New York Fashion Week’s spring/summer presentations have returned, and it is proving to be a visual spectacle—from its garments to beauty—right off the get go. From September 11th to the 16th, the city’s runways became portals into the fantasies of designers, with each collection unfurling in silhouettes, texture, and colour to create immersive storytelling. This NYFW season is set to be bigger than the last, with 101 showings on the calendar presenting the year ahead in fashion.
It’s definitely been a chaotic year for America, and we are seeing that reflected on the runway with layered messages of identity and self-reflection. We are introduced to Anna Sui’s “Desert Blooms” at the Hotel Chelsea, evoking its legacy of musicians and free spirits, offering prairie silhouettes, sweet prints, and a spirit of casual ease. Prabal Gurung’s “Angels in America” leaned architectural, balancing contrasts of silhouette and proportion, with plush colours underscoring themes of resilience, identity, and belonging. Collina Strada’s “Shade” confronted the duality of light and shadow, as models walked down the runway with an alternate version of themselves. Meanwhile, Kim Shui explored themes of “Erasure and Recovery” through distressed, grungy looks, playing with the concept of what’s hidden and revealed.
As with all runway shows, many elements contribute to a collection’s worldbuilding—and beauty looks remain a vital part of that immersive experience. This season, we’re seeing sculpted styles and vibrant glimmers sweep across the face, aligning with the fantastical narratives on display. Pops of colour are a recurring theme: Anna Sui’s models walked the runway with blue eyeshadow reminiscent of the swinging ’60s, while a striking pink mask-like design encircled the eyes in Nicholas Aburn’s debut collection for Area.
Take a page from the NYFW lookbook to inspire your own beauty aesthetic. Vogue Singapore curates the season’s freshest runway beauty moments to check out, below.
1 / 8
Grace Ling
Dubbed “sombre romance glam” by make-up artist and beauty creative, Diane Kendal, this look leans into earth tones that prove more wearable than the greys and mauves spotted on the likes of celebrity bigwigs such as Jenna Ortega and Mia Goth this season. Lips are kept matte and with just a hint of colour so as to add to the overall grunge factor.
2 / 8
Anna Sui
A little boho renaissance, courtesy of Pat McGrath. Dreamy blue psychedelic lids and a windswept mane to complement the romance Anna Sui was evocating for this spring.
3 / 8
Area
There’s nothing like an intense wash of colour to get those heads turning. Area opted for a pastel variant applied generously over the peepers and arches—where it resembles wrap-around shades.
4 / 8
Prabal Gurung
In a delightful harbinger of new-season possibilities, the beauty look at Prabal Gurung was all about vibrant bursts of colour and opulent accents. Look to the models’ gold-adorned eyelids and fuchsia pouts for proof.
5 / 8
Collina Strada
A certain darkness looms within Collina Strada. All to weigh in on the current state of the world as models bearing ghoulish luminosity strutted down the runway. Not forgetting wild synthetic hair shaped like hats and horns to deliver the brief of disarray.
6 / 8
Kim Shui
Romero Jennings, global director of make-up at Mac Cosmetics, created an arresting yet approachable vision of vampy beauty for Kim Shui. Cheekbones sculpted in bronze, smoked out eye looks, and loosely flowing hair were all spotted on the catwalks.
7 / 8
Luar
At the whims of a striking fantasy, swans spread their wings at Luar. Feathered headpieces adorned updos, peepers were washed in swathes of cobalt and overextended lashes, and some lips were extravagantly crusted in gold foil.
8 / 8
Tory Burch
Tory Burch knows how to keep things effortless, yet interesting all at once. Be it a sense of ‘90s minimalism or her experimental palette for the season, there’s plenty of style in the way her models have all been given some chic uniformity with their side fringes stylishly splayed across their foreheads—elevated with a clean make-up look that seems just about right for the Tory Burch woman.
