Pack it up, minimalists.
We've gone nearly two years covering our faces in most public settings (thanks, COVID), a turn of events that caused us to temporarily eschew makeup for skincare. Now, bold beauty is poised for a comeback.
At Fashion Month, maximalist makeup rose from the ashes. For Versace, Pat McGrath — known in the biz as Mother Makeup — painted models with bright green cat-eyes that stretched from the inner corner to the outer tip of the brow, a not-so-subtle pop of color.
Dries Van Noten took a similarly vibrant approach to beauty. Some models were decked out in face gems and jewel-encrusted nails. Others flaunted color-blocked hair, the work of Sam McKnight, awash in shades of neon green, yellow, and fuchsia.
Loewe also broke out the Manic Panic. Hair stylist Guido Palau outfitted models in mushroom cap-like wigs dyed purple, red, and pastel pink.
Kenneth Ize drew attention to an overlooked feature, the nose, by coating it in gold pigment. And at Blumarine, nearly the entire body was highlighted in shimmer that transported onlookers to the early 2000s.
Drama was also served at Givenchy, which recruited Lucia Pieroni to frame the eyes with feathery, drawn-on lashes, resulting in an exaggerated, anime-like look.
Just as high heels are slowly overtaking WFH-friendly footwear, maximalist makeup is about to replace our low-maintenance, COVID-era beauty routines.
In a sense, a shift to celebratory fashion and makeup is a natural extension of our triumphant return to some semblance of normalcy.
In fact, a similar situation played out after World War I, which birthed the Roaring Twenties — a dynamic era that saw flappers embrace shorter hemlines (quite the statement back then) and full-on makeup.
I'm no fortune teller, but history tends to repeat itself. So break out the eyeshadow, hair dye and body glitter — the Roaring 2020s are here.
