For Anna Sui, Pat McGrath drew inspiration from the Sixties and Motown. “During that period of Motown, the girls dressed like ladies, but then they had a real edge to them,” McGrath said. “We’re doing these bold, color-blocked eyes with a nod to the pre-hippie Sixties, with the sockets in a really rich turquoise and purple. Tons of liquid eyeliner and then we also have the new [FetishEyes] Mascara being used.” — Alexa Tietjen
Models at Helmut Lang sported shimmering brown eyeliner on the top lashes, with bronzer above in, in a look created by Susie Sobol for Maybelline. “[We’re] taking [the bronzer] from the eyelid and wrapping it around, under the cheekbone,” Sobol said. “I chose brown because, for fall, I think it’s a bit easier on the skin tones and complexions that tend to be pale that time of year.”
At Proenza Schouler, Maybelline’s Dick Page was focused on making the models’ skin look “as clean as possible,” he said. Nine of the 31 models were given graphic black eyeliner inspired by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez’s mood boards. “We played around a bit and ended up with two versions of paint on their eye,” Page said. “One is a thick stroke, black cream shadow across the eye with a thick brush, and some versions have a little sketch underneath as well. Everything else is real and pure.” — Alexa Tietjen
Makeup artist Romy Soleimani for Bobbi Brown kept skin dewy and fresh and focused on eyes, alternating between graphic swipes of electric teal and orange eyeshadow, topped off with shimmer at the orbital bone. — Ellen Thomas
Models at 3.1 Phillip Lim had a subtle statement eye, created by makeup artist Diane Kendal, using a liner product called Unframed Beauty, which Kendal said hasn’t yet launched in the U.S. She drew a white line with a break in it across the top of the lid. Bottom lashes were half-lined with either purple or a color called Car Key. “There’s very muted tones and it’s a beautiful kind of classic collection, so we didn’t want to do anything too conceptual,” Kendal said. — Allison Collins
Diane Kendal created a “diffused” eyeliner look for Tory Burch, using a brown eyeliner pencil to create a smudgy effect close to the lash line. “It’s this bohemian, travel feeling,” she said. — Ellen Thomas
Designer Prabal Gurung’s travels to Asia inspired the makeup at the show, according to key makeup artist Diane Kendal. She crafted a look that evoked a “sun-kissed, bronze-y feel” using products from MAC. “We’re doing sun-kissed cheeks, evening out the skin tone,” she said. “[We’re] using a red-y brown pencil, just doing black on the inner water line, curling lashes but no mascara, brushing eyebrows and then we’re gonna put a little bit of gloss on the lid and the top of the cheek.” Additionally, Whal Myung and celebrity makeup artist Nam Vo prepped models’ skin with Whal Myung skin care. – Alexa Tietjen
Makeup at Brandon Maxwell was all about the lashes. Models were prepped with skin care and face massages — an important tactic to get foundation to mix with the skin, according to makeup artist Tom Pecheux, who led makeup for Mac. Coat after coat of mascara was added, plus single lashes on top, and drawn lashes on the lower lash line, he said. “I call them, ‘my eyes will never lie to you’ — you know, when the eyes are quite innocent but at the same time there is something where it’s kind of naughty.” The overall look was meant to capture Maxwell’s personality, he added. “I’m trying to describe, through the makeup, basically Brandon. He gives to his woman … incredible sophistication, but he likes them to enjoy and feel comfortable, to have fun, to feel extremely feminine but at the same time, to be very cool.” – Allison Collins
Some model visages were nearly tie-dyed at Eckhaus Latta. Makeup, by Isamaya Ffrench for MAC, included three different levels of pigment airbrushing. Level three was the most colorful, featuring oranges, blues and pinks around the eyes. “The concept was to try and find something that would work in synergy with the clothes and the textures and the fabrics, not to have makeup as a girl wearing makeup, but how can we make it an extension in a very beautiful way, and not feel face-paint-y?” Ffrench said. – Allison Collins
“Cool and beautiful” makeup was the focus at Maryam Nassir Zadeh, said makeup artist Fara Homidi, who constructed a look comprised of periwinkle eye shadow, tight eyeliner and taupe lipstick. “Everything is soft,” she said. “The lip is soft, the eyes are soft, the liner’s soft, very thin.” — Alexa Tietjen
“It’s a layering, diffused smokey eye,” said makeup artist Diane Kendal, who keyed makeup at Tom Ford. The mauve eye look was created by dragging espresso-colored liner across the upper lash line and into the crease, then blending it out. Then, Kendal used a shimmery, pink eye shadow to create a glistening effect, and added a deep purple into the crease to create a smokey effect. Gloss was added just before the models hit the runway. — Allison Collins
Makeup: “She tends to go earthy and there’s always romance so I wanted to throw it off with something different — and the navy came from the collection,” said Romy Soleimani for Bobbi Brown, of the disconnected navy eyeliner look she ideated for Ulla Johnson. — Ellen Thomas
“It’s not so refined — almost a bit grunge with lots of lashes,” said Janell Geason, Aveda’s global artistic director for makeup. Inspired by a photo of Nineties-era Kate Moss, Geason relied heavily on black eyeliner to achieve the look. — Ellen Thomas
Beauty at Chromat combined beachy hair with colorful eye makeup. Fatima Thomas played with MAC’s new Art Library collection to achieve a layered eye look. “The inspiration for the makeup was the elements in the clothes — the color and lines and shapes,” she said. “I thought of the makeup as an extension of what’s happening on the body.” – Alexa Tietjen
Makeup artist Kabuki incorporated the black and white theme of the collection by opting for a “Blade Runner”-inspired black eye look. “Nothing too fussy or too gimmicky, something that felt easy and strong at the same time,” he said. For nails, Miss Pop Nails paid homage to New York City with matching black and white extensions. – Alexa Tietjen
Makeup was inspired by the Sixties and Seventies, said Jen Myles, who used MAC products to achieve “beautiful, bronzy” skin. “There was a contrast between these sophisticated Sixties women and then a free-spirited Seventies [woman],” she said. “We played on the free-spirited side of it. We’re doing a take on the Seventies glowy, beautiful, bronzy, weathered skin.” —Alexa Tietjen
Models at Tibi were “perfectly imperfect,” said Cassandra Garcia, who keyed makeup for Bobbi Brown. The idea was to incorporate a pop of color — greens and blues — into the look but smudging it along the outer, lower lash line. “Amy wanted something that was a pop of color,” Garcia said. “What we wanted to do was make it like leftover makeup from the night before. She had a good time, so the liner’s kind of messed up.” Nails, by Jin Soon, were painted a coffee color with a matte topcoat, and three fingers had silver glitter dabbed on the base of the nail, below the brown. —Allison Collins
Makeup inspiration for Sies Marjan was pulled from the multicolored eye shadow palettes of the early Aughts, said Thomas De Kluyver, who led makeup for MAC. “Basically the makeup is kind of inspired by a teenage girl in the late Nineties, early 2000s, sitting in her bathroom and playing around with colors. You know when you used to buy a palette of colors and it’s all these weird shimmery blues and greens? So, she’s got seven different colors of eye shadow, and we’re doing all the makeup with our fingers.” —Allison Collins