Large scale patterns in brash colors are nearly taking up the entire face of the model at the fall/winter 2019/20 show of Walter van Beirendonck, silver shimmering eyeliner edges the eyes on the Acne runway – and we have only made it to men’s wear so far.
Make-up is a fashion accessory now. The spring/summer parades were already giving out hints of that. Eyeshadow all the way up to the brows, flaming red lips and rose tendrils at Rodarte’s. Clothing? Close to background noise.
Frilly, plushy, opulent, colourful like a paintbox – Is there any space left for more colour, more visual rollercoaster? Obviously so.
The lust for expression is back, the new coolness is no longer remiss.
Of course, ‘nude’ still has its place but it has stopped dominating the fashion weeks. “Effort is attractive,” when it comes to hair and face too, “it is supposed to look like effort and not like you have thrown something on really quick,” explains Guido Palau who styled the backcombed pastel coloured hair styles for Redken on the Marc- Jacobs-SS19-show, “we display fantasy, we create a dream.” The additional layer trend could already be seen in Prada’s last campaign: Lids transformed into peacock feathers.
Beauty adds a little bit more glamour to everything, more glossiness – and can make a picture unique. The equation is pretty simple: The more variable factors (hair, eyeshadow, lip colour) the bigger the potential to break away from the competition. Ideal in the time of hyper individualism and aestheticisation of every situation (thanks to social media). That is clear to everyone including us consumers, even if unknowingly in most cases.
A lipstick completes the dream of beauty. It is closer than a skirt can ever be. Caressing the skin so to say.
Only a few seasons ago everything that COULD BE considered to be distracting from the clothing was frowned upon. It obviously seems like now the designers have reconsidered the power and attraction of cosmetics. A shiny lipstick or a strikingly elaborated hair style stands in no competition to the outfit anymore but is instead considered an accessory – Just like the perfect shoe.
Profiting twice from these presentations are those luxury fashion brands that have their own cosmetic line and can sell everything at once, from top to toe with one picture.
So why draw a line between fashion and beauty? Mainstream chains have already launched their own make-up lines, in online stores cheeks and lids are shining as bright as the prices, Zalando alone has more than 4000 beauty products in stock. Zara has worked with Pat McGrath, H&M with Isamaya Ffrench – two icons who usually create out-ofreach- looks for the runway. A nice add-on for the revenue. And there is potential. No segment has shown the same growth than ‘decorative cosmetic’. According to a prediction by Statista, the USA’s revenue in 2019 will be at 15,737.3 million euro and grow annually by a solid 2.5 per cent, Europe will likely be at 12,795 million euro with an expected increase of 1.7 per cent every single year.
One way or another: We are ready for the show – on the runway as well as in real life.
