The Haute Couture Shows Are Embracing Beauty’s Most Extreme Trends

Some might consider Haute Couture Week in Paris as a pre-game to fashion month. But if you’ve ever attended or perused all of the photos and BTS videos on social media from the comfort of your couch, you’ll quickly come to the conclusion that it is, in fact, the runway equivalent of the Super Bowl. The show guests’ outfits are best described as iconic, the designer’s made-to-measure garments are dramatic, and the accompanying hair and makeup moments are downright mesmerizing. While the Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 beauty looks provide next-level inspiration, they also signal the next iterations of current major beauty trends.

Leaning into the trending Balletcore aesthetic, a handful of designers topped off the models’ hairstyles with bows. At Dior, the delicate accessory was paired with edgy smudgy liner, while Chanel stayed true to the hyper-feminine vibe, using giant ones to turn the smooth, voluminous blowouts into half-up, half-down styles. And if the Couture runways are any indication, glazed donut skin is still going strong well into 2024. At Schiaparelli, the look was otherworldly, a nod to the extraterrestrial-themed collection. It consisted of bleached brows and glass-like complexions. And that’s just a few examples of the standout hair and makeup looks on the roster.

Ahead, all of the breathtaking beauty moments from the Haute Couture Spring 2024 runways.

Fendi

Simple doesn’t equal boring, as demonstrated by the sleek updos and fresh-faced models on the Fendi Haute Couture runway. It put natural features on full display, and reflected the elegantly understated nature of the garments.

Maison Margiela

Somewhere between the textural drama of an oil painting and the still-viral glass skin phenomenon, the makeup at Margiela was delightfully extreme, courtesy of Pat McGrath. Each model’s face was made to look moonlit and reflective, coated in a glaze to really catch the light. Meanwhile, Vaudeville-style skinny brows emphasize the turn-of-the-century themes.

Valentino

As we shed our heavy knit layers and wool jackets come spring, our makeup looks tend to get lighter, too. So the deep vampy lipstick seen on the Valentino runway is actually a revolutionary seasonal trend. The bold lips were paired with edgy wet-look slicked-back low buns.

Jean Paul Gaultier

Designer Simone Rocha paired her first Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture collection with a next-level glimmering beauty look. Models’ bare faces were adorned with leaf-shaped jewels on their brows, orbital bone, and lips.

Alaïa

Alaïa celebrated its models’ unique beauty by enhancing their natural hair textures and boosting their complexions with skin care and base products for an effortless, lit-within-glow. Makeup artist Dame Pat McGrath prepped their skin with the Divine Skin: Rose 001 The Essence from her and the Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Primer from her namesake beauty line. She then went in with her Skin Fetish: Sublime Foundation and Skin Fetish: Perfection Concealer to even out skin without covering it up.

Giorgio Armani Privé

The beauty of Armani’s Haute Couture hair and makeup is that you don’t have to be precious when creating your own spin on it. The wet-look, deconstructed braided updos don’t require you to be an expert plaiter, and the watercolor eyeshadow encourages you to experiment with effortless swipes of color. The brand’s global makeup artist, Hiromi Ueda, used the Luminous Silk Foundation and Concealer to create a flawless canvas for the eye look.

Alexis Mabille

Dramatic winged liner was on the menu at Alexis Mabille. To create the graphic shape, makeup artists placed pieces of fabric and feathers on the upper lash lines. For hair, models’ natural textures were enhanced for an easy, effortless vibe.

Chanel

Forget ‘strawberry girl’ makeup, Chanel’s soft cotton candy pink blush and glossy lips are inevitably going to be all over your FYP come spring. If you’re after the exact lipstick shade, makeup artist, Lisa Butler, used the brand’s Rouge Coco Baume in Keep Cool. Better yet, fully lean into the romantic aesthetic by pulling your hair into a half-up, half-down style with a giant hair bow.

Schiaparelli

Dame Pat McGrath looked to the shimmering night sky and Elsa Schiaparelli’s obsessions with the cosmos when creating the luminous complexions for Schiaparelli’s show. The legendary makeup artist reached for a handful of products from her namesake line to get the job done, including the Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation, Skin Fetish: Highlighter + Balm Duo, Skin Fetish: Sublime Highlighter, and Divine Blush: Legendary Glow Colour Balm. The hair was slicked back into sleek buns and brows were bleached to keep the skin in focus.

Christian Dior

The pairing of dainty hair ribbons and romantic low, braided buns with smudged eyeliner is the wrong shoe theory, beauty edition: the contrast creates a refreshing take on two classic looks. To add an edgy juxtaposition to the loose updos created by Guido Palau, Dior Beauty creative and image director, Peter Philips, lined the lower lash lines with kohl liner, extending it out to a soft wing.

Giambattista Valli

Now, this is how to stand out in a crowd of fluffy, voluminous lashes and hair bows. Giambattista Valli showed exaggerated versions of both looks via feathers and supersized hair accessories.

Georges Hobeika

While the early aughts are still dictating many current beauty aesthetics, the swinging ‘60s are also influencing rising nostalgia-fueled hair and makeup trends. Case in point: the bouffant-like hairstyles and sharp graphic liner seen on the Georges Hobeika runway.