I’ve just witnessed something quite heart wrenching. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Tears glazed over my eyes. In a sports auditorium somewhere in Paris (no one has any idea where we actually are) Rick Owens has presented his spring/summer14 show, not through the medium of eight feet tall models without a visible pore between them, but through a 40-strong troupe of stepdancers from Philadelphia. Women of multiple ethnic backgrounds, a variety of body-shapes and honest faces, unfazed by what a fashion show is, just wholly excited to be there. 

Hats off to both Rick Owens and Lucia Pieroni, lead make-up artist for MAC, for showing great respect for their beauty, by opting not to temper it or homogenise it with a specific ‘look.’ Instead, the girls were given a bit of gentle facial grooming – ‘a bit of lip balm or mascara, brushing up the brows,’ explained Lucia. ‘But these are very cool girls, so it was just about enhancing their natural beauty.’ 

And since this is a show performance, not a catwalk, it can be sweaty work, so MAC Pro Matte Cream was smoothed onto the forehead and nose just before showtime. ‘Rick said he didn’t want to see any make-up on their faces,’ added Lucia.

Luigi Murenu also played sensitively to the individuality of each girl in his hair designs; some had combed-out Afro curls with strong, triangular silhouettes, others had short, low ponytails wrapped in leather. And, refreshingly, it was all their own hair. ‘They are designers that take a risk, this is their emotional expression,’ said Luigi.

The prospect of a fashion show without models of this magnitude is thrilling enough in itself, such is its bravery and originality, but it was only when I snuck into watch the rehearsal that it became suddenly so overwhelmingly vital - like one of those moments that you know will play back in your mind over and over again for years to come. 

The dancers marched out, in total unison, like soldiers racing to battle, with expressions that could knock you off your chair. But there was a grace to it, something totally uplifting about the camaraderie of the pack: real women fighting for their lives.

The irony of all this of course, is that since the New York shows, we’ve been bemoaning the lack of transferable, neatly packaged beauty looks and the simulatenous, unending spate of ‘raw’ and ‘natural’ and ‘real’ beauty, but this is as raw and natural and real as it gets. And because of that, it was utterly mesmerising. 

Have a look through the gallery above at some of the best moments from backstage.