The Boldest Beauty Moments From NYFW (So Far)

While the clothing at New York Fashion Week has proven surprisingly wearable, beauty is another ballgame. Fanciful, experimental makeup is taking over the runway, adding a healthy dose of eccentricity to the pomp and circumstance that accompanies fashion shows.

Bolstering Sable Yong’s assertion that beauty is going beyond the bounds of looking conventionally attractive, a phenomenon best exemplified by Julia Fox’s sooty eye makeup and Doja Cat’s crystal-encrusted face, designers and makeup artists are dreaming up catwalk beauty coups, from bedazzled animal prosthetics to latex-dipped fingers.

As we enter the final stretch of NYFW Fall/Winter 2023, we’re rounding up our favorite beauty looks from the runway.

Goth glamor at Rodarte

Rodarte’s return to the runway was made even better by makeup artist James Kaliardos, who transformed models into the protagonists of a “goth fairytale.” Done up in Siouxsie and the Banshees-inspired eye makeup, dark lipstick, and matte, powdered skin, Rodarte’s heroines were part Maleficent, part rock ‘n’ roll.

Animal attraction at Collina Strada

Collina Strada creative director Hillary Taymour collaborated with makeup master Isamaya Ffrench to dream up a series of surreal prosthetics that transformed models into dogs, dolphins, and other members of the animal kingdom. Ffrench’s totally transformative looks spread across social media like wildfire, serving as a masterclass on the power of special effects makeup.

Bows and balletcore at Sandy Liang

At Sandy Liang, hair stylist Evanie Frausto created the beauty equivalent of balletcore: long, sleek hair dotted with tiny silk bows, also applied to models’ belly buttons.

Liquid latex at Eckhaus Latta

While John Gries, AKA Greg from The White Lotus, made his catwalk debut at Eckhaus Latta, you may have missed the show’s several beauty statements: watercolored faces, liquid latex gloves, latex-dipped fingertips, and latex-covered nipples to match.