The beauty looks during New York and London weeks were monstrous, from the vampires at Masha Popova and Collina Strada to the werewolves at Gabe Gordon. This spooky motif continued to run throughout the AW26 shows in Milan and Paris where we saw demonic eyes (Rick Owens), Edward Cullen skin (Diesel) and Beetlejuice hair (Yohji Yamamoto). The botched, post-surgery looks at Matières Fécales were enough to give anyone a scare, while models at Junya Watanabe sobbed down the runway.

Below, we round up all the must-see beauty moments from across Milan and Paris AW26. 

DIESEL

Glenn Martens found a beauty look that he likes and has stuck to it with fierce loyalty ever since. For years now, the models that walk a Diesel show get their faces and bodies painted in metallic shades which sparkle like diamonds. While other seasons have seen make-up artist Inge Grognard go full-throttle with the look – “they got me out here like the tin man,” as Alex Consani put it at the SS24 show – for AW26, things were a bit more subtle. Every now and then, a model would appear with a shimmering sheen that would make Edward Cullen proud. Rumours that Martens is a Twilight stan remain unconfirmed, though the evidence is mounting. 

Elsewhere, models were given painterly eye make-up in shades of oranges, blues and greens, while Tom Wright created slicked back hair looks as well as giving some models visible extensions.

PRADA

Like the rest of us, the Prada girl this season was tired. A general sense of dishevelment ran through the show, from hair that was tangled and unbrushed to straps falling off shoulders and deliberately dirty cuffs. On make-up, Lucia Pieroni gave the models kohl-smudged eyes that created a feeling of heaviness, while Guido Palau was the mastermind behind their unkempt hair with frizzy flyaways. As Elliot Hoste wrote of the AW26 Prada girl, “Think of her as the stressed-out mother to Miu Miu AW23’s messy little librarians.” 

GUCCI

The Gucci girl was also tired with smudgey eye make-up, but for different reasons than her Prada counterpart. The dishevelment here was the kind that comes from partying through the night and making it to morning – once sleek hair now mussed and tousled, black smokey eyes that aren’t as pristine as they once were, both accompanying spray-on body con mini-dresses, drainpipe leather jeans and flashes of thongs. Sam Visser was in charge of the sexy, morning-after make-up, while hairstylist Anthony Turner created party looks that ranged from bouncy curls to slicked back updos.  

JUNYA WATANABE 

The raw passion of flamenco and tango dancers provided the inspiration for the make-up at Junya Watanabe this season, where Isamaya Ffrench created exaggerated eye looks with winged lashes and black eyeliner that ran down the models’ cheeks like tears. Eugene Souleiman, meanwhile, gelled hair into retro kiss curls and Marcel waves, with some models sporting shaved backs like a reverse mullet. Ffrench called it the “best hair I’ve ever seen.”

MATIÈRES FÉCALES

Bryan Johnson walking the catwalk at Matières Fécales grabbed most of the headlines, but there was a lot more to see from the collection, which interrogated and criticised the one percent. Alexis Stone created prosthetic looks that brutally transformed models into post-surgery, sometimes botched, patients. There were stitched-up wounds from face lifts, bandaged noses, over-filled lips and bruised under eyes. Faces were pulled back, held together by threads. 

Elsewhere Steven Raj and Hannah Rose painted teeth red and tugged skin back with visible face tape. “The price of beauty is pain,” read the caption on Matières Fécales’ Instagram post. It was all very much in-keeping with the post-op aesthetic that started trending in beauty last year. Hair by Gabriel de Fries was mainly kept slicked back to spotlight the make-up, while Lora de Sousa was on nails.

RICK OWENS

Beauty at Rick Owens never disappoints, always bringing the same punk, avant-garde spirit that’s at the centre of every collection. This season, Daniel Sällström gave some models colourful contact lenses while others had their eyes blacked out completely. Bright shades of neons and pastels were generously applied under eyes, while lashes were supersized in baby pinks, white and black. Sandrine Denis created prosthetic spiked elf-like ears that gave models a demonic edge, while digital creator Bernardo Martins acted as a consultant for the beauty looks. On hair, Duffy got choppy with the scissors, giving models pasted streaked, blunt and asymmetrical styles. No two looks were alike, with every one having its own unique shape – some which had, perhaps, never before been seen on a head of hair.

Theatrical, sculptural headpieces and hairstyles matched the drama of the Comme des Garçons collection this season, which saw Rei Kawakubo inspired once again by the colour black. Longtime collaborators Takeo Arai and Nobuki Hizume were responsible for these towering looks, which were often otherworldly,  as if a satellite had crashed and burned onto the heads of aliens. Sometimes they were pure detritus: mangled headbands jumbled up with discarded feathers and nests of hair. The make-up was, unsurprisingly, almost non-existent, which provided a needed contrast to the extravaganza of the rest of it.

CHANEL

A key inspiration for Mattieu Blazy at Chanel this season was an interview Gabrielle Chanel gave in the 1950s, where she described fashion as both caterpillar and butterfly: “Be a caterpillar by day, and a butterfly by night.” The butterflies in this show were glittering and radiant, with iridescent, chrome-accented hair; long faded pastel wigs, metallic silver chignons, and shimmering French twists thanks to hairstylist Duffy. On make-up was Lucia Pieroni who created complimenting silver and lilac eyeshadow, perfectly subtle so as not to overpower the looks, with clear glossy lips, while Ama Quashie was on nails.

YOHJI YAMAMOTO 

If you thought the models at Prada had tangled bedhead hair, it was nothing compared to the runway at Yohji Yamamoto this season, where the designer presented a collection of kimonos reimagined as modern-day armor. With Eugene Souleiman at the helm, hair was gelled upright as if the models had been struck by lightning (or watched Beetlejuice too many times) and adorned with the seemingly impossible – telephones, broken plates, tassels. The effect was to enhance the mystique of Yamamoto’s craftsmanship and deepen our fascination with his enduring inventiveness. On make-up, Yuka Washizu gave models black lipstick and ghostly complexions.

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

Make-up at Vivienne Westwood is always fun, never taking itself too seriously, and this season was no different. Daniel Sällström’s references ran the gamut, spanning 80s glamour, renaissance blush, metallic silver lips, full faces of glitter, lipstick smudged out of place, and painterly expressionist looks. It was theatrical, playful and full of life. Meanwhile, on hair, Ramona Eschbach took the collection’s muse – iconic actress Romy Schneider – as inspiration, looking to the many styles Schneider wore throughout her career. The result was low side partings, backcombed roots and brushed out curls that felt both nostalgic and fresh.

KIKO KOSTADINOV 

Birds and bird watching were the starting point for Kiko Kostadinov’s collection this season, and the motif translated to the hair as well. Bowl fringe wigs by Tomihiro Kono mimicked the patterns and intricate designs seen in bird features, with dots, stripes and crisscross designs. Kono specifically shouted out owl finches and social finches as references. Meanwhile, on make-up, Siddhartha Simone gave models glossy taupe lips and matte khaki eyes with pearly red chrome details.

NOIR KEI NINOMIYA 

It was hard to look at anything but the hair at the Noir Kei Ninomiya show, thanks to the large hair sculptures by Shinji Konishi that models sported on the runway. There were giant skulls made entirely from hair, intricately basket-weaved wigs, and, reflecting a wider natural trend at this year's fashion season, all manner of creatures – furry rodents, miniature fighting bears and wolves. One cute little squirrel was even nibbling on a nut.