We’ve spent the last decade in the era of the “boy brow.” Untouched, feathered, free: Our foremothers were traumatised from over-tweezing of the ‘90s, and in return encouraged us all to let our brows just be. But if this week’s cache of couture beauty looks is a crystal ball, we are entering a new era.
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“Statement brows!” Pat McGrath declared to us post-show of the incredibly theatrical look she created for Maison Margiela‘s spring/summer 2024 couture show. “A big source of inspiration for the show was the work of Hungarian-French artist Brassaï and a major reference was porcelain dolls.” Each of the models—or “muses”, like Gwendoline Christie—underwent a full glossy makeover, which included pencil-thin painted on lines akin to Madame Alexander dolls. “The shape elongates and opens the eye area and creates a playground of endless possibilities for make-up looks.”
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McGrath engaged a similar vibe for Schiaparelli, though it felt a bit more accessible and straightforward in comparison. Irina Shayk and Karlie Kloss were among models with bleached arches—a look Kendall Jenner has tried a handful of times, most recently for the 2024 Met Gala.
According to Armani Global Make-up Artist Hiromi Ueda, an expressive fashion collection deserves an equally as vibrant make-up look. This season, that included brows painted in the brand’s Eye Tint to create an ombre-like effect. Saturations of deep red (Mahogany) and oceanic blue (Petrol) were buffed into the front of the brow, subtly fading away to skin tone as it reached the tail. Clearly, Thomas de Kluyver agrees—and the bedazzled brows he created for the Jean Paul Gaultier x Simone Rocha couture collection show that Euphoria‘s effect is still kicking.
Life beyond the boy brow is already being seen—and admired—in the real world, too. “Clients are starting to come to me and ask for a tighter brow,” says New York City-based brow artist Jimena Garcia. “We’re seeing at minimum the return of the arch. People are feeling very experimental and asking for something new when it comes to shape and form—messy is no longer the moment for brows.”
Model Gabbriette B has been plucking her own brows for the last five years, after she “realised I wasn’t part of the thick-haired brow gang” she tells Vogue. “Plus, the make-up I love doing on myself is better suited by skinny brows.” Since the look became her signature, she’s landed campaigns with Heavn by Marc Jacobs and been the face of Parade x Betsey Johnson. “I do them myself! No one else can touch them,” she adds with a laugh. If skinny isn’t your scene, there’s Iris Law‘s brow tear and Amelia Gray‘s sharply curved arches to consider for inspiration.
