Met Gala Beauty

How Hunter Schafer Slipped into an Alien Alter-Ego for the 2021 Met Gala

The Euphoria star gave prime real estate to a biomorphic piece of face jewelry, playing off a silver 1999 Prada look and sculptural glass nails.
How Hunter Schafer Slipped into an Alien AlterEgo for the 2021 Met Gala
By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.

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“A little bit of late ’90s grunge, a pinch of playful dystopian sci-fi, and just a sprinkle of romantic horror”—that’s how makeup artist Sandy Ganzer describes the otherworldly vision that was Hunter Schafer at the 2021 Met gala. The look was miles away from other interpretations of the evening’s American mood, including hits of denim and western wear along with classic codes of Hollywood glamour. But in this nation that has given us Alien and a bullet-dodging Keanu Reeves and the theoretical license to escape our known realities for the unknown (whether that’s Earth’s gravity by way of a billionaire space race or the constraints of gender)—well, it’s safe to say that Schafer was right on theme.

By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.

“She’s got an anime, sci-fi heart in her core—she’s that kind of person,” continues Ganzer, who has worked closely with the actor and artist since the lead-up to the 2019 Euphoria premiere. That aesthetic leaning materialized in a Matrix-era fashion moment: a two-piece silver look from Prada’s spring 1999 collection, as styled by Law Roach. The structured corset-inspired top, studded with square-cut jewels, had the protective feel of a warrior-princess shield; the floor-length skirt emphasized Schafer’s statuesque silhouette.

By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.
By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.

The fashion was only the beginning of a transformation that extended from fingertips to gaze. “That was a Hunter suggestion,” Ganzer explains of the hunt for the perfect reality-shifting contact lens. (A custom-ordered set didn’t look quite right, so they went up with ones that gave an eerie white-out effect.) But the showstopper was inarguably a white-gold brooch by Evangeline AdaLioryn, a ceramist whose foray into fine jewelry received a very splashy debut last night. Schafer, working with Ganzer, opted to wear it squarely across the bridge of her nose—recalling, at least for some ’90s kids, another of the decade’s cinema treasures, Arachnophobia. The makeup artist affixed it to Schafer’s face with special-effects glue; for good measure, hairstylist Lacy Redway worked her sleight-of-hand magic, using invisible fishing line to secure the brooch to hidden braids.

By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.
By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.

Beneath that tentacled marvel, Ganzer doubled down on the ’90s inspiration, citing the model Kristen McMenamy as a perpetual muse. That translated to a tawny smoky winged eye, created using Shiseido’s Kajal InkArtist shadow liner, along with a pair of earth-tone shadows (in Zoku Zoku and Sube Sube Beige) to elongate the shape toward Schafer’s temples. A sweep of cheek color (in Cocoa Dust) sculpted the cheekbones, alongside a bright pop of highlighter. “And I did a supermodel brown ’90s lip on her,” adds Ganzer, describing the layered effect created with lip liner and two matte nude tones (Thigh High and Murmur).

By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.
By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.

The final two elements of the look—hair and nails—were a study in contrasts. As Redway, a Unilever global stylist, explains it, “For me to tie the look all together, I wanted to just keep the hair really chic.” That meant a classic blowout, with blunt ends, little volume, and a deep center part—“really sharp and cool,” Redway says. To prep the hair, she layered in a volumizing mousse by Nexxus (a counterintuitive move to accomplish a sleek finish) and used a flat Mason Pearson brush to blow-dry; a Tresemmé leave-in conditioner lent shine, and a quick blast of hairspray kept Schafer’s newly short blonde bob tucked behind her ears. “It just makes it feel effortless, almost like she did it herself and just has a really chic haircut. ‘Oh, this little thing?’ It’s giving that kind of vibe.”

By Daria Kobayashi Ritch.

That brings us to the fragile, fantastical manicure, as maximalist as the hair was minimalist. Nail artist Sojin Oh, working with custom glass elements by Grace Wardlaw, created the spindly, seemingly icy look—an unintentional kindred spirit to AdaLioryn’s jewelry (which included three one-of-a-kind rings as well). Oh, whose creations have lately been seen on Billie Eilish, Rosalía, and Björk (along with an equally intergalactic Grimes last night), brushed off the idea that the oversize nails might be tricky to wield. “I told Hunter to just make sure she makes everyone else do everything for her haha,” Oh texts from the hotel during the red-carpet prep. The effect was startling—and, one imagines, something to talk about as the glittering night wore on. “Nails are the best way to start a conversation!!!”

Image may contain: Cosmetics, and Bottle

Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation in Opal

Shiseido InnerGlow Cheek Powder in Cocoa Dusk

Shiseido InnerGlow Cheek Powder in Inner Light

Shiseido Kajal InkArtist in Tea House

Shiseido Imperial Lash Waterproof Mascara

Shiseido Pop PowderGel Eye Shadow in Sube Sube Beige

Image may contain: Mailbox, and Letterbox

Shiseido Pop PowderGel Eye Shadow in Zoku Zoku

Shiseido ModernMatte Powder Lipstick in Murmur

Shiseido ModernMatte Powder Lipstick in Thigh High

Shiseido InkDuo Lip Liner in Beige

NexxusMousse Plus Volumizing Foam

Mason Pearson Popular Mixture Brush

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