Black eyeliner, a bold red lip, wet-look hair: Top beauty trends from Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2021

Spring/Summer 2021 was a very different fashion season for runway and backstage beauty. Many design houses offered video and lookbook presentations, which often featured just one or a handful of models. And, similar to Fall/Winter 2020, there was a sustained emphasis on individuality and personal style, instead of uniform beauty looks for most collections. Notable examples include brands like Coach and Marni who showed collections remotely, via influencers and friends of the brands, who styled themselves for the occasion. 

Designers who opted for in-person shows or live runway presentations faced many safety restrictions and social distancing requirements that likely would have impacted their beauty choices for the season. For example, it was reported that at the TriBeCa venue for Taiwainese-Canadian designer Jason Wu's NYFW show, crew and models were required to present negative Covid-19 tests before entering. Additionally, some beauty brands like Nars and MAC, which would normally sponsor teams of backstage artists, didn't participate in fashion weeks at all this season.

It is no wonder then that the hair, makeup and nail looks for many brands this season leaned strongly toward natural and minimal looks that would've required fewer beauty artists backstage. There was also a bit of a return-to-classics mood at many shows overall — think: wet-look hair, black liner and not much else — which makes sense for the present moment, too. Who has time for elaborate beauty routines these days?

Here are five chic fashion week beauty trends we spotted for Spring/Summer 2021. 

Bold, blunt bangs 

There were freshly-cut, blunt bangs of all lengths and colours on the runways this season, including at Ulla Johnson, Valentino and Prada. The boldest example may just be the slightly-off-on-purpose bangs at Prada (where, as noted by fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, every model was making their runway debut) each cut individually for the show by master hairstylist Guido Palau. The growing-out-your-bangs look has never been more stylish.  

A perfect red lip

Lipstick sales may be down this year, but the bold lip's appeal endures. As these runway looks demonstrate, there's nothing quite like a proverbial pop of colour to transform to the simplest beauty look into something a little more "finished." This season, makeup artists like Lloyd Simmons paired strong red lips with neutral lids, low-maintenance hair and radiant skin (more on that later).

Sharp liner

In New York, a few designers went for bold, bright eyelids to match fashionable face masks for spring. But in Milan and Paris, eyes were mostly neutral, or lined sharply in black. Pat McGrath, who created the makeup looks for Paco Rabanne and Chloé during Paris Fashion Week, painted graphic black lines and sleek cat eyes for several models at both shows. 

Wet-look hair

Wet-look hair, paired with neutral makeup at Chloé and Sportmax, and (sometimes) bright red lips at Versace, was very popular for the runway this season. Left down and loose, the key here is to incorporate a little bit of texture or movement in places — and bonus points if you can get a few baby hairs or bangs in on the gelled action. 

Fresh-faced skin

Though we've taken some treatments back into our own hands during the pandemic, it seems we're just as serious about our skincare. No wonder that healthy-looking, glowing skin — shown with I-woke-up-like-this hair and brushed, full brows — was the goal makeup look at so many Spring/Summer 2021 shows and digital presentations. Spoiler: It takes a bit of work to look so effortless. For example, the skin-focused beauty look created by Isamaya Ffrench for Burberry this season calls for a fluid base, foundation, contouring cream, highlight powder and lipstick…

Truc Nguyen is a Toronto-based writer, editor and stylist. Follow her at @trucnguyen.