Viral Pat McGrath make-up for Martin Margiela haute couture show proves ‘clean girl’ look is on the out

TikTok users have fallen in love with Pat McGrath’s porcelain doll-like make-up from the Maison Margiela haute couture spring/summer 2024 show

The look has gone viral and – like the current ‘mob wife’ trend – proves that mainstream make-up is truly shifting away from the natural ‘clean girl’ look

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Are we witnessing the return of fantastical make-up to fashion catwalks? Pat McGrath’s looks for the Maison Margiela haute couture spring/summer 2024 show have gone viral on social media, suggesting Gen Z is ready to move on from the “clean girl” look. Photo: Facebook/@Pat McGrath

Published: 7:15pm, 20 Mar 2024

Make-up artist Pat McGrath’s porcelain doll looks – think glossy skin, thin, painted eyebrows and bow lips – at Maison Margiela’s haute couture spring/summer 2024 show mark the comeback of fantastical catwalk make-up.

Haute couture’s goal has never been to sell to the masses – the pieces are often bespoke and created for an exclusive clientele. As fashion becomes more democratised, this is increasingly seen as out of touch – what used to be seen as the pinnacle in fashion is appealing to an ever dwindling pocket of society.

Hair and make-up, however, are things that everyone can buy into, or at least dream about. As such, many mainstream make-up trends can trace their roots back to haute couture.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the likes of designers Karl Lagerfeld, Alexander McQueen and John Galliano took fashion lovers on stunning runway journeys, with hair and make-up to match.

Maison Margiela’s haute couture spring/summer 2024 show marked the comeback of fantastical runway make-up. Photo: Facebook/@Maison Margiela

For many, the deaths of Lagerfeld and McQueen – as well as Galliano’s fall from grace after he was fired from Dior in 2011 for making antisemitic statements – spelled the end of couture’s age of extravagance.