Every year as the fashion world converges in Milan and Paris for couture week, we turn our attention to the runways for a glimpse of what’s on the horizon for fall/winter 2026. While the spring/summer collections brought us airy, floral fantasies, fall/winter 2026 plunges us into the depths of something darker. Demna made a star-studded debut at Gucci, sending figure-hugging numbers, leather and Kate Moss down the runway. Over at Prada, layers were peeled back. Roberto Cavalli went black-to-black.
And when it came to the beauty looks, drama and mystique took hold. Think tousled tresses, black lips and smudgy, post-party eyes—below, see Vogue Singapore’s round-up of the looks to remember from couture week.
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Chanel
Set against the dreamlike setting of the Grand Palais, Matthieu Blazy showed his second collection for the house, injecting Chanel with a spirit of fun and play again. It showed in the finale backtrack of Gaga’s ‘Just Dance’ but it also shone through (literally) in the luminous, holographic heads worn by some of the models. With tresses pulled into buns, streaks of silver glitter were applied, elevating their looks into some sort of fantastical plain, one where the botany and shapes of Blazy’s new Chanel can sprout and bloom.
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Balenciaga
Colour reigned supreme on the Balenciaga runway this season, thanks to the maison’s collaboration with Sam Levinson, creator of Euphoria. Taking a page right from the hit series’ editorial make-up, models wore pastel-hued blushes, dusted with intentionality and a heavy hand. Meanwhile, on the lids, we saw the resurgence of saturated shadows that reached up to the brow bone.
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Elie Saab
Indie sleaze eyeliner is back—but better. At Elie Saab, a hint of sparkle is added to the center of the lid for extra dimension; a much-needed touch of polish amidst the rest of the kohl-smudged eye make-up. Nude lips and a sleek side part acts as the perfect finishing touch, thus ensuring that all attention stays on the peepers.
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Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood
This is the new age of punk glam. In true Westwood fashion, colours and prints came together in defiant combinations with undertones of eroticism. Naturally, the make-up looks embodied the same rebellious energy, albeit softened by a measure of restraint. Discotheque eyes stood out against bare complexions. Pigment placements referenced techniques from Renaissance paintings, while a fully-glittered mien was paired with flowing, Venus-like tresses. Where the lips were concerned, the classic Westwood red lip was given new life by key make-up artist Daniel Sällström—bleeding at the borders, pointed at the cupid’s bow and trailing towards the jaw. In some instances, it was even swapped out for a fully-foiled pucker.
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Alexander McQueen
It’s already shaping up to be a big year for bangs. As lead hairstylist Anthony Turner demonstrated, there were so many ways to rock them—bumped at the ends, curled tight, or left to graze the peepers. Perhaps the best combination of all was spotted on Alex Consani, who sported her bangs with a bob, bleached brows and spidery lashes.
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Tom Ford
There is rigour in everything Haider Ackermann does. For fall/winter 2026, seduction was distilled into something sharp, sleek and statement. Excavating this same intention, make-up artist Lucy Bridge held the audience’s attention in matte velvet lips, divined in vivid hues of deep reds and purples for some looks, whilst other models carried smoky washes of taupe on their lids. Sensuality coursed through them, all tempered by clean, slick hairstyles fashioned by celebrity hairstylist Guido Palau.
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Gucci
Bringing back the gritty, ’90s glamour of the Tom Ford era, lead make-up artist Sam Visser created many a sultry, bold moment—charcoal smokey eyes were paired with anything from a ‘90s outlined lip to red vinyl pouts. Blunt-cut bangs also lent a hand in carving out the cheekbones to make a chiselled statement, courtesy of hairstylist Anthony Turner.
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Prada
Right on par with the unravelling garments, visages were kept bare and unadorned—save for black rimmed eyes, outlined in Prada Beauty’s Pradalines Durable Gliding Eye Pencil. Completing the looks were low ponytails, artfully styled to look like they were on the brink of coming undone.
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Hodakova
Hodakova is showing more skin this season. As if to put more of the self on display, models emerged with glassy skin and ruddy cheeks—like they had been rubbed in after a cathartic cry—whilst tresses were left strewed and effortlessly thrown into disarray.
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Dolce&Gabbana
Dolce&Gabbana is in the business of selling sex. Think bombshell beauty—with voluminous, zhuzhed-up manes, perfectly-arched brows and a deep scarlet lip that automatically draws eyes from every corner of the room.
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Bottega Veneta
Contrary to popular belief, the models at Bottega Veneta did not, in fact, wake up like this. For Louise Trotter’s sophomore show, she enlisted the help of Guido Palau to perfect the imperfect: messy, frizzy hair pressed close to the forehead. Meanwhile, on the make-up front, Pat McGrath maintained the fizzled-out concept, by softly smudging grey tones around the eyes and playing up the face’s natural sheen for a faux oil-shine finish.
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Saint Laurent
It’s the return of the club mug, according to Saint Laurent. On the runway, Anthony Vaccarello sent models out in a smokey-eyed look, packing a deep grey shadow on before fluffing it out towards the brow bone and along the lower lash line. Double up on that intensity with a matte oxblood pout—clean lines, of course—and you have yourself a rave-ready make-up look that’s going to last all night.
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Antonio Marras
Brow embellishments gain a creative slant this season at Antonio Marras. Instead of piercings, yards of gold coil were twisted and shaped to resemble beautiful blooms; an apt complement to the multitude of roses spotted on the garments and also throughout the presentation. To add some levity to the otherwise ornate look, hints of blue and silver shimmer were added to the front and tail-end of peepers.
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Roberto Cavalli
The jury is out: gothic romance is here to stay. In Cavalli’s case, this translates to sleek bun and luminous skin paired with a matte black pout. A plum lip liner ensures that kissers stay clean and immaculate, with the subtle colour distinction adding further dimension to the overall look.
