Paris Fashion Week is over, but the shows will be influencing style all year. There was plenty of risk-taking eye makeup, a lot of slick hair and all the dark lips you'd expect for Autumn. See 30 of the most notable looks from the week, from Miu Miu and Givenchy to Kanye West's latest outing and get a leg up on the latest trends for the season. Be sure to tell us your favourite look.
Paris Fashion Week is always the wildest of the big four global fashion powwows (the other three being New York, Milan and London). Fittingly, it usually has the most exciting makeup, too. This season, we're coveting the winged liner at Lanvin and the silent film star makeup from Givenchy, but we also loved the beautiful shadow at Dior, the playful eyes at Manish Arora and the stunning lip colour at Kenzo. You should judge who "won" Paris for yourself, though. See close-ups of the makeup at every show from Chanel to Viktor & Rolf now and tell us your favourite look.
Whilst the makeup at Chanel's Autumn/Winter 2012 collection was show-stopping, the front row was a little lacking. This season's Paris Fashion Week regulars Alicia Keys and Katy Perry were there along with Chanel staple Poppy Delevingne but we were wondering where Alexa had gotten to. Still, Elisa Sednaoui, Zhou Xun and Laura Neiva still made for a glamorous crowd, so check out all the front row fixtures and their beauty looks up close now.
The Chanel Autumn/Winter 2012 show was all about crystals: ensembles covered in amethyst, runways strewn with sparkling sand and a set made of enormous stalagmites. In keeping with this theme, Miranda Kerr and her fellow models stepped out in rock-encrusted eyebrows in shades of grey, green, pink and purple, that co-ordinated nicely with their ensembles. We've seen a lot of interesting eyebrows these past few Fashion Weeks, everything from neon brow powder to bleach and studs. But this is the first time we've actually seen bespoke eyebrows that might as well be jewellery. It was teamed with the sleekest of sleek ponytails created by Sam McKnight, who used gel to get the high-shine worthy of a Chanel ponytail.
Last season Yves Saint Laurent served up one of our favourite hairstyles. The raw, textured, wet-look buns were adorned with gold casings but this season the only heavy metal on display was from Stefano Pilati's creations. The hair is sleeker, more polished — slicked-back in a simple knot that sits at the nape of the neck. It's paired with a statement lip with a glossier finish than last season and simple gold under the lower lash lines to round out the look.
The look at Stella McCartney for Autumn/Winter 2012 was very signature of the designer: fresh and clean, but with a pop of blue on the lashes which was a key colour taken from the collection. Pat McGrath was at the helm when it came to makeup, creating those statement lashes, which was a different look for the season. Up until now, it's been all about the eyeliner. Eugene Souleiman on hair meanwhile created a cute ballerina bun, but with a textured front.
In case you need further proof that it's all about eyeliner this season, check out Pat McGrath's handiwork at the Lanvin show in Paris. Models, including Australia's Next Top Model winner Montana Cox, had black graphic liner painted on. It was teamed with a simple hairstyle that had a natural rawness to it. Guido Palau was the mane man behind the look, letting models hair fall naturally into their signature part, before tucking their strands behind their ears.
Designer Bernhard Willhelm made his Paris Fashion Week show extremely memorable with models who gave the phrase "dude looks like a lady" a whole new meaning. On one side, models had demure, pulled-back hair and typically feminine makeup. But on the other, they looked more like Captain Jack Sparrow. Other models had half-mime, half-cartoon, or half-checkerboard faces as well. It was all very Victor/Victoria, but Willhelm is known for his lavish, unconventional shows, so this is par for the course. Last year, his menswear show centred on mostly nude bodybuilders and past presentations have involved live science experiments, headdresses made from arugula and gold spray-painted bananas worn as headbands. Paris sometimes seems like a contest to see which designer can be the most outlandish and so far this year, Bernhard Willhelm is winning.
When hairstylist Sam McKnight and makeup artist Peter Philips unite, you know that something magical is going to happen. And it certainly did in Milan yesterday as models took to the runway sporting one of our favourite looks of Milan Fashion Week so far. McKnight cited many references for the sharp, slick style he created, including Angelica Huston, tribal, the Victorian period and a nod to the '70s. He coated strands in Sebastian Gel Forte before creating twisted braids across the forehead and in pigtails. Upon Karl Lagerfeld's request to highlight the white accents in the collection, Philips painted white out towards the temple.
Whilst makeup maestro Tom Pecheux (MAC) drew inspiration from the German Expressionists' cinematic movement when creating the Max Mara makeup palette for Autumn/Winter 2012, Luigi Murenu (John Frieda) wanted to create a strong, masculine hairstyle in the front, but leave things feminine in the back. See how their visions were translated on the runway now.
