Fashion month has long served as a beauty moodboard for the new season. It's the time for artistry and innovation to come to life, when bold and often maximalist make-up dominate the beauty discourse.
At Dior's Paris Fashion Week show petal-inspired pinks were splashed across eyelids, while LFW saw statement orange-red lips front and centre for JW Anderson and iridescent silver at Harris Reed. But for Chloés AW24 unveiling, which took place in Paris on Thursday, a blank canvas was in fact the real statement.
Models walked the runway with seemingly make-up-free and bare-faced complexions, created by New York-based makeup artist Aaron de Mey. A far cry away from the dewy aesthetic that's been dominating of late, the focus was all about natural-looking skin.
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Think: a soft finish and a veritable portrayal of skin with only a dab of make-up where needed. As such, Orveda's luxurious biotech skincare was as integral as the very minimalist make-up applied on top.
Such focus on skin health wasn't an accident. The beauty vibe nods to Chloé's latest AW24 collection which explores the notion of freedom. Marking a new era for the brand with creative director Chemena Kamal now at the helm, this sense of freedom was explored head-to-toe and centred around the 'undone-ness' and free spirit of the Chloé woman. Kamal notes: ‘I want to feel her presence again; her beat, her natural beauty, her sense of freedom and undone-ness. The glow, the radiance and the energy of that girl. She is real. She is herself.’
Meanwhile, the hair, which was led by stylist Gary Gill, was kept equally low-key with soft undone waves created using the Dyson Supersonic r™ Professional hair dryer. For the inspiration, it was once again a matter of channelling the free spirit of the collection, playing with texture and the natural movement of the models' hair. 'I have the feeling that each look has a similar texture. It’s fluid, natural, soft,' says Gill.
Chloé’s pared-back beauty look comes at a time when going makeup-free is still worthy of making headlines. When Pamela Anderson 'broke the internet' for the very normal act of choosing to go make-up free during Paris Fashion Week last year, it sparked debate about the lack of normalisation around choosing not to wear a full face of make-up – particularly among the celebrity world where unattainable beauty standards are rife.
As for Chloé's decision to highlight a bare face during Fashion Month, it's another reminder that while there is profound self-expression and freedom to be found in experimentation and make-up maximalism, sometimes embracing a softer side is just as freeing.
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Amelia Bell is the Multiplatform Beauty Director for ELLE UK and Harper’s Bazaar, developing beauty strategy, writing, editing, and commissioning, and leading beauty content across both sites. Amelia has a particular interest in wellness and longevity, exploring the skin-mind connection, and decoding the latest treatments, tweakments and runway trends. She also has bylines for Women's Health, Refinery29, British Vogue, Harrods Magazine, and more.
