Dolls Are Fashion Week's Unexpected Beauty Muse

We all know that we're in our collective coquette era. The trend, which started on TikTok, has made its way to real life and has subsequently taken over—you can't enter a single store without being bombarded by bows or ruffles. Hyperfeminity, from the aforementioned coquette aesthetic to balletcore has become a defining pillar of early 2020s fashion and beauty. And if New York Fashion Week is any indication, it's here to stay.

While NYFW was full of the usual grungy eye looks and no-makeup-makeup moments, there was one muse that was consistently inspiring designers and makeup artists alike: dolls. From Marc Jacobs to Sandy Liang, doll-inspired beauty was dominating the runways. For once, we can't blame Barbie, as hot pink looks were actually few and far between. This time, designers were thinking outside the (Barbie) box and referenced dolls of all kinds.

The trend kicked off with Maison Margiela's ultra-viral couture show. In an act that took the beauty world by storm, the legendary Pat McGrath transformed models into living dolls complete with ultra-shiny porcelain skin using a mixture of peel-off masks and an airbrush machine. Paired with the disjointed movements of the models and the uncanny valley effect of the super-shiny skin, the doll theme took on a more spooky—though still gorgeous—feeling than your typical cutesy babydoll.

The Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 24 show also took an untraditional approach to doll-inspired beauty. Devoid of pink cheeks and rosy lips, the beauty look was just as inspired by paper dolls as it was by Dianna Ross and The Supremes. Makeup artist Diane Kendall used Cetaphil to prep the skin before creating an ultra-matte canvas with plenty of powder. She used a bright white shade to highlight, adding an even more artificial look to the skin. The real doll moment, however, came from the gloriously clumpy lashes, which she coated with black nail polish for a spidery, "cloggy" look.

To go with the makeup, hairstylist Duffy and his team created over 100 voluminous wigs that were like if Truman Capote's "Swans" inhabited the Barbie Dreamhouse (which the show's set mirrored with a gigantic table and chairs). The finishing touch was a selection of off-kilter nude nail polishes applied by Jin Soon Choi to give the models' hands a perfected, plastic look.

Over at Alice + Olivia, doll beauty took on the most literal, girly form. In one of three distinct beauty looks, Too Faced's Executive Director of Global Beauty, Elyse Reneau, sent models down the runway with super-blushed cheeks, Barbie pink lips, and drawn-on lashes. "The eyes are a nod to the '60s— think Twiggy meets Better Than Sex Mascara," she said of the look. "I created an optical illusion of oversized doll eyes with strategic eyeliner.” 

Similarly, at LoveShackFancy, Bobbi Brown Global Pro Artist Amy Conway gave models a pretty pink flush and feminine eyeliner. Hairstylist Brent Lawler created soft half-up styles using Living Proof and then loaded them with bows worthy of a Madame Alexander doll. Even the nails oozed with dolly vibes—manicurist Dawn Sterling used Sally Hansen to create French manicures decked out in actual bows.

Doll beauty even manifested on the runways in less obvious ways. At Collina Strada, there were colorful hair tattoos worthy of Barbie and Ken. Though the beauty direction for Sandy Liang was a '90s businesswoman, the matte skin paired with Laing's ultra-feminine details still brought a doll-like touch to the minimal makeup. (To get the look, makeup artist Marcelo Gutierrez used Supergoop's soon-to-be-released skin tint with a generous dusting of their powder sunscreen).

While Barbiemania may have reached a fever pitch this summer, it's not time to leave the dollhouse just yet—as Fashion Week proved, there are plenty of ways to channel your favorite mini muse this season.