Dior’s S/S ‘22 Haute Couture Show Found A Way To Make Aliencore Chic

It’s still less than a month into the new year but Dior already has its gaze far into the future — well aesthetically, at least. The models at the Dior Spring/Summer 2022 Haute Couture show could very well be from another planet, in part due to their strikingly beautiful features, but the stark white eyeliner each model had painted on their lower eyelid made them look nothing short of otherworldly — picture well dressed, elegant extraterrestrials.

While the minimal, futuristic makeup geared toward aliencore, the actual designs of the collection — full of meticulous sparkling embroidery and feminine silhouettes — gave the entire show an ethereal feel. Creative and image director of Christian Dior Makeup, Peter Philips honed in on the clean, polished look for this show, focusing on glowing skin as the base for the standout element: a stroke of white eyeliner underneath the eye. While white eyeliner on the waterline saw its heyday in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, this couture twist on it serves more as an avant garde statement look rather than a subtle means to make your eyes appear bigger — though it does have the same effect.

“The collection is very fluid, and less graphic,” Philips tells press over a Zoom call after the show. “Black [eyeliner] would have made it more classic but the white made it more luminous in a way.”

Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri wanted to maintain a theme of “one tone” in the collection, as explained by Philips and evidenced by the lack of color in the collection. “As you saw the collection was full of whites, and off-whites, and skin-tones, black, some silver and some gold,” says Philips. “No mascara, no blush, no highlighter, no lip color, just great skin and this sharp white eyeliner,” for which he used the Diorshow On Stage Liner 001 Matte White and Diorshow Khôl in 009.

Speaking of the face, Philips set out to achieve that effortless bare-faced glow, it seems everyone is after these days — he employed a bevy of Dior skin care products including Capture Totale Intensive Essence Lotion, Capture Totale Super Potent Serum, Capture Totale Super Potent Eye Serum, the Dior Forever Primer, and the Rouge Dior Velvet Balm in 000 Dior natural on the lips for a touch of color.

The “no makeup” makeup look usually includes at least one complexion product just for that your- skin-but-better effect, and for the Dior Spring/Summer Haute Couture face, Philips used the new Dior Forever non-transfer long lasting foundation on each model to achieve a even complexion, as well as the Dior Forever Skin Correct.

To make sure the makeup stayed intact for hours Philips used the Dior Forever Perfect Fix setting spray, but in a slightly unconventional way. “Some of the girls have been in makeup since morning, really early...so what we do with some of those early girls is dampen a sponge [with the setting spray] and tap it in over the face, it will refresh the appearance of your foundation,” he explains.

While there wasn't a key hair look, the hairstyles at the Dior Spring 2022 Haute Couture show, tapped into some of the buzziest hairstyles right now — French girl bobs, wispy bangs, clean cornrows, sleek supermodel buns, and an edgy buzz cut all made an appearance down the catwalk, in different variations, further solidifying that these hair trends won’t be phasing out anytime soon.

One would think an elaborate haute couture gown should be paired with a full face of glitzy makeup but once again Dior makes the case that a clean bare face, and glowing skin is the epitome of a luxurious glam.

See below to shop a few of the products used in the Dior Spring/Summer 2022 Haute Couture Show.

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