It's Couture, Honey
Paris Haute Couture Week’s Beauty Trends Were Edgy & Unexpected
Metallics, feathers, and scene kid-approved hair are all the rage.
While the rest of the world is watching soccer, the fashion crowd are tuning into their own spectator sport: couture week. And just like the World Cup, there have been no shortage of highlight reels.
Jonathan Anderson may or may not have revealed Taylor Swift's wedding dress as the closing look for Dior’s Fall/Winter 2026 couture show. Law Roach flew a Schiaparelli gown by private jet from the runway straight to Zendaya for The Odyssey premiere in London that same night. And Karlie Kloss went from Taylor Swift's wedding to walking the Schiaparelli runway just a couple days later.
Held twice a year in Paris, couture week is when fashion gets its most creative. Designers aren't thinking about everyday wear — they're creating the kind of pieces that end up on celebrities at special occasions like the Oscars, the Met Gala, and, yes, even weddings. Naturally, the clothes can get a little more outlandish. (See: Duran Lantink's off-kilter, fantastical-looking proportions at his first Jean Paul Gaultier Couture show this season.) But the beauty isn’t treated like an afterthought, either. It's all selling the same fantasy, with hair, makeup, and nail artists encouraged to push boundaries right alongside the designers.
This season didn’t disappoint on either front. From avant-garde details like lace lips and feather lashes, to more low-key moments like white waterlines and sheer lilac shadows, the runways delivered plenty of inspiration to last you the rest of the year. Ahead, all the beauty looks that stole the show at Paris Haute Couture Week.
1. Hepburn Bangs
This Audrey Hepburn-inspired fringe has been making the rounds on celebrities like Ariana Grande, Zoë Kravitz, and Maura Higgins lately, but Georges Hobeika proved it belongs on the couture runway as much as the red carpet. With a slicked-down finish, the separated, side-swept fringe becomes a little more punk and edgy than your typical Breakfast at Tiffany's style.
2. Metallic Manicures
High-shine finishes were the throughline this couture season, with frosted lips, metallic cheeks, and chrome manicures all making an appearance. Nail artist Ama Quashie interpreted the trend two ways: molten gold press-ons at Chanel and shimmery golden-green nails finished with black micro French tips at Dior.
3. Lilac Accents
Pantone's Color of the Year may be white, but makeup's unofficial shade is lilac. Whether you wear it as a draped blush à la Pat McGrath for Schiaparelli or as a sheer wash of color in the inner corners — as seen at Standing Ground paired with burgundy shadow — the pastel hue has proven it's far more versatile than its springtime reputation might suggest.
4. Glitter Liner
Classic black wings just got an upgrade. At Dior, a thin swipe of gold glitter traced the upper lash line and inner corner, catching the light without overpowering the rest of the minimal, dewy makeup.
5. Striped Hair
Your inner scene kid is probably feeling very validated right now. Peet Dullaert featured raccoon-tail hair with graphic black-and-red stripes running through the ultra-sleek lengths. It’s giving Hot Topic meets haute couture.
6. Feather Lashes
Time to ruffle a few feathers: ghost lashes are out, and statement lashes are back in — at least according to Iris van Herpen and Chanel, where feathered falsies echoed the collections’ avian motifs from head to toe.
7. Lace Lips
French-girl red lips were surprisingly scarce this season. Instead, pouts fell into one of two camps: barely there and balmy or fully embellished. While metallic finishes popped up elsewhere, models at Jean Paul Gaultier wore lace-printed lipstick in shades of black, navy, metallic pink, and cherry red.
8. White Waterlines
Not every couture show calls for a smoky eye. Case in point: at Elie Saab, white waterlines made the eyes look larger, more awake, and doll-like instead of lifted and foxy — the perfect complement to the romantic, masquerade-inspired collection.
