Make-up artist Pat McGrath’s porcelain doll looks – think glossy skin, thin, painted eyebrows and bow lips – at Maison Margiela’s haute couture spring/summer 2024 show mark the comeback of fantastical catwalk make-up.
Haute couture’s goal has never been to sell to the masses – the pieces are often bespoke and created for an exclusive clientele. As fashion becomes more democratised, this is increasingly seen as out of touch – what used to be seen as the pinnacle in fashion is appealing to an ever dwindling pocket of society.
Hair and make-up, however, are things that everyone can buy into, or at least dream about. As such, many mainstream make-up trends can trace their roots back to haute couture.
Maison Margiela’s haute couture spring/summer 2024 show marked the comeback of fantastical runway make-up. Photo: Facebook/@Maison Margiela
For many, the deaths of Lagerfeld and McQueen – as well as Galliano’s fall from grace after he was fired from Dior in 2011 for making antisemitic statements – spelled the end of couture’s age of extravagance.
Beauty, too, took a hit. The past decade has seen the public lean in to “natural” beauty looks – something that can easily be recreated at home.
Inspired by 1930s Paris, the looks on the Maison Margiela catwalk were the work of seven layers of a special mixture of face masks and water. Photo: Facebook/@Pat McGrath
That was until Galliano’s Margiela Artisanal show, which took place under the Alexandre III bridge in Paris in France in February. After the show, TikTok users took to the social media platform to rave not only about the corseted and padded silhouettes, but the doll-inspired make-up too.
Inspired by 1930s Paris, the looks were achieved by applying seven layers of a special mixture of face masks and water, dried with a hairdryer in between each application to achieve a reflective finish to the skin.
The effect was immediate – McGrath’s porcelain glass skin make-up began to trend and the days following the show saw a surge in social media posts recreating the look.
In an era that has largely been defined by the “clean girl” aesthetic, “mannequin make-up” might be the last look you would expect to take off; and perhaps that alone explains much of its success.
Pat McGrath’s porcelain doll looks featured glossy skin, thin, painted eyebrows and bow lips. Photo: Facebook/@Pat McGrath
Clearly, the look has struck a chord with audiences and is feeding a desire for escapism and fantasy.
When asked what made the look so instantly popular, trend forecasting company WGSN’s lead beauty analyst, Christine Chua, explains, “With almost anything available at the tip of Gen Z’s fingers, the desire for fantasy in catwalks is heightened, and people want to be shocked and be exposed to aesthetics they never would have expected or have seen before”.
So what does this mean for mainstream make-up? It is the job of designers and make-up artists to predict and push consumer taste and, while “quiet luxury” was trending, Galliano and McGrath probably knew that a drastic change was on the horizon.
The porcelain doll look has struck a chord with audiences and is feeding a desire for escapism and fantasy. Photo: Facebook/@Pat McGrath
Still, even McGrath has said she was blown away by the reaction to her work.
On why this particular look has proved such a hit with Gen Z, Chua says that they hate the idea of being seen as boring. “The reason why it has gained such a huge amount of exposure is because it’s a more dramatic and dynamic take on ‘glass skin’, and strays away from ‘clean girl’, which is perceived as quite generic by Gen Zs.”
Whether we will see people rocking the full Margiela look on the street or not, the amount of attention it has received surely means that the next couture season will have every house seeking to generate the same sort of reaction with otherworldly and ethereal looks that push the boundaries of traditional beauty.
Gen Z hit on McGrath’s porcelain doll look because they hate the idea of being seen as boring, beauty analyst Christine Chua says. Photo: Facebook/@Pat McGrath
Away from the catwalk, Chua predicts people will embrace the more playful aspects of make-up.
“Instead of using make-up to cover up blemishes or signs of tiredness, make-up will now be used to play dress-up, allowing people to transform into different versions of personalities, characters and creatures by day or night. Glitters, pastels and bright artificial colours will accent everyday looks for a small spark of joy.”
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