The tastemakers at New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week have spoken. The forecast for 2025? Beauty maximalism.
As we bid farewell to the Fall/Winter 2024 season, we can’t help but look forward to what the beauty industry has in store for us in 2025 and beyond. The recently concluded New York Fashion Week (NYFW) and London Fashion Week (LFW) showcased exciting beauty innovation, setting the stage for what promises to be an era of bold experimentation and artistic expression. We still have Fashion Weeks in Milan and Paris to anticipate, but we’re ready to place our bets early for 2025. The verdict? Beauty maximalism. Here are the hair and makeup looks we expect the wider world to catch on to after this year’s NYFW and LFW.
RELATED: The Best Beauty Details From Haute Couture Week Spring/Summer 2024
Go big or go home
It’s safe to say that in 2024, we’re returning to maximalism reminiscent of the 60s, 80s, and the early aughts. As far as trend cycles go, this is to be expected. The 1970s were rife with 1950s nostalgia, the 1980s with the 1960s, the 1990s with the 1970s, and so on. But in this age of technology, the industry at large is doing more than just repeating the cycle—it’s putting a new spin on things, too. We’re not rehashing, we’re remixing. It’s not just a redux, but a refinement.
Team Pat Mcgrath set the tone with the Maison Margiela Artisanal show, and the ensuing FW24 season only affirms that. On the hair front, we’re seeing tons of big hair—either in volume or in detail. Look no further than the voluminous hairstyles and graphic hair designs from the likes of Marc Jacobs and The Blonds in NYFW to Yuhan Wang and Tolu Coker in LFW. The lesson to take from these shows? The more texture, the better.
RELATED: Is Clean Girl Beauty Over? It’s Time to Embrace Messy 90s Grunge Makeup
The devil’s in the details
Likewise, online makeup trends are set to go even bolder. Based on the FW24 season so far, the most important beauty details are concerned with the eyes, manifesting in bold graphic liner looks and glittering metallics. These were seen across various FW24 runway shows, where makeup artists played with shapes, colors, and innovative techniques to create eye-catching looks.
Metallics go further than your typical golds and silvers, too. Instead, there’s an uptick in interest for vibrant metallic hues like electric blues, pinks, and greens. Similarly, the beauty industry is only upping the ante when it comes to ethereal highlights and bold lip art. Some brands like Luar, Nardos, Kim Shui, Son Jung Wan, LaPointe, Sinead Gorey, Conner Ives, SRVC, Harris Reed, and Erdem are at the forefront of this movement.
The years ahead promises to be an exciting era in the beauty industry, with trends inspired by a diverse array of creatives guiding the way. But through it all, remember that beauty trends are all about having fun and expressing your individual style, so don’t be afraid to experiment and make these trends your own.
Photos: LUCY BRIDGE, MARC JACOBS, YUHAN WANG, MAC COSMETICS, SOFIA TILLBURY, BOBBI BROWN (via Instagram)
Featured Image: JIRAURD KEY (via Instagram)
