The Importance of Makeup in the Fashion Industry

By: Mireya Perez

I’ve always had a passion for makeup. Last year, I was able to put my skills to the test as a makeup artist for a local fashion show.

The collection consisted of party dresses and southern-Spanish-inspired styles. The makeup had to match the clothing: red lipstick shades, full coverage bases, sharp contour, and smokey eyeshadow.

On the night of the show, countless models needed full makeup looks and the clock was ticking. Needless to say, it was an incredible experience backed by vigorous work.

When it comes to fashion shows, the media often overlooks makeup and focuses on clothing, accessories, designers, models, and street style stars.

But in the words of Tyler McCall, editor of the web Fashionista, there’s an entire industry of people who work tirelessly to put together the shows every season. And she’s right, I’ve been there, I’ve seen it. Those people work hand in hand with the big names: their job is to bring to life the designer’s idea, create and follow a certain concept, and make sure there is a spectacle.

While the central point of fashion shows is the clothing and accessories, it is worth taking a moment to take in the entire look as it has been conceived: the makeup, the special effects, the technique used, the hairstyling. No look is complete without any of these.

Many people chose to wear makeup in their day-to-day life. Often, we chose a kind of makeup that matches or compliments our clothes, be it a specific shade of lipstick or a winged liner. This means that there is already a link in our minds between clothing and makeup.

The truth is, fashion and makeup are something similar in our minds. It becomes more obvious when thinking about the past: the emblematic look of the 80s or 90s is characterized by a certain way of wearing hair and makeup, along with a particular type of clothing. There’s no reminiscing of bell-bottom jeans without bright eyeshadow and lipgloss. This correlation takes special importance nowadays when the past is more present than ever in fashion.

While some believe that makeup is heavily influenced by trends, in reality, it’s the other way around.

Makeup and fashion, as forms of art, come from someone’s inspiration and will to create. Once these creations pass the umbral of weird to trendy, they become mainstream.

Take this example. The term “editorial makeup” has become popular recently, in part thanks to the looks on the hit HBO series Euphoria, a show that takes fashion editorial makeup to an everyday setting.

People unfamiliar with fashion shows were not used to glittery makeup and fantasy styles, which left a big impression. Suddenly, social media was filled with recreations of typical editorial and runway looks. In reality, editorial makeup is the name given to the looks created for magazine shoots.

Plus, editorial makeup for fashion has no rules. It can be anything from natural beauty to avant-garde: its job is to interpret fashion and provide a certain look. That it has been able to become mainstream (to some extent), proves makeup plays a big role in what we aim to express and who we wish to be seen as.

Since fashion shows are all about beauty and expression, it would be silly to conceive them without any makeup. What makeup does in this industry to provide an extra step to a look, complete an idea and reaffirm what is being said through fashion.

When it comes to runway and fashion makeup, the most known makeup artist worldwide is, undoubtedly, Pat McGrath, who’s been named “the mother of makeup.”

She has gained a loyal following from years of working in the industry, and she’s birthed some of the most iconic makeup looks on runways. Her way of working and thinking sums up what being a makeup artist in the fashion industry is like, and why beauty is done the way it is on the runway.

“What I love most about makeup is that you can’t get attached to one thing, one idea, or one approach – and once you’ve achieved perfection, you have to wipe it all off and start over the next day,” said McGrath.