Leaving a lasting impression as fashion devotees are swept up from one otherworldly runway to another during Haute Couture Fashion Week is the eternal challenge of every fashion designer. And yet for John Galliano's SS24 show, which took place on a 1920s-inspired bar-meets-runway last Thursday in Paris, Maison Margiela is still the name on everyone's lips.
But it wasn't Kylie Jenner sitting front row with wet-look hair in a semi-translucent silver dress that's caused stir, nor was it the astonishing collection unveiled on the first full moon of the year that’s had the online world in a tailspin – no, it was Pat McGrath's make-up.
Over the weekend, the TikTok world was alight with recreations of the models' supernatural glow from the SS24 show and videos have reemerged detailing how to recreate the ‘glass skin’ effect. The make-up from the show has since gone viral, while theories of a new secret Pat McGrath skin launch are flooding Reddit. So, how exactly did McGrath create such make-up magic?
'Porcelain glass skin' served as the central make-up theme for Margiela's SS24 show, which was equal parts fantastical and ghost-like, where models walked the Seine runway under the Pont D'Alexandre III with a hyperreal, futuristic-looking glaze. Not your glazed donut aesthetic, though – an otherworldly make-up metamorphosis, featuring painterly watercolour eyeshadow (thanks to the Celestial Nirvana Eyeshadow Palette) and pops of doll-like blusher (created with the Divine Blush: Legendary Glow Colour Balm).
On creating a glass skin effect, McGrath shared her top tips post-show: ‘Create a natural glass-like finish by prepping the skin with Divine Skin: Rose 001 The Essence. Then perfect using the Sublime Perfection Foundation. For the ultimate glowing cheeks, apply and blend the Divine Blush: Legendary Glow Colour Balm for a flushed doll-like look.'
Elsewhere brows were bleached and supplanted by pencil-thin arches and deep shades of red and black lipstick had an extra glossy, light-reflecting finish (created using McGrath's Xtreme Black Lips Lust). McGrath's inspiration for the IRL porcelain dolls came from Maison Margiela's SS24 collection which explores 'the ritual of dressing and the clothes we wear as a physical expression of emotion.'
But while the brand has released the details of the make-up to create the look, it's the glass skin – particularly the videos showing models peeling off their masks post-show – that's got keen 'Redditors' on a mission to find out its composition. Some believe it was the work of Kryolan Liquid Glass which creates a film on the skin to impart a reflective finish. Yet McGrath has set the record straight on TikTok saying: 'We will show the product very soon! Stay tuned.'
Intriguing as the prospect of a new formula from the Mothership may be, this isn't the sole reason for such a viral sensation. It's not every day that a bold and wholly innovative make-up aesthetic has been the pinnacle of Haute Couture Fashion Week. The collaboration between McGrath and Galliano nods to their innate creativity and individuality where storytelling, art and fantasy are at the forefront.
In a sea of barely-there make-up trends, 'latte' this and 'clean girl aesthetics', McGrath's make-up is experimental, fresh, and it's got the whole world talking about it.
