Inge Grognard, Makeup 1989-2005. London: Zegris, 2022. Paperback, unpaginated [104 pp]. 20 x 13,5 cm. Illustrated throughout with b&w and full-color photographs.
Introduction by Olivier Zahm, Editor-in-Chief of Purple Fashion Magazine. Photography by Ronald Stoops. Featuring pictures from campaigns, runways and editorials for brands such as Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten, Maison Martin Margiela and A.F. Vandevorst.
Some of the featured models: Hannelore Knuts, Jodie Kidd, Kim Peers....
Inge Grognard, establishing a new make-up standard
Before injury became a makeup trend, there was Inge Grognard. (We had of course J.G. Ballard fetishizing scars, bruises and braces in Crash, but the man is so hors categorie that even Cronenberg failed visualizing Ballards disruptive body concept).
Inge Grognard became known for her collaborations with Martin Margiela and the Antwerp Six, Her techniques helped establish a new standard that diverged sharply from the glamorized styles popular at the time. Her work introduced darker, more experimental beauty ideals that found lasting influence in the industry.
The black that kept spilling on the skin during Margiela's debut show
Grognard started her career experimenting on herself, extending her practice to backstage environments where makeup was often created under challenging conditions. During Margiela’s debut show, limited light and the lack of standard cosmetics required inventive solutions. “I knew the models were going to wear masks and have hair over the eyes,” she recalls. “But he also wanted to have really dark eyes. I needed to find the right kind of black, but it didn’t really exist. Eventually, we found this pigment that was a nightmare to put on, it kept spilling on the skin.”
Against the glam: Inge Grognard and the Antwerp Six
Her collaborations also shaped the aesthetic of the Antwerp Six—Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Marina Yee and Dirk Van Saene. Their push toward difference was reinforced by the influence of avant-garde Japanese designers, whose minimalist, dark palettes aligned with Grognard’s own. As she explains, “What was important to the Antwerp Six was to be different from what had come before, all that glam.”
Introduction by Olivier Zahm, Editor-in-Chief of Purple Fashion Magazine
From the introduction by Olivier Zahm: "Discreetly imposing her vision from 1989 onwards, Grognard created a rupture in the world of beauty by rejecting the glamourous makeup of the 80s: the other side of the cosmetic dream, one of light and glitter. Instead, she imposed a raw aesthetic in darker, grey scale colours, evoking a sad and windy landscape. Grognard triggered a brutal and unexpected changing of the guard, which the press at the time simplified as grunge and anti-fashion. But it was much more than a negative turn, and more than a neo-punk counterattack. (...) Grognard tirelessly experimented for every fashion showand editorial with one aim: to put the singular beauty of each individual above social norms."