Francois Nars previously incorporated Guy Bourdin's works in his cosmetics, as names, colours and inspiration for campaign images. The Nars Guy Bourdin Holiday 2013 collection pays tribute to the French fashion photographer, who radically shaped the genre with sexually-charged photo shoots.
"His sense of colour. His madness. The way he broke so many rules. The way he saw women. The strong sexual aspect in the images. I love a strong woman who is comfortable being sexy and beautiful, and he celebrated that in his images," said Nars of Guy Bourdin.
The make-up artist particularly admires Bourdin's edgy images for French Vogue in the '60s and '70s, the latter period being his most successful decade. Since Bourdin passed away in 1991, he has continued to influence younger generations of photographers.
"His images are timeless. You look at them now, and they're still so modern. His creativity is still inspiring the photographers, the make-up artists, the designers of today," said Nars. "The explosion of colours, and also the extreme sophistication of the girls in his photographs. The models look totally artificial, totally unnatural, but very decadent and never cheap or vulgar. I'm drawn to bringing that juxtaposition to life in make-up."
Released in 2001, the first book on Bourdin's work was titled Exhibit A, and this has become a name of a vivid red blush in the Holiday 2013 collection. Other items also come in bold, uncompromising high-fashion shades and high-impact finishes.
Nars said he started creating this collection by looking at the make-up of the models, and sometimes the backgrounds and sets of Guy Bourdin's editorials and campaigns.
"It was important to me to capture both the colours and the feeling of his images. From there, we translated the shades into a cohesive collection," said Nars. "Holiday is the perfect time to experiment with make-up. The shades of the Cinematic Eyeshadows are seductive and sexy. And of course, you cannot go wrong with a strong red lip, found in several of the new Cinematic Lipsticks, like Short Circuit and Future Red."
The packaging also features Guy Bourdin's most iconic images, which appear on the Crime of Passion Face Kit, Fling Lip Kit, and the Voyeur Eyeliner Coffret.
