.

Sense + Sensibility

Roam-Antique

Hone-Structure

Arti-Tech

AW12

Four trends, four names, each one written out by hand across the season.

AW12 trend portrait: Contour and Shadows lettered across the face

AW12 trend portrait: Precision and Non Conformist lettered across the face

AW12 trend portrait: Sepia and Jewel Like Metallics lettered across the face — The AW12 trend portraits, lettered on the face

Fashion Week city names hand-lettered in black ink, from New York and London to Rio, Johannesburg and Korea — Every city, one hand

A white wall covered floor to ceiling in hand-lettered city names around an arched doorway, London Fashion Week — London Fashion Week, February 2012: the city wall

Close up of the hand-lettered wall: Paris, Milan, Athens, Istanbul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Copenhagen — The wall, up close

AW12 collage wall: backstage photographs, face charts and hand-lettered city names in black and white — AW12, the collage wall

AW12 trend presentation: a model and presenter under hand-lettered New York — The AW12 trend presentation

AW12 trend book: Milan, Berlin and London lettered over an eye — The AW12 book

AW12 trend book covers in silver with New York and London in color — The covers, in silver

AW12 trend book spread, Arti-Tech: Non Conformist and Artistic lettered in white on black, beside a portrait with Precision written across the face — The book, Arti-Tech

WWD wrapped in an AW12 eye: MAC AW12, New York AW12 and Paris lettered by hand, with the Istanbul Fashion Week sponsor line in Turkish — The AW12 wrap on WWD

International Herald Tribune wrapped in AW12 lettering: MAC AW12, Milan, Paris and London, with the Barcelona Fashion Week sponsor line in Spanish — And on the International Herald Tribune

Part IIBackstage

The looks

In which the makeup happens.

The trend story starts backstage, with the M·A·C artists, the face charts and the looks as they are made, minutes before the show.

Backstage, AW12. Cut from the trend film master.

The red lip

Liner, drawn on

Bare lid

The graphic eye

AW12 trend book spread: a model portrait and a backstage moment — The book, backstage

AW12 trend book spread: mascara on a gold lid — The book, up close

AW13 face chart illustrations: thirteen faces on white, five in color above and eight in pencil below — Face charts

Fashion Week backstage book covers with hand lettering — Backstage books

Part IIISeasons

Four cities, every season

In which the cities keep changing color.

Every season the four cities came back in a new hand and a new palette: script over eyes and lips for Spring/Summer 2013, pop lips and eyes for Spring/Summer 2014, in print, in WWD and online.

Spring/Summer 2013 poster: Milan in script over an eye

Spring/Summer 2013 poster: London in script over a lip

Spring/Summer 2013 poster: New York in script over an eye

Spring/Summer 2013 poster: Paris in script over a lip — Spring/Summer 2013, four cities

Copenhagen Fashion Week front wall: Copenhagen in black script over a backstage eye, Spring/Summer 2013 — Spring/Summer 2013, Copenhagen: the front wall

Fashion Week trend books and WWD covers fanned out — The books and the covers

New York

London

Milan

Paris

S/S14

Spring/Summer 2014, the four city cards in motion.

Part IVTrend

AW13 trend book

In which a season is cut into color.

Built like a fashion magazine: designer pages, one strong red and portraits that set the season’s mood for M·A·C artists.

AW13 trend book: Spiritual Eyes and designer pages

The AW13 book, cards and a cut-out face, with AW2013 lettered over a painted portrait

A M·A·C makeup station in front of the AW2013 face wall and two screens

The AW2013 face on the maccosmetics.com homepage — AW13 off the page: the book, the makeup station and the homepage

Three illustrated face cards marked M·A·C AW13 — AW13 face cards

Part VEditorial

Maczine

In which Fashion Week becomes a comic.

M·A·C’s Fashion Week magazine, with comic-book covers and spreads that put the backstage looks on the page.

Maczine Fashion Week issues with comic covers

Part VIRetail

M·A·C on 3

In which Selfridges gets the lettering.

For M·A·C on 3 at Selfridges London in May 2012, the hand-lettered cities went onto the walls, a London taxi and a printed invitation to Personalised Artistry: one-on-one lessons, workshops and consultations with M·A·C artists.

A London taxi wrapped in hand-lettered city names outside Selfridges — A London taxi, lettered

The M·A·C on 3 Personalised Artistry card, open, with collaged face charts and photographs

Close up of the card: face charts, eyes and handwriting in black and white

The card: Personalised Artistry, one-on-one access to M·A·C artists — The Personalised Artistry card

The M·A·C space with a hand-lettered wall and a screen — The lettered wall

The M·A·C counter under the lettered wall — At the counter

A halftone eye beside the M·A·C on 3 Personalised Artistry tower in store — Personalised Artistry, in store

Part VIIRed carpet

Artist Relations

In which M·A·C goes to the theatre.

M·A·C Pro artists do the makeup for film, television, theatre and music. In 2013 I art directed the Artist Relations work: ads, playbill pages and invitations for awards nights, Broadway, film festivals and screenings, each with its own lettering.

Laurence Olivier Awards 2013 ad: Red Carpet Riot in red script on black — Red Carpet Riot, Laurence Olivier Awards 2013

A presentation round of the Olivier ad: Red Carpet Riot in red dry-brush capitals — A brush-lettered round

Juno Awards 2013 invite: Amp It Up in green brush lettering

Tarzan ad: Untamed Glam in yellow lettering over straw

Kinky Boots Playbill page in red: supporting professional makeup artists in film, television, theatre, music, editorial and the performing arts — Juno Awards, Tarzan and Kinky Boots

Tribeca Film Festival evite: Flawless Glamour set wide in pink and magenta capitals — Flawless Glamour, Tribeca Film Festival

Black invitation to a screening of The Great Gatsby in London — The Great Gatsby, a screening in London

Vogue

M·A·C and Vogue, a dinner for Prabal Gurung at Chateau Marmont.

Black place cards with gold names and gold cutlery on the dinner table — The table

Graffiti: the cut logo, a store concept, March 2013

Part VIIICause

Viva Glam

In which a lipstick raises money.

Viva Glam is M·A·C’s charity lipstick, sold for the M·A·C AIDS Fund. I led creative for the line, including the Rihanna launch, then Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin. The VG monogram became the hero, from the poster to the counter.

Three Rihanna Viva Glam posters with the VG monogram — I. Rihanna for Viva Glam

Rihanna Viva Glam in the M·A·C store, VG posters on the columns — II. In store

M·A·C AIDS Fund poster: Every day is World AIDS Day — III. M·A·C AIDS Fund, World AIDS Day

Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin for Viva Glam, in print, stationery and store.

Ricky and Nicki for Viva Glam poster — IV. The poster

Viva Glam envelope wrapped in hand-lettered Viva Glam, Ricky and Nicki — VI. The envelope, lettered

Viva Glam stationery in pink hand lettering — VII. The stationery

Viva Glam counter display: VIVA GLAM spelled out in cut-out figures above a lipstick and a lipglass — VIII. The counter display

Detail of the cut-out letters and the lipstick, with the cause line printed on the base — IX. The display, up close

EpilogueThe thread

One hand

Cities, trends, causes and seasons, all in the same line. The lettering became the thread that tied three years of special projects together.

Next project2026

Old NavyView →