How Realistic Are Runway Beauty Trends?

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

Guys, you know we love runway beauty. We love when it’s gorgeous, and we even love it when it’s just plainweird. But how about those times when the runway beauty looks are…questionable? As in, they could either be the coolest or the weirdest things we’ve ever seen? It’s true that creating innovative, fresh beauty looks always involves taking a bit of a risk, but the line is fine between funky and simply unflattering (for us non-models, at least). 

One of the following looks could be the biggest beauty trend since burgundy lips, and the rest may not ever translate well to the street. Do us a favor and flip through our roundup of hair and makeup looks that are downright stumping us (rope hair? Orange-accented eyes? Hmm…), and help us solve the mystery: Which of these runway beauty trends are totally rad (and possibly the next big thing), and which ones are just plain bad?

Photo: MCV Photo

Rope Braids 

When we saw these super-sleek, roped braids at Fendi (accented with bizarre stripes of matte white eyeshadow, natch), we were seriously stumped. Yes, the look is intense, but…we kind of dig it. There’s something about the look that is minimalist, grunge, and badass all at once (and, frankly, we’re always on the lookout for the next great braid variation). Then again, the wet look of this ‘do may prevent the style from being wearable off the catwalk.

Photo: MCV Photo

The Chocolate Lip 

So, this is a strong look — all brows and dark lips and not much else. However, we’re kind of into the futuristic vibe the models at the Hakaan fall show were giving off — it’s kind of an update on theRobert Palmer girl, no? True chocolate lips are hard to pull off, especially for the fair-skinned, but after the popularity of the burgundy lip this fall, it’s totally possible that dark brown could be the next big lip look. We like a combination of the two — a chocolate cherry lip, if you will. What do you think?

Photo: MCV Photo

The Street-Ready Bouffant 

When we saw this look at Chadwick Bell, we were kind of amazed. This girl has this crazy, super-teased, grand-dame bouffant thing going on, and, yet, she looks SO cool! Maybe she’s just one of those models that has the exact look and attitude to pull this off (the gorg military coat doesn’t hurt either), but we kind of think there is a lesson to be learned here. If you have a military jacket (even a leather or shearling coat would work for this), why not add some femininity to the toughness by rocking some big, glam hair? Maybe not quite this big or backcombed, but you get the drift.

Photo: MCV Photo

Color-Blocked Makeup 

How many times have we heard from makeup artists that we should concentrate brightly colored makeup to only one area of the face (i.e. eyes or lips, but not both)? Well, this look from Gabriele Colangelo totally breaks that rule, but we kind of like how modern it is. We love how the makeup artist went with super-bright mascara (rather than the typical eyeshadow), making the look unexpected and fresh, rather than overdone. Maybe it’s time that we got over our colorphobia and just went for the Rainbow Brite look (hey, life is short, right?).

 Photo: MCV Photo

The Extreme Side-Part 

We know, we know…you’re probably looking at this look (from Hussein Chalayan’s fall show) and wondering why the heck this pretty model with her flowing locks was subjected to a comb-over. However, we’re kind of thinking that a slightly toned-down version of this look could be perfect for ladies with long hair that are looking for a change. The key with making it work in real life would be finding the perfect place to draw the part so that it flatters your face (and stays away from any older-gentleman-on-the-golf-course connotations).

 Photo: MCV Photo

Geometric Bangs 

The hair at Antonio Berardi involves many questionable things: super-thick bangs, blinding shine, those longer pieces on the side, and a super-precise cut. It looks a bit like a hair shield or the world’s thinnest helmet. However, the graphic, angular nature of the look gives it some real sass. If the bangs are the right length (that means right at the top of the brow, no longer or shorter), this strong bang could nicely offset a more feminine outfit. Plus, there are always clip-ins! Would you try to rock a graphic bang, or would you leave the look to this guy?

Photo: MCV Photo

Metallic Highlights 

Think you’ve seen it all when it comes to funky highlights (ombre, chalking, dip-dye)? Well, how about metallic streaks? These sparkly copper-red hightlights (from Haider Ackermann) kind of have us obsessed. Extreme, yes, but it could totally be the next anti-boredom hair trend.

Photo: MCV Photo

Grunge Braids 

Hmm. This one (from Mark Fast’s show) is a doozy. We love us some braids (and we know you guys do, too), but this might be a situation where more is not more. On the right girl with the right outfit, it’s possible that it could work (we also dig the nude makeup to complement the crazy hair). We’re stumped on this one.

 Photo: MCV Photo

The Painterly Eye 

Alright guys, this is a good one. Remember thepainterly trend that was all the rage in fashion a few seasons ago? Well, this look from Aquilano Rimondi is kind of like an Impressionist painting for your face. There are bright orange and red — two colors that we wouldn’t necessarily reach for on a random Tuesday — but the way that it’s applied kind of makes it minimalist and chic. With sleek hair and little other makeup, the color is simply an accent on this gorgeous girl’s face (and it actually kind of brings out the green in her eyes). Maybe if we tried it with more conventional colors, like purple and gray, or gold and brown?

 Photo: MCV Photo

Jewelry For Your Part 

Talk about Far East chic. What do you think about this girl from the Krizia fall show, with her “part jewelry” (we can’t really think of a better term) and exotic eye makeup, paired with the most basic cowlneck sweater and scarf? We’re seeing a trend here where designers are choosing glam, slightly over-the-top beauty looks to complement their more utilitarian designs. Maybe the lesson to be learned is that once in awhile, we should try dressing around the beauty trend, rather than choosing hair and makeup to complement a specific outfit. After checking out all of these off-the-wall looks, we’d say that’sdefinitely a trend worth trying.

Photo: MCV Photo

Click HERE to read more from Refinery29.

Share with friends
You can publish this article on your website as long as you provide a link back to this page.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*