Runway Makeup Is Having A Main Character Moment For SS27

For a while, runway beauty seemed determined to disappear.

POSTED 25.09.26 08:21 BY ZOE TYLER

Skin was dewy, lips were barely there, and eye makeup was so subtle you could practically forget it existed. But somewhere between the clean-girl era and Spring/Summer 2027, the eyes decided they were tired of being background characters.

Images via @onyx2422 @Wqlash_

Now they're bright, graphic, strange, messy, and occasionally giving full-blown creature.

Neon Eyes Are Back in the Spotlight

At Thom Browne's SS27 show, makeup artist Aaron de Mey used watercolor eyeshadow from Byredo to transform models into something closer to insects than conventional runway beauty.

It's weird in exactly the right way. The makeup isn't simply matching the clothes. It's helping build the world the collection lives in.

Images via @lashify @aarondemey1

At Leo Prothmann, Andrew Gallimore and Lashify went in a brighter direction, using turquoise and vivid yellow to complement the show's expressionist mood.

Different shows, different characters, same basic message: your eyelids can do more than hold beige eyeshadow.

Your Makeup Is Part of the Character Now

That might be the most interesting thing happening with runway beauty right now.

Makeup used to be something you could mentally separate from the clothes. Now designers and makeup artists are using it to tell you who the person wearing those clothes actually is.

Images via @louisesdollhouse @Nylon Thailand

Messy hair and smeared lipstick can turn a model into a party girl. Bright graphic eyes can make her feel like a creature from another world. Suddenly, the makeup isn't finishing the outfit. It's telling you what kind of universe you're looking at.

Michael Kors Went Full Color Theory

Michael Kors took inspiration from modernist art for SS27, so naturally, the eyes weren't exactly playing it safe.

Makeup artist Dick Page worked with shades including grass green, sunflower yellow, coral, and wave blue, turning the models' faces into another surface for the collection's visual language.

Images via @fairymusee @desireemyersss

It's the kind of beauty look that makes you want to open your makeup bag and immediately ask yourself why you own fourteen neutral palettes.

Proenza Schouler Wants Graphic Liner Back

At Proenza Schouler, the inspiration was much more New York: back-combed hair, expressive styling, and colorful graphic liner that felt more downtown than polished.

Graphic liner has been waiting patiently for its comeback.

Images via @soniiapascual01 @lanabl__

After years of soft-focus makeup designed to look like you aren't wearing makeup at all, there is something wonderfully refreshing about drawing an actual shape on your face and letting it be seen.

I'm Ready for Makeup to Be a Little Unhinged Again

The best thing about these SS27 looks isn't necessarily that everyone needs to start wearing neon eyeshadow tomorrow.

It's that makeup is being allowed to have a point of view again.

You can use color to make an outfit stranger. You can use liner to create a character. You can make your eyes look like they're part of a painting instead of simply adding another layer of “natural” definition.