Backstage at the Vivienne Tam Fall 2011 collection, the look was all about a modern take on Chinese opera, which meant porcelain skin and dramatic upturned eyeliner paired with hair piled on the top of the models' heads, then wrapped in hairnets and accessorized with black brocade hair clips.

MAKEUP: Andy Koh for Maybelline New York
HAIR: Leon Gorman for Cutler/Redken 5th Avenue
NAILS: Incoco
SNAPSHOT: Modern Chinese Opera

THE SCOOP: Vivienne Tam's Fall 2011 collection is ode to Southern Chinese opera called Kunqu which has a rich 400-year history. The designer wanted the hair and makeup to reference that history, but in a more modern, simple interpretation.

Tam asked Leon Gorman, lead stylist for Cutler/Redken, for a unique updo and he complied. "When I heard opera, I started thinking of theater and that made me think of hairnets, so that's how we ended up using them as an element in the style," Gorman told StyleList.

"The look is modern Chinese woman, and I'm creating porcelain skin, turned up liner and dimensional, sculpted cheeks," said Koh.

GET THE LOOK - MAKEUP: All products by Maybelline New York. Koh used Fit Me Foundation and a dusting of translucent powder to create a porcelain, but still sheer, finish to the skin. He applied Fit Me Blush in Deep Rose at a sharp angle on the cheekbones. The eyes were lined with a felt-tip product to create a thick upturned line and lids were given a hint of shimmer with the champagne shade in the Eye Studio Color Plush Green with Envy compact. Two to three false lashes were added toward the outer half of the lash line for a chunky pop of fullness. The lips looked natural with a hint of Color Sensational Lipcolor in Born With It.

GET THE LOOK - HAIR: All products by Cutler Salon and Redken 5th Avenue. The girls got tight ponytails on the tops of their heads. The team used plenty of Redken Fashion Work Workable Hairspray and Cutler Shine Tattoo to keep it sleek and shiny. The ends were sprayed with Cutler Volumizing Spray and backcombed and then the stylists used hairnets to create interesting shapes and pinned them in place. They added a black brocade hair clip from Tam just underneath the back of the updo.

GET THE LOOK - NAILS: The Incoco team applied red glitter nail polish strips just to the tips of the nails, like a French manicure, in a shade called Ruby Shoes.