As Paris Haute Couture Week SS26 wraps up, everyone now has had enough time to sit down and chew the collections. The internet surely hasn’t stopped with new think pieces and interpretations. But while the clothes and narratives are being rightfully dissected, we turn our attention to beauty. How skin, makeup, and hair have sharpened their roles in couture, appearing with the same precision as the clothes they accompany. Overall, beauty is having a deja vu moment, where styles from the past are being revisited with fresh eyes. And the runways are only further leaning into it. Just recently, Jacquemus closed FW26 Menswear with a show conceptualised by a nostalgic hairstyle, so we’re hardly surprised to see this take on nostalgic beauty. But apart from this blast from the past imagery, we also saw beauty get theatrical, joyful, and restrained. These are the trends that showcased just that.
Carved, Sculptural Hair
Just like sculptural silhouettes that took the runways, hair also appeared in sculptural forms, slicked back and twisted. A style that’s common in most Black communities, in Haute Couture Week, they came to add definition to the overall narrative. At Giorgio Armani Privé, they were a juxtaposition to the fluid drapes, whereas at Chanel, carved curly bobs framed the face like a mushroom, playing with the presentation’s central motif. And at Schiaparelli, hair came in equal parts drama and restraint as it was slicked back with elaborate ornamentation, sharp and scaly, adding to Roseberry’s creature-like fantasy.
Loose and Undefined
On the other hand, certain runways went the opposite direction when it came to hair. Leaving it loose and undefined, we saw hair overgrown in pastel-toned bangs at Dior, hair organically forming into curls at Rahul Mishra, and then hair spread out in free waves at Valentino.
Smoky Eyes That Never Left
With the popularity of dark feminine makeup and the rise of kohl rimmed eyes, smoky eye makeup doesn’t feel like a return but a natural progression of the two trends. Spotted mainly at Stéphane Rolland’s circus-themed collection, the dramatic eyes played only a small role in the bigger theatrical production but their execution was hard to miss. At Elie Saab, the smoky eye was toned down, appearing only on the outer corners of the eye. Considering the palette of golden tones, this smoky eye wasn’t created for drama but to pull in each feature, creating cohesion.
Pastel Inner Corners
Giorgio Armani Privé’s runway was an exploration of Jade with the soft hue ruling the collection’s colour palette. So naturally, the makeup reflected the same, with inner corners painted in soft green tones and framed with circular rimmed glasses. Another runway that kept things light and bright was RVDK Ronald van der Kemp with pinks, golds, and blues. The collection was a bolder form of colour experimentation, so naturally, the makeup didn’t disappoint.
The Return to Luminious Skin
While Schiaparelli and Gaurav Gupta kept skin outworldly, most runways went for the natural approach. Instead of the glass skin sheen that we’re all familiar with, we saw softer iterations at runways like Chanel, Dior, Rahul Mishra, and RVDK Ronald van der Kemp. Glowing? Maybe not, but definitely luminous as skin naturally gleamed where the light hit it.
And Finally, Colour Experimentation
As the messy girl aesthetic gains popularity, haute couture runways have always dived deep into colour. After all, their pursuits are in the fantastical, and how can you bring that to life without colour? Gaurav Gupta’s philosophical runways perfectly encapsulate that principle as his closing look serves as inspiration to dabble into colourful experimentation. A mosaic of painted tiles to represent the cosmos, what stood out to most was the model’s crystal-painted face to match.
