The NYFW Beauty Looks Defining a New Era of Glamour
Twice a year, Fashion Month serves as a feast for our eyes. This fall, the New York Fashion Week spring/summer 2026 runways were no different. The shows featured plenty of trends to emulate through your clothes, but beauty experts looked to the hair, makeup, and nail trends for inspiration.
Often, beauty enthusiasts complain that Fashion Month doesn’t deliver the way they want it to—there are too many “clean girl” looks and not enough drama. But this year, fun beauty trends were front and center. Though there were many tasteful no-makeup makeup looks, there was a bevy of glamorous trends that are sure to make their way into our own beauty routines in the coming months. Think colorful eye looks, gilded makeup, fresh haircuts, and statement nail art. Keep reading for our favorite trends.
Sky Blue Wash
Baby blue is the color to watch. At Private Policy, models walked with a sheer wash of pastel blue on their eyelids. At Jane Wade, a model had a smattering of light, silvery blue on her temples to create an almost alien-esque effect. And at Anna Sui, Pat McGrath crafted a blue eye look that took center stage. McGrath said that she wanted the eyes “to glow like desert skies at twilight, complete with sky-blue lashes evoking a painterly, 1920s bohemian spirit. It’s unapologetic makeup maximalism for a new era.”
In recent years, lashes haven’t been in the conversation. In fact, we’ve seen a swing toward downplaying our lashes with the “ghost lash” trend, or the trend of completely forgoing mascara or falsies for a pared-down look. But if this season’s runways are any indication, we’ll see lashes begin to have a moment again. At Collina Strada, Isamaya Ffrench said that she created “wings” with colorful lashes placed on the outer corner of models’ eyes. Eckhaus Latta had models with white lashes (a playful nod to the ghost lash trend), as did Jane Wade.
It’s the Gilded Age—for makeup, at least. At Fashion Month, golden looks reigned supreme. In the most striking examples, models for Luar and Elena Velez’s show had gold-crusted lips that served the same purpose as a piece of statement jewelry. At Ulla Johnson, models had golden lashes and eyeliner. At Theophilio, golden jewel-encrusted eyelids glittered. Gold nails also made an appearance at Grace Ling.
In case you haven’t heard, bobs are the biggest hair trend of the year, and if the runways are any indication, they aren’t slowing down any time soon. At Christian Cowan, models had blunt-cut, asymmetrical bobs. At Sandy Liang, models had soft bobs with Old Hollywood curls, and models at Coach had both tousled, street-style-inspired bobs and hair tucked in to emulate the cut without reaching for any scissors.
There’s no denying it: fringe is in. Along with bobs, bangs were all over the runway this season. Many were paired with structured bobs or styles, like at Coach, Tanner Fletcher, and Sandy Liang, while at Calvin Klein and Tory Burch, bangs were given the French-girl-unbothered treatment and paired with naturally styled, longer hair.
Move over, clean girl nails—statement claws are so back. At Batsheva, the polka dot trend found its way to models’ fingertips. At The Blonds and Luar shows, the nails were bejeweled, with crystals and embellishments adorning fingertips. Annabel Maginnis, founder of Glitterbels, and manicurist Jan Arnold aimed to turn nails into an extension of the opulent collection by The Blonds. This year, maybe nails will become just that—a part of your clothing, rather than a foil to it.
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