New York Fashion Week’s autumn/winter 2024 beauty trends were all about easy drama. Smudged make-up and mussed hair teamed with high-impact eyes and twee accessories for a menu of beauty moments that were retro, realistic and effortlessly striking.

At Helmut Lang, hairstylist Jawara created hair looks designed to echo the real lives of New Yorkers, including wet-look styles that might have resulted from being caught in inclement weather. Scarves and kerchiefs floated to the forefront as the hair accessories to watch, while braids took on extra texture through creative weaving and wear. The takeaway: we’re trying, but never too hard. Here, five beauty trends that caught our eye on the autumn/winter 2024 catwalks.

Stylised braids

Plaits were woven for extra impact this season, beginning with the taut French braids at LaPointe. There were cornrow crowns and scalloped braids at Ulla Johnson, a textural counterpoint to the show’s super-sleek low ponytails. The week ended with Thom Browne’s vertical wire-spiked braids, an ode to Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven.

Artistic eyes

Black eyeliner and exaggerated lashes dominated the autumn runways in New York, with the classic beauty look applied with artistic twists. At Marc Jacobs, lashes reached doll-like levels, while the smudges at Prabal Gurung stood out against glowy skin. Smudges and full rims of black shadow pulled focus at Helmut Lang, and at Alice + Olivia, black cat-eye liner came punctuated by a graphic white contrast.

Scarves and kerchiefs

Move over, ribbons: hair scarves and kerchiefs are taking over. Sandy Liang topped models’ hair with fabric edged in ruffles, along with leather and brocade iterations, for an effect that was quirky and chic. Patterned silk scarves tied beneath the chin emphasied the ’60s aesthetic at Anna Sui. Consider bad hair days entirely thwarted.

Lived-in glam

The season’s best beauty has come ever so slightly undone. The make-up at Prabal Gurung had a smudgy, morning-after-the-night-before feel, while Diotima’s beauty looks were designed to evoke the end of a party. At Altuzarra, loose, equestrian-inspired braids were barely pinned in place, and paired with a soft grunge make-up look.

Wet-look hair

Don’t let your lengths dry out just yet. Wet-look hair is here to stay, and featured on the runways of Helmut Lang (where hair was slicked back at the crown), Prabal Gurung (damp and piecey strands splayed across foreheads), and Area (pulled into a pony at the nape of the neck). At Collina Strada, seemingly set hair was embellished with the brand’s emblematic star and angel wings, crafted from extensions and secured at the sides of the slick styles.