From 'INSECTILE' smoky-eye make-up to CHAIN-embellished manicures: See the most outrageous Fashion Week beauty looks from New York to Paris

  • Make-up artists backstage at shows like Gareth Pugh and Libertine used unconventional materials to create out-there looks
  • FEMAIL rounds up the wackiest runway make-up and nail moments that we won't be recreating at home

By Sarah Ferguson For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:54 EDT, 8 March 2017 | Updated: 17:06 EDT, 8 March 2017

Every season there are certain shows at Fashion Week that you just know will bring out the crazy, wacky and, yes, sometimes even ugly hair, make-up and nail looks.

Whether the designer is going for shock value, unparalleled originality, or ground-breaking innovation, these bold statements serve to remind us that fashion shows are, above all, a true art form.

The fall 2017 season in New York City, London, Milan and Paris has officially come to a close, and, as far as balls-to-the-wall beauty goes, this has been one for the books.

Below, we round up the biggest eyebrow-raising trends spotted on the runways.

FACE EMBELLISHMENTS

'It's all about creating a new texture and evolution of make-up as texture,' said Aaron De Mey of the herringbone fabric appliques he used in place of lipstick and eyebrow pencil backstage at Thom Browne's fall show. 

Pat McGrath was on the same page at Gucci, where she adorned models' cheeks, lips and eyes with materials like crystals and black feathers. 

Thick gold rings were placed over bare lips at Balmain, and pearls applied with Duo adhesive dotted faces at Manish Arora.

The award for Most Otherworldly Look, however, goes to Val Garland, who led the make-up team backstage at Gareth Pugh. 

Customized three-dimensional 'bug eyes' were adhered over eyes on top of layers of black and deep teal pigment to create an 'insectile effect'.

Fly girl: A model at Gucci wore a feathered wig and feathers around her eyes

Fly girl: A model at Gucci wore a feathered wig and feathers around her eyes

Bedazzled beauty: Metal and pearls were used as forms of make-up at Balmain (pictured) and Manish Arora
Bedazzled beauty: Metal and pearls were used as forms of make-up at Balmain and Manish Arora (pictured)

Bedazzled beauty: Metal and pearls were used as forms of make-up at Balmain (left) and Manish Arora (right)

Top it off: Materials like fabric and plastic added three-dimensional elements to the beauty looks at Thom browne (pictured) and Gareth Pugh
Top it off: Materials like fabric and plastic added three-dimensional elements to the beauty looks at Thom browne and Gareth Pugh (pictured)

Top it off: Materials like fabric and plastic added three-dimensional elements to the beauty looks at Thom browne (left) and Gareth Pugh (right)

NAIL ACCESSORIES 

'A flamboyant Romanian gypsy' inspired the bright and textured nail looks that took artists at CND 400 hours to produce ahead of Libertine's show during New York Fashion Week. 

Painted roses in a variety of hues anchored each design and were then embellished further with thread, gems, feathers and chains. 

Across town on the same day, nail artist Mei Kawajiri was busy taking the pierced nail trend (seen recently on the likes of Kim Kardashian) to the next level for Philipp Plein's show by hanging chains, hoops and safety pins from black acrylic manicures.

Eye spy:  The team at CND spent 400 hours crafting the elaborate designs for Libertine's show

Eye spy:  The team at CND spent 400 hours crafting the elaborate designs for Libertine's show

Chain links: The impractical pierced nail trend made an appearance at Philipp Plein's show during New York Fashion Week

Chain links: The impractical pierced nail trend made an appearance at Philipp Plein's show during New York Fashion Week

ABSTRACT EYE DESIGNS

The takeaway from shows like Maison Margiela and Versus Versace was that if you're going to wear brightly colored eyeshadow, don't even think about holding back.

Pat McGrath used what seemed like every pigment color in the rainbow to create out-there winged eye looks at Maison Margiela in Paris, while at Yohji Yamamoto she smudged black and red pigments around and across models' eyes.

A colorblock smudgy look was also spotted on the Versus Versace runway in Milan. 'She’s tough and her eye make-up is very bold and graphic to match,' make-up artist Lucia Pieroni told WWD backstage. 

In London, Hello Kitty inspired the pastel two-tone eye make-up at Ryan Lo and in New York City, make-up lead Erin Parsons used red velvet and glitter to achieve what she called a 'Muppet' look at LRS.

Soft and sparkly: Glitter and velvet were used to achieve the make-up look for the LRS presentation

Soft and sparkly: Glitter and velvet were used to achieve the make-up look for the LRS presentation

Blurred lines: When creating the eye looks at Yohji Yamamoto (pictured) and Versus Versace, precision was not the goal
Blurred lines: When creating the eye looks at Yohji Yamamoto and Versus Versace, precision was not the goal (pictured)

Blurred lines: When creating the eye looks at Yohji Yamamoto (left) and Versus Versace (right), precision was not the goal

Rainbow brite: Backstage at both Maison Margiela (pictured) and Ryan Lo, one vibrant eyeshadow color was not enough
Rainbow brite: Backstage at both Maison Margiela and Ryan Lo (pictured), one vibrant eyeshadow color was not enough

Rainbow brite: Backstage at both Maison Margiela (left) and Ryan Lo (right), one vibrant eyeshadow color was simply not enough

Comments 13

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.