Each season of New York Fashion Week, I (plus my fellow beauty editors) silently pray to the fashion week gods the glam will lean avant-garde. Don’t get me wrong—I do appreciate a simple beat that gorgeously juxtaposes a heavily embellished garment or powerful silhouette. But whenever a hair, makeup, or nail artist’s work pushes the limits and catapults me into their creative world, I’m head over heels.

This season’s beauty looks did just that. Cristian Siriano’s “dark fairy” glam made me want to channel my inner Maleficent. Alice + Olivia’s “romantic Parisian” hair had me itching to frolic in a field of wildflowers, as did Colina Strada’s “touch grass” tresses. Thanks to Nanushka, I’m inspired to don a (faux) lip ring. NYFW serves as a blueprint for the buzziest trends in the year to come, and after six days of dashing between shows to get the scoop from the forward-thinking artists themselves, the road map is clear: beauty in 2025 will be far from boring.

Below, get acquainted with this year’s top trends before they undoubtedly take over the beauty zeitgeist. Welcome to the whimsical, wabi-sabi, retro wonderland of S/S 25.

In the Garden

(Image credit: Scott Hammel / Launch Metrics / Sisley Paris)

Florals may seem a little on the nose for spring and summer (cue the iconic Miranda Priestly line), but this season’s runways felt especially fresh and playful when it came to emulating springtime blooms.

At Alice + Olivia, lead hairstylist Matthew Curtis coiffed voluminous buns inspired by “a romantic afternoon walk through the Gardens of Versailles.” Tucking mini dahlias, roses, and gold coins into the style helped nail the “modern, fluid coquette vibe” he says exclusively to Who What Wear. Models also sported floral-adorned nails, courtesy of Salon Perfect’s nail art stickers. Collina Strada’s stylists similarly understood the hair assignment, crafting floor-length extensions with stained a custom shade of “touch grass” green.

It’s no surprise Ulla Johnson has a nod to the garden theme (Johnson loves her florals, celebrity makeup artist Romy Soleimani tells me backstage), but the show’s “blooming lips” represent a much softer, subtler take. Soleimani dabs a vibrant fuchsia lipstick on the middle of the lips, tapping with her fingertip to diffuse, then scribbles a fuchsia lip liner to keep the focus center. “Just to pop it more, so it has that feeling of a flower in bloom,” she says.

Seen Backstage

Fairy-Dusted Glam

Here, we’re moving from the greenhouse to a glamorous fairyland with a touch of whimsy. At Christian Siriano, the “dark fairytale” was brought to life by shimmering finger waves and smoky, glittery makeup. “I wanted to keep some light, airiness to the hair and just sprinkle fairy dust all over the room,” lead hairstylist Lacy Redway says of her “1920s meets enchanted forest” hair look.

As for the makeup, lead artist Vincent Oquendo opted for a juxtaposition in the eyes. “Fairies are beautiful, menacing creatures. So for the eyes, I wanted to have this dangerous, beautiful feeling,” he tells me backstage. After building tons of depth, he adds some shimmery copper liner to the lids and a touch of silver at the inner corners for an ethereal flair. “I wanted it to almost feel like jewelry,” he says.

At LaQuan Smith, inner-corner glitter also made an appearance, while Diotima leaned heavily on the ethereal flair with stark white lashes and finger-painted daisies on the lids. The latter was inspired by Jamaican Pocomania, which means “a little madness” in Jamaican folklore.

Seen Backstage

Y3K Accents

Futuristic, out-of-this-world beauty is on the up and up (think chrome and other celestial, sci-fi elements), and this season’s artists took note—especially when it came to the details.

At Nanushka, models sported clean, glowing skin with pared-back makeup, and delicate silver accents on the lips, across the nose, and on the eyes took the main stage. Kim Shui and Christian Cowan went the nail art route with silver charms and cutouts, while the Libertine runway featured sleek chrome nails adorned with yellow half-moons.

“We see so many cool nails [during fashion week], but what can we do to make it so incredibly memorable? We thought, ‘Okay, let’s do some cutouts. Let’s make it really 3D,’” lead nail artist Julie Kandalec says of her intricate, star-shaped details for Christian Cowan. Say goodbye to your run-of-the-mill chrome mani—this year, nail art is leaning way more high-tech.

Seen Backstage

Minimal Blush

There’s no question that blush has become the main character of makeup products this year. “Boyfriend blush“, “sunset blush”, “peachy girl makeup”… I could go on. But the fashion set predicts a more minimal blush application for the road ahead.

Even Patrick Ta, who loves a flawless blush application, pared down the pop of color for Monse. “I wanted the skin to be very luminous, very fresh [with] a little flush of color on the cheeks, like she’s been working out… very minimalistic yet elevated,” he tells Who What Wear backstage. (He calls it the “tomboy flush.”)

The same goes for Jason Wu, where luminous, fresh minimalism took center stage. Diane Kendal, the show’s lead makeup artist, tells me she foresees the pendulum swinging from bold blush to just a kiss of color. “If you just have that hint of color on the cheeks, it’s amazing how it transforms the whole face,” she says.

At Rachel Comey and Ulla Johnson, subtle blush made way for berry and fuchsia lips, respectively. “It’s not about a cheek,” lead makeup artist Romy Soleimani tells me backstage at Ulla Johnson.

Seen Backstage

Bobs, Baby

Let’s make one thing clear: Bobs aren’t going anywhere in 2025. At L’Agence, lead hairstylist Liz Rim opted for a “modern Parisian look with fringe” complete with wavy, eyebrow-skimming brunette wigs.

At Christian Cowan, models also sported wigs, only with a 1920s flair—think sleek, banged bobs inspired by Louise Brooks. “I’m calling it ‘le contoured bob,’ because it sits where you contour your cheekbone,” Redway says backstage. “A lot of inspiration, for me, starts from the ’20s or ’40s, but [I’m] making it modern. How would this girl today wear that bob? She’s taking it shorter and contouring her cheekbones with it.”

Sandy Liang also featured bobs aplenty, as models sauntered down the runway with bouncy, slightly inverted, chin-length crops.

Seen Backstage

Tickled Pink

“I’m feeling a lot of pinks for spring,” Soleimani says regarding the aforementioned fuchsia blooming lips. It was then that I realized pinks of all shades made their fashion week debut, from the soft, rosy lids at Tibi to the shimmering, bubblegum pouts at Sandy Liang (also courtesy of Soleimani) to the lilac under-eye halo at Phillip Lim to the “smoky quartz” nails at Prabal Gurung.

Seen Backstage

Naked Pedis

(Image credit: Annis Kamara for JINsoon / Deborah Lippmann)

The “naked nails” trend is nothing new, but do you know what’s even more chic? Naked toes, too. After seeing the barely there pedis at Brandon Maxwell, Monse, and Jason Wu, I’m inclined to swap my go-to cherry lacquer for a sheer glaze or even a simple buff and shine. It’s “very demure,” says Jin Soon Choi, who created the nail looks for Monse and Jason Wu (and who just so happens to have a naked polish named Demure!).

Seen Backstage

Beguiling Buns

The ballerina bun is practically a model mainstay, but this season, we’ve seen a lot more interesting takes on the classic slicked-back style. Take Diotima’s whimsical chignons, for example, which featured C-shaped “spidery bits” at the hairline, lead stylist Joey George tells Who What Wear. Other artists decided to play with texture, such as Tibi’s curly buns and the piecey twists seen at Phillip Lim and PatBo.

And at Rachel Comey and Ulla Johnson, buns took on abstract forms. Stylists at Rachel Comey used elastic cords to section low chignons into knots, which tied in (literally) to the raw materials Comey opted for in her collection. Ulla Johnson’s bun took inspiration from a Lee Krasner painting filled with beautiful swirls and abstract eyelets. “I gathered all the hair into two ponytails and did two fishtails, then just wrapped them around so that it felt like that acid-trippy way,” George says.

Seen Backstage

Retro Grunge

Grungy glam makeup—including dark lips, smoky liner, and a matte base—is at an all-time high, especially at Kim Shui, where models sported “wabi-sabi ’90s nudes” (think sheer brown and butterscotch hues). “The makeup is lived-in. It’s imperfect, but at the same time, that in itself is perfection,” says lead makeup artist Romero Jennings.

We also saw dark lips at Palomo Spain, where head artist Marcelo Gutierrez dresses models’ lips in an intense burgundy shade. On the other hand, Area opted for a caviar-black pigment, proving that inky lips are indeed back (well, if they ever left).

Seen Backstage

Mirror Shine

I know, I know. Sure, glass-like skin isn’t the most groundbreaking beauty trend to come out of NYFW, but when you consider shows like Prabal Gurung and Simkhai ditched makeup altogether (for the most part) in favor of a mirror-like complexion, the look becomes way more avant-garde.

“We’re not doing any concealer or foundation whatsoever,” lead makeup artist Sil Bruinsma tells me backstage at Prabal Gurung. Instead, he opted for layers of skin-drenching moisture, using a humectant-rich serum (plus a secret, not-yet-launched product) to naturally attract the light.

Maximum shine made its way over to the hair department, too, as seen in Luar’s sculptural looks. “The overall look of it is glass,” Evanie Frausto tells me. “Everything is just really shiny and polished.” He recommends bumping up the heat protection, using way more than you typically would, to give the hair a nice, glassy coating.

Seen Backstage