Fashion week gatekeeping died when Instagram hit the app store in 2010. The photo-sharing social media platform allowed anyone, anywhere access to shows and events that were once exclusive to editors, celebrities, and buyers. As a result, designer debuts, runway spectacles, and A-list front rows instantly went viral throughout the decade. The 2010s runway beauty moments were also hit with Instagram effect.
Backstage videos and glamour shots shared by makeup artists and hairstylists captured the close-up details that often go missed on the runway, while the captions revealed inspirations and secret techniques. While their artistry inspired future beauty trends, and sometimes even products, they defined the decade’s aesthetics. With designers starting to grasp the power and reach of social media during the 2010s, the beauty looks tended to be avant garde or dramatic interpretations of popular styles that would do numbers on Instagram or other popular visual platforms such as Pinterest. Rodarte’s ethereal Spring/Summer 2019 show is a prime example. On the flip side, some more approachable, wearable makeup and hairstyles were thrown into the mix too, albeit with a unexpected twist. Case in point: the swipes of paint in models’ hair at Altuzarra’s Spring/Summer 2011 show.
Below, revisit 10 of the decade’s most unforgettable beauty moments from fashion week runways.
Altuzarra Spring/Summer 2011
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“Pops of color” was one of the early decade-defining fashion and home decor trends, and it influenced runway beauty looks, too. Instead of a bold-hued cat eye, which was popular at the time, Altuzarra showed a new take on the trend: giant swipes on neon paint on models’ brushed-back hair.
Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2011
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In Pinterest’s early days, this celestial glitter eye makeup, vampy oxblood lip, and dramatic headpiece is the recipe for a runway beauty look that’ll get re-pinned countless times.
Prada Fall/Winter 2012
Chris Moore/Catwalking/Getty Images
By the 2010s, celebrities like Katy Perry and Hilary Duff were dip-dying their ends in vibrant shades the hot pink. The pop-punk originating look got the runway treatment at Prada’s Fall/Winter 2012 show, where models had long, super-sleek strands with high-contrast ends, orange brows, and dramatic smoky eyes.
Chanel Fall/Winter 2014
Now known as “the Chanel supermarket show” among fashion insiders, the French fashion house’s Fall/Winter 2014 beauty look generated just as much buzz at the elaborate runway set. Models, including Cara Delevinge, wore neon cat-eye liner and center-parted high ponytails with tiny braids, crimped strands, and pieces of woven tweed ribbon.
Givenchy Spring/Summer 2014
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Before Euphoria inspired the reassurance of face gems, legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath bedazzled models’ entire faces. “It is amazing. We wanted to let the mind travel. We were thinking of the future, of Africa, and we wanted it to be exquisitely jeweled,” she told Into The Gloss.
Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2016
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Runway appearance from Lady Gaga aside, Marc Jacobs’ Victorian-punk beauty look also went viral this season. It consisted of dramatically smudged smoky eyes, velvet skin, and finger curled-hair with the ends left out.
Atelier Versace Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Speaking of viral, the photos of Bella Hadid and Taylor Hill with ruby glitter lips broke the internet as soon as images of Atelier Versace’s Fall/Winter 2016 show hit Instagram. Created by Pat McGrath, the look sparked dozens of tutorials and the makeup artist’s brand releasing a glitter lip kit to DIY the runway makeup look.
Maison Margiela Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2017
Peter White/Getty Images
Maison Margiela’s Fall/Winter 2017 collection turned the runway into a gallery. McGrath used 3D wiring, bold pigment, and cheek gloss to turn models’ faces into abstract works of art.
Rodarte Spring/Summer 2019
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
Flower crowns may have peaked in 2014, but Rodarte’s ethereal Spring/Summer 2019 show reminded everyone why the festival-favorite hair accessory was poliartized. The models channeled literal flowers with blooms in their hair paired with blue eyeshadow and crimson lips.
Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2019
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Flowers continued to trend on the runway at the tail end of the decade. Case in point: the dramatic petal-like feather lashes McGrath created for Valentino’s runway.
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