As opposed to ready-to-wear shows, Haute Couture is all about exaggeration and opulence. You want a dress solely comprising of a giant bow? You’ll probably find one at these shows. However, these shows are also a great place to find hair and beauty trends that differ slightly from the more ready-to-wear looks. Below are some of the top looks from the couture shows and some advice on how you can adapt them for more day-to-day looks.
- All That Glitters
Glitter is always a must in the months running up to the Christmas season and Valentino’s show was serving some serious inspiration for this look. With makeup for the show done under the watchful eye of beauty icon Pat McGrath, glitter eyebrows were the common trend. Given that Valentino’s collection was full of rainbow colours and wide silhouettes, one might think that adding glitter to the overall look might be too much. But, this haute couture after all and there really isn’t a thing as ‘too much’. With lightened brows, glitter was added directly under the hair on the brow bone that followed the shape of the model’s bone structure. The skin and lips were left neutral for the most part, adding to the drama of the eye look. Now, lightened brows and large swipes of glitter might be a bit much for some on a random night out in Cork so here’s how to add glitter to your makeup without terrifying yourself. Break out your festival glitter and place it on your eyelids above your eyeshadow for some extra sparkle but stretch it up above the crease of your eye closer to the brow bone. How far up you go depends on your eye shape and personal preference. Let your glitter shine for all to see nearer the brow and you’ll be setting trends at all the Christmas parties.
- Punk Power
Heavy eye makeup was seen at numerous shows such as Viktor and Rolf, Dundas, and Jean Paul Gaultier. The Dundas collection had a distinctly gothic feel to it, given the darkened surroundings of the catwalk, and the shadowy hues of the clothes’ colour palettes. With its sheer polka dots, dark florals, puffy sleeves, fishnet tights and messy up-dos, there was an air of distinctly cool party girls to the show. The beauty looks perfectly complimented this, with its messy, heavy eyeshadow in hues of copper and black. For Viktor and Rolf, makeup artist Peter Phillips painted each models’ face with spider web-like liner on top of silver and gold backgrounds. Jean Paul Gaultier was slightly less messy than the other shows as some models’ eyes were painted by Erin Foster with perfectly shaped chrome eyeshadow, which was shaped with the help of tape. In varying shades, this heavy sparkling look lends itself perfectly to the darker winter months. To make this trend more wearable, you can subtly add some black glitter to your eyeshadow without going for a look solely comprised of heavy black glitter. Like the Viktor and Rolf look, you can add heavier liquid liner to your eye makeup or emulate the Dundas makeup by going for a messy smoky eye for the ultimate cool party girl aura.
- You Glow, Hun
Surprisingly, given the heavier makeup looks of the past two trends it is somewhat surprising that healthy glowing skin was also seen on some runways. Fendi, Schiaparelli and Armani Privé all sent models down the runway with shimmering skin. Underneath the 70s style bobs of Fendi’s models was lightly contoured skin for a delicately sculpted glow. Schiaparelli also presented models with stunning highlight and faint contour and bronzer, for a look that is perhaps more commonly associated with summer. Out of all the beauty looks at haute couture for A/W this is the one that is the most wearable for everyone.
- Slick and Sleek Ponytails
Like the radiant complexion look, this is an easy style to incorporate into your looks. Chanel sent models down the catwalk with sleek low ponytails with side or centre partings. Hairstylist Sam McKnight championed this minimal look at the show, giving models seriously glossy locks which were scraped back perfectly to compliment the barefaced makeup complete with heavy brows and single feline liner flicks. This trend is perfect for those long days in the library when you want your hair out of your face, when you’re in a rush for a night out or when you want to let a dramatic makeup look such as those above do the talking.