Maximalism and Messy Hair: Beauty Trends We Saw Backstage At New York Fashion Week FW25
© Skyli Alvarez, 2025
As we prepare to shift our gaze to London, we cannot help but let New York Fashion Week’s most memorable beauty trends linger in our minds. When it came to the clothes, off-the-shoulder tops, lacing, and serious suiting repeatedly made their way down the catwalks and the streets. When we talk glam, it’s another story.
While plenty of designers go the clean, minimal route and let the outfits speak for themselves, hair and beauty can build upon the world a label has crafted. “That’s what beauty’s there for: Transformation,” MAC Cosmetics’s Terry Barber tells Teen Vogue backstage at LUAR.
This New York Fashion Week, we went back of house to get every detail — and find all the beauty trends — on the glam that made our favorite ensembles all the more memorable.
Serpentine ‘Dos at Christian Siriano
From tightly-coiled, Bettie bangs at Anna Sui to Hitchcockian swirls at Thom Browne, hair took on imaginative shapes across New York Fashion Week. At Christian Siriano, the “Trackside Twist,” as celebrity stylist Lacy Redway calls it, was the point of focus. The hairstyle features a wet slicked-back bun, drawing from the show’s allusions to locomotion and speed by way of futuristic red-carpet-wear. Sharp, shadowy cat-eyes in browns and reds by Vincent Oquendo complemented the sleekness.
Sleeping Beauties at Prabal Gurung
Bare-faced models were spotted at Coach, Eckhaus Latta, Jane Wade, and more. The Prabal Gurung girl, however, “just woke up, rolled out of bed, and went to get coffee,” as per Redway. Her “textured tresses” were created with lots of spray to add volume, paired with sweeping blush all along the cheekbones and eyelids for a pop of color. “It’s been lived in a little bit, it doesn’t feel like we did makeup,” explains key artist Sil Bruinsma. Minimal, yet worn-in hair and blush enhanced models’ features, tying into the slouchy-yet-glam ensembles — a single undone button here, a loose bowtie there — alluding to the presumed party the models attended the night before.
‘80s Fabulosity at Luar
From Sandy Liang’s ultra-pink lip look to Tyler McGillivary’s metallic shadows, playful gaudiness made an appearance at a much-needed moment. Luar had a darker take, through feathers abound and ice-cold eyeshadow that “looks like it’s been slapped on in the back of a taxi,” according to key artist Terry Barber. He describes the expressive cut crease as “old school underground, almost Stonewall-era drag.” For hair, stylist Jawara paid homage to the voluminous coifs of ‘80s Latinx women in the city. “Raul and I grew up in New York together and we have a lot of memories of these women,” he says. “It's an ode to them."
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
