All the times make-up stole the show at fashion weeks

Since last Thursday, when Maison Margiela closed Paris Fashion Week with its Artisanal SS 2024 show, that's all anyone is talking about. Of course, discussions revolve around the show, a true decadent cabaret that featured actress Gwendoline Christie among its protagonists. Certainly, everyone was mesmerized by the deconstructed garments and meticulous details (just look at the gloves or the trompe-l'œil on some pieces). But what has monopolized the attention of every social media platform, website, and magazine is the makeup created by Pat McGrath, transforming the models' faces into eerie porcelain dolls. How did she achieve that extreme glass skin effect? The theories abound, and everyone is on the hunt for the magical product. Is it Kryolan's Liquid Glass or a peel-off face mask like Freeman Cucumber Peel Off Mask, mixed with water? Or could it be a product soon to be launched by Pat's brand? The hype is real.

Indeed, fashion weeks often anticipate beauty trends we'll be flaunting in the future, but the work of makeup artists often surpasses that of designers, overshadowing the runway outfits in popularity and media resonance. This has happened many times in the past, with some of the most unforgettable and impactful looks coming from shows by John Galliano, sometimes in collaboration with McGrath. But there are many others; we've chosen a few. Which is your favorite makeup look?

Chanel FW 1992 Couture

The Chanel FW 1992 Couture collection may not have gone down in history as the most interesting and innovative designed by Karl Lagerfeld, but the makeup, on the other hand, deserves to be remembered. Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and other models showcased daring, almost plastic hairstyles in bright colors like red, sky blue, and purple, coordinated with eyeshadows and lipsticks. '90s lips, cheeks and cheekbones sculpted with blush, thin but well-defined eyebrows, and smokey eyes are the winning details, all worth copying from this look. In subsequent shows, Lagerfeld continued to play with pastel-colored makeup and hair.

Todd Oldham FW 1997

Perhaps the name Todd Oldham may not be recognizable to many today, but in the '90s, the designer was popular. Thanks in part to the makeup for his shows, which was done by Kevyn Aucoin, the legendary makeup artist behind Revlon The New Nakeds, a palette of browns and beiges designed to adapt to the skin tones of women worldwide, marking the first inclusive makeup line in history. For Oldham's FW 1997, he focused on the eyes, covering everything, including eyebrows, with pigment—blue on the upper lid, acid green all around the upper and lower eye rims. To finish, nude lips and blush to sculpt the cheeks.

Christian Dior Spring 2004 Couture

Perhaps not overshadowing the popularity of the collection, but the makeup created by Pat McGrath for the Christian Dior Spring 2004 Couture has entered history. In line with John Galliano's inspiration from ancient Egypt, the makeup artist played with opulence, crystals, metallic shades for a maximalist bling-bling effect. Models in Cleopatra, Ramses II, and Tutankhamun versions flaunted eyes studded with gold or silver glitter, matching their lips, turquoise, lavender, and coral eyeshadows, alternated with a layer of white pigment paired with an orange lipstick, XXL lashes, graphic eyeliner, and finely drawn eyebrow arches. All enhanced by Victoire de Castellane's jewelry adorning the ears, hair, and sometimes the chin or the lower part of the models' eyes. Talking about the beauty looks, Pat mentioned: "One of those chainmail looks under the eyes took about 12 hours to do. It was really fun when the look was accepted because I thought, 'Ah, I'm so happy!' And then I thought, 'How am I going to do 10 in three hours?' I didn't do the math, and I panicked." While Robin Givhan, senior critic at The Washington Post, emphasized how McGrath's work for this show changed everything, equaling, if not surpassing, the garments: "Makeup has always been a secondary element to the big story, but it seemed like Pat was really creating this dialogue between the clothes and the beauty."

Jean Paul Gaultier SS 2007 Couture

The SS 2007 Couture show by Jean Paul Gaultier would have had the same impact without that makeup? No, as the images of the faces of Jessica Stam, Lily Cole, and other models continue to be the beauty obsession of many on Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram. Les vierges by JPG were inspired by the Virgen de la Macarena, the wooden image of the Virgin Mary from the 17th century in the Basilica de la Macarena, Seville, and the vernacular devotional art of Catholic churches. From a makeup perspective, this translated into pearlescent skin, blue, yellow, and red eyeshadows surrounding the eye and degrading to the lower part, tears, hearts, and stars embellishing the cheeks, giving the models the appearance of weeping statues. In one word: iconic.

John Galliano FW 2009

There's something absolutely grand in the partnership between Pat McGrath and John Galliano. Together, they have created true masterpieces, as evidenced by the success of the Maison Margiela Artisanal SS 2024 collection, whose makeup seems a natural evolution of their past collaborations. Among the references and past beauty looks that continue to inspire and overshadow the popularity of the associated garments is undoubtedly the one from John Galliano's FW 2009. For the occasion, McGrath brought "Ukrainian Ice Princesses" to the runway with translucent and silvery skin, gold, gray, and silver eyeshadow surrounding the eyes with a slightly smudged finish, thin eyebrows, red lips with the lipstick concentrated only in the central part to recreate a sort of heart, and rosy cheeks. A beautiful makeup still loved on TikTok.

Christian Dior Fall 2011 Couture

It's no coincidence that Pat McGrath's nickname is "Mother", and Vogue America defines her as the "most influential makeup artist in the world". Her works are always exceptional. One that continues to live on thanks to Pinterest and social media? The makeup created for the Christian Dior Fall 2011 Couture show, the first in the post-John Galliano era led by Bill Gaytten and Susanna Venegas. It draws inspiration from the world of clowns, Pierrot, and the vintage circus, but also from the shapes and colors of Memphis Milano, the Italian design and architecture collective founded by Ettore Sottsass. The result? Eyes adorned with iridescent powders applied from the eyelid to the temples, sequins and glitter in gold, silver, and black tones, paired with burgundy lips, alternating with pastel-colored graphics and red lips.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label SS 2014

Val Garland became a makeup artist because it "seemed easier than doing hair", managing to make a name for herself in the industry for her eclectic style ranging from 1980s New Romantics makeup to Lady Gaga's alien looks. In her career, she has collaborated with many artists, creatives, and brands, but most notably with Vivienne Westwood. The Vivienne Westwood Red Label SS 2014 runway show was an event, a theatrical show inspired by the Ballets Russes and German choreographer Pina Bausch, remembered more for Garland's work than the garments. Val Garland applied white makeup as a base and then drew wild stripes of black and red on the models' faces, paired with cherry red claw nails (she reportedly used a Nails Inc nail polish).

Givenchy SS 2014

Raise your hand if you remember the garments from the Givenchy SS 2014 collection, and who remembers, instead, the makeup? We thought so. Back then, Riccardo Tisci brought to the runway a mix of American football and Hawaiian prints, emphasizing the stylistic shift of the brand. However, the real star of the show was the makeup, curated by Pat McGrath. The models walked the runway with bejeweled faces, adorned with sequins, pearls, and rhinestones of various sizes and colors, recalling tribal and warrior motifs. The success of that makeup? Its "replication" at home by the fans, who began to create tutorials and share them on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

Jacquemus FW 2015

For L'enfant du soleil, Simon Porte brought childlike naiveté to the runway, an assorted child who plays carefree, loves Michel Gondry films, and wears rough-edged collages, cropped coats, asymmetrical lines, oversized cartoonish garments, and hands that looked like they were cut out in kindergarten arts and crafts classes. On the face, not normal make-up, but drawn faces, the result of a collaboration with Berlin-based artist Sebastian Bieniek (known for his 2013 Doublefaced series), reminiscent of surrealist works and Willy Vanderperre's famous 1999 image of model Robbie Snelders with Mickey Mouse drawn on his face by Peter Philips.

Dries Van Noten FW 2020

The one chosen by Dries Van Noten for FW 2020 is undoubtedly one of the most striking beauty looks of the last fashion weeks. The makeup and hair inspiration came from the campaigns created in the 1980s for Japanese cosmetic company Shiseido by make-up artist and photographer Serge Lutens, but updated to contemporary. Inge Grognard, who did the makeup, played with saturated pigments on the eyes, declined gray, pink, light blue, gray, mustard. All blended outward in the upper eyelid and under the eye. The touch that emphasizes Grognard's work? Sam McKnight, the show's hair stylist, who recreated a kind of regrowth, dyeing the roots of the hair lime green, crimson red, blue and purple. Actually, it wasn't a dye job: the hair was side parted, and a marabou feather was applied to the root root, then dyed and fixed with sprays of hairspray. The result? Mysterious iconoclastic glam vamps.

Rodarte FW 2023

For Rodarte's FW 2023 fashion show, the Mulleavy sisters thought of a gothic fairy tale, inspired by Anjelica Huston's Morticia Addams, especially in the make-up. James Kaliardos focused on graphic looks of black eyeliner for a strong, bold effect. Kaliardos and the NARS team gave the models' skin a radiant glow by using NARS' Radiant Creamy Concealer and Orgasm Four Play Palette for blush, then focused on the eyes. They used tape and an eyebrow pencil to create the shapes, then applied NARS Climax liquid eyeliner to fill in the color. Finally, they added several coats of Nars Climax Mascara. On the lips a matte black or blue rosette, while the stiletto nails were glossy black. The end result was stunning and achieved more resonance than the fashion show itself.