Backstage at Dior, there was no sparkle to be found — not in the makeup, at least.
The French maison's Fall 2024 collection, presented at the Brooklyn Museum on Monday night, was an ode to New York City and the street-smart women who inhabit it. Marlene Dietrich (who happened to live on Manhattan's Upper East Side during the '60s) informed the collection's mash-up of traditionally masculine tailoring and hyper-glamorous detailing: a white dress shirt and waistcoat paired with a flouncy metallic miniskirt; a cropped tuxedo jacket with matching satin shorts.
Peter Philips, who has served as Dior's makeup creative and image director since 2014, created a highly curated makeup look to channel Dietrich's famously androgynous style — as well as NYC's no-nonsense attitude.
There was no mascara, eyeshadow, blush or highlighter. "We wanted a very nude makeup," Philips told Highsnobiety backstage. Instead, he focused on evening out the skin, sculpting the brows, and creating what he called a "bitten" lip: "When you drink a bit much red wine... A strong lip, but not too perfect. Kind of raw."
While dewy, "glazed donut" skin has been the look du jour for the past few years (thank you, Hailey Bieber), the makeup at Dior proved that matte is well on its way back.
"[Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior's womenswear creative director] didn't want to see any texture, any sparkles," Philips said, adding that glitter and shine would feel "too frivolous."
When asked if his work for Dior FW24 matches his idea of a quintessential New Yorker, Philips offers: "The city is constantly moving. You have to be a strong woman to live in New York. [The New York woman] is not afraid to experiment and to play, to show her power through a look, through a hairdo, through an outfit. Don't mess with her."
