Much the same as New York Fashion Week, the London shows were more or less divided into two camps. One spoke to a sense of freshness and cleanliness, with bare faces on show at Victoria Beckham, Burberry, Christopher Kane and Supriya Lele—highlighting a global obsession with health in a Covid-19 world. The other was all about fun and theatre courtesy of Matty Bovan and his embellished masks, and Vivienne Westwood’s pantomime references.
A more restrained sense of drama was also on show, as seen at Simone Rocha and Erdem, where hairstyles took their cues from period dramas. But there was something a bit darker about the London shows: monstrous prosthetics, demonic contact lenses, tribal markings from future subcultures, like reflections of a post-apocalyptic world.
Here are the hair and beauty trends you need to know from London Fashion Week SS21:
1. The trend: bare faces
Christopher Kane SS21
Victoria Beckham SS21
Where we’ve seen it:
Supriya Lele, Victoria Beckham, Christopher Kane, Burberry, Emilia Wickstead
What you need to know:
Following on from NYFW, the beauty look for most shows was all about dewy skin and minimal makeup. See the bare-faced beauties at Victoria Beckham, Supriya Lele and Burberry for a lesson in restraint. In a world where health is a priority, there’s something to be said for that outer glow.
2. The trend: dramarama
Courtesy of Simone Rocha
Vivienne Westwood SS21
Where we’ve seen it:
Gareth Pugh, Erdem, Simone Rocha, Matty Bovan, Vivienne Westwood
What you need to know:
All the world’s a stage. At least it was for Erdem and Simone Rocha, whose hair looks took their cues from period dramas, with hairbands and ringlets respectively. Elsewhere, at Vivienne Westwood, there was an element of pantomime—a red nose, clown-like lips and a painted white face. Then, of course, there was Matty Bovan, whose embellished masks that covered the entirety of his models’ faces were stars of the show.
3. The trend: post-apocalyptic beauty
Courtesy of Chopova Lowena
Where we’ve seen it:
Art School, Maximilian Davis, Chopova Lowena
What you need to know:
Seemingly in response to recent world events, there were elements of post-apocalyptic imagery at the SS21 shows: demonic, mismatched and milky-white contact lenses at Art School, teamed with tattoos, bleached tresses and slicked-down hair, creating an overall menacing effect; monstrous prosthetics at Fashion East’s rising star Maximilian Davis; and tribal markings from future subcultures at Chopova Lowena.
4. The trend: the classic red lip
Ben Broomfield : Courtesy of Molly Goddard
Where we’ve seen it:
Molly Goddard, Vivienne Westwood
What you need to know:
During the second world war, when many luxury items in Britain were being rationed, it was seen as too important to morale to ration the production of lipstick. No matter the current climate, a good red lipstick can do wonders. Take it up a notch with a high-pigment matte and a winged eye as seen at Vivienne Westwood, or freshen it up with a bare face and a lick of lacquer as at Molly Goddard.
5. The trend: club kid
Courtesy of Halpern
Where we’ve seen it:
Halpern, Emilio de la Morena, Gareth Pugh
What you need to know:
Despite most nightclubs around the world being closed for business, Michael Halpern threw a fabulous party for his SS21 collection. With masks the new norm, it was all about the eyes. Think alternating shimmery mauve and green lids, offset with a vampy rouge-noir lip. Gareth Pugh adopted a similar color palette, but to an otherworldly effect, teamed with crystal headdresses, feathers and a neon-green buzzcut. Elsewhere the Euphoria-effect was in full force, with Emilio de la Morena opting for a vibrant matte-turquoise lid for that added pop of color.
6. The trend: understated hair
Courtesy of Preen by Thornton Bregazzi
Courtesy of Roksanda
Where we’ve seen it:
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Phoebe English, Roksanda, Molly Goddard
What you need to know:
In among the bold hair statements, there were moments of quiet restraint. Long, barely styled locks at Preen by Thornton Bregazzi and Molly Goddard, and shades of grey at Phoebe English and Roksanda, speak to an overall sense of informality that we’ve come to associate with working from home and lockdown life in general.
7. The trend: neon dream
Charlotte Knowles SS21
Where we’ve seen it:
Gareth Pugh, Charlotte Knowles, Matty Bovan
What you need to know:
Don’t throw that hair dye away just yet, because bleached hair is still very much a thing. From a slime-green buzzcut at Gareth Pugh to hot-pink tresses at Matty Bovan, much like we saw in New York, it’s DIY lockdown dye jobs all over again.
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Originally published on Vogue.in
