It may seem that our once everyday affinity with makeup has changed in recent months, but Haute Couture shows at Paris Fashion Week always has the innate ability to firmly plant our need to experiment back on the map.
While the week certainly brings with it lust-worthy fashion, the recent beauty lookbooks from the couture collections are a welcome escape from reality.
From fantastical crystal-adorned crowns at Dior to powerful, statement-making red lips at Schiaparelli and Valentino’s awe-inspiring “touch of glitter”, the couture SS21 hair and makeup looks are sure to set alight your beauty obsession once more.
Below, the best beauty trends from the Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2021 shows.
Dior: Ethereal Golden Glows And Statement Headbands
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Haute Couture SS21 collection for Christian Dior was all about the fantastical, mystical and complex world of tarot cards, defined by the French Maison’s use of esoteric motifs, dark jewel tones and dusty gold palette. Dior’s Creative and Image Director, Peter Phillips, perfectly complemented the house’s elegant Renaissance style gowns with wisps of gold eye shadow painted ever-so-slightly on models eyes, coupled elegantly with velvet-like skin. Hair played an important role in telling Chiuri’s story too, with hairstylist Guido Palau’s elegant updos topped with raw crystal-studded crowns.
Want to recreate the look for yourself? Phillips used the Dior Forever foundation and Dior 5C eyeshadow pallete JUNGLE.
Valentino: “A Touch Of Glitter”
Famed makeup artist—and recently titled British dame—Pat McGrath created a glittery masterpiece for Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Valentino SS21 couture show, held at the breathtaking Galleria Colonna, Sala Grande, in Rome. Bringing her signature extravagance to the runway, some models were completely covered in gold glitter, lips and all, while others had the bold sparkle painted alongside their temples. Hairstylist Guido Palau kept things simple, yet dramatic, with long straight strands completed with middle parts.
Chanel: The Return Of The Flower Crown
If you thought floral crowns belonged only on the fields of Coachella, Chanel’s hairstylist Damien Boissinot would have you firmly mistaken. For the fashion house’s SS21 couture show, models’ hair was pulled back into sleek ponytails, while makeup artist Lucia Pica steered clear of festival glitter in favour of subtle washes of rust shadow, while natural beauty was given a boyish and lived-in finish.
Fendi: Mettalic Finishes And Sleek Finger Waves
It may have been Kim Jones‘ star-studded runway
Iris Van Herpen: 3D Manicures
Our nail game may have weakened of late, but if Iris Van Herpen’s SS21 couture show is predicting, our manicures are about to become bolder than ever before. Nail artist Eichi Matsunaga created otherworldly designs for the collection, described by the fashion house as “transparent 3D printed exoskeletal” set onto nude nails. Not exactly ideal for day-to-day life, but the daring creation is certainly one to behold.
