Maison Margiela designer John Galliano wowed the fashion world with an Artisinal Collection presented in Paris on Thursday (January 25, 2024). The dramatic collection and presentation received an exclamation point in the form of beauty direction by the great Pat McGrath, who has collaborated with Gallliano since his days leading Dior where she handled makeup for almost all of the lable’s haute couture presentations.
Creating a backdrop designed to look like a dreary and dark city street, models strutted down the runway in an effort to “capture a moment in time” through “a walk through the underbelly of Paris.” With a collection described as making use of the “body as our canvas,” to “build an exterior expressive of the interior: a form of emotion,” McGrath played with the concept of realness by creating a makeup look mirroring the face of a porcelain doll.
Some makeup lovers have hypothesized she used Kryloan Liquid Glass applied with an air brush to create the look, while TikTok user @nikohaagenson did a tutorial using Skin Illustrator Clear Gloss; meanwhile TikTok user @erinparsonsmakeup is convinced it’s Freeman Peel Off gel moisturizer.
McGrath in a comment pushed back on the Kyrloan Liquid Glass guess, adding, “We will show the real product soon!”
McGrath, however, has supplied some beauty details. In a press release, the U.K.-born makeup artist said her team bleached models’ brows and drew on pencil arches to mimic the features of a porcelain doll. Dipping into her Pat McGrath Labs bag, the team used divine blush in peach lutus or sunkissed seduction on cheeks to create doll-like apple cheeks. Lids were adorned with jewel tones and pastels from the label’s Mthrshp Mega palette, while lips were layered with MatteTrance lipstick in Guinevere and McMenamy, which was finished with Lust gloss in nude negligee.
Check out a couple of behind-the-scenes video via two models who walked the show below.