Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1490669
THE ARTISAN SPRING 2023 • 43 B Y D A V I D W I L L I A M S D E P A R T M E N T H E A D M A K E - U P — MAKE-UP — Continued on page 58 PHOTOS BY ERIN SIMKIN/HULU L-R: Dan Stevens as Paul, Kumail Nanjiani as Steve, and Nicola Peltz as Dorothy Welcome to Chippendales chronicles the Chippendales dancers' wild ride rise to fame and the sorted tale of the owner who would let nothing and no one stand in his way. The club owner, Steve Banarjee, is the relentless entrepreneur who idolized Hugh Hefner and the Rolex crowd whose conspicuous wealth was all the rage in the '80s. Lisa Birnbach's Preppy Handbook helped define an upscale, impeccably groomed, appearance of success in the period. Societal aggregation often dictates fashion morays. The '80s saw tremendous changes in how men perceived themselves and presented their image to the world. AIDS had a huge impact on this evolution in the men's look and grooming of the '80s. Working out, tanned muscular bodies and an overall desire to look "healthy" became the vogue. A distinct progression can be seen in the Chippendales dancers as the show moves from the initial group of men with nice fitness bodies, chest hair, sideburns and beards, a carryover of the late '70s to early '80s natural look. Our final ensemble of sculpted, tanned, glossy, fully manscaped muscle men showcased the aesthetic that defined the ideal male specimen of mid to late '80s. Our ideal male lead dancer, Lance, emerges into the group featured in a production number that incorporates elements from influential pieces from the period, Frankenstein, Cabaret, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Chippendales' Hunkenstein was painted in a light green sheen head to toe, wore period stock character neck bolts and his face and body were chiseled and contoured to perfection. Another featured dancer, Otis, played by Quentin Plair, begins with a goatee and long sideburns. Goatees would only have been common in the Black community at the time. His evolution finds him shaving the goatee, but keeping a mustache for his personal comfort and his sideburns become shorter. Chippendales' choreographer, Nick De Noia, played by Murray Bartlett, is a slick New Yorker who finds his success in Hollywood enhancing the performance quality of the Chippendales dance routines. Nick's early look incorporates full lace sideburn pieces. The actor's sideburns are shaped and colored for a more groomed later '80s preppy look. The shiny veneer created by Nick only serves to cover the dark underbelly of murder that is ultimately, the undoing of the club's owner, played by Kumail Nanjiani. Kumail gained weight for the lead role and we used a reverse contour technique to create more fullness to his face. He is first seen as a night employee with a five o'clock shadow in a gas station convenience store. As Steve becomes a successful entrepreneur, his look transforms into a clean-cut businessman. The only deviation from this buttoned-up Continued on page 46