How Pat McGrath Created Glazed Doll Skin for Maison Margiela's Couture Show

Couture Week is always a stage for the grandest, most shocking, over-the-top displays of fashion to step into the spotlight. It’s where we got Doja Cat’s iconic “Dojas Inferno” ensemble, in which she was covered head to toe in red crystals. It’s where Zendaya debuted edgy blunt bangs and Jennifer Lopez a wet-styled bob. Not to mention, where otherworldly creations by best-of-the-best fashion designers like Daniel Roseberry, Sohee Park, Robert Wun, Olivier Rousting, and John Galliano are unveiled—the last of which might have just created one of the most iconic collections of his career.

On January 25, Galliano debuted his Spring/Summer 24 Haute Couture collection for the fashion house Maison Margiela, which many are saying will go down in fashion history. In an eerily beautiful, dimly-lit, underground space walked dozens of models in hauntingly beautiful looks, consisting of sheer fabric, shiny rubber, and tight corsets. Each outfit was completely fantastical, transporting us to a world where we are all porcelain dolls.

Along with the dramatic silhouettes was makeup that transformed every model, even Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie, into a doll with shiny glass skin—like Victorian toys come to life.

It was the makeup that was partly responsible for making this show go ultra-viral. After all, it was the glazed glass skin that created the characters and fully immersed us in the unnervingly jaw-dropping world. 

Pat McGrath, who has a long history with Galliano, was the artist behind the fine china glow. The iconic makeup artist used her own Pat McGrath Labs products to create this feat of artistry, and we have the inside scoop on which ones she reached for.

Though the finished product varied slightly from model to model, there were a few core products that found their way onto each look.

"The makeup for the show plays with a modern take on porcelain glass skin," said McGrath in a satement. Of course, perfect glass skin starts with skin prep, in which McGrath and her team used Pat McGrath Labs Divine Rose Essence to start with. The Divine Blush Legendary Glow Colour Balm was used to up the glass-like shine, with McGrath’s team using almost every shade across the cast depending on their skin tone.

While the balm and essence will give the skin an out-of-this-world glow, there was likely something else at play when it came to the waxy, glazed effect. McGrath has kept the details under wraps to keep the makeup magic alive, only revealing that the "skin [was] coated in a hyper-shiny glaze, mimicking the smooth, reflective quality of glass," but professional makeup artists and industry insiders have speculated that it was the Kryolan Liquid Glass airbrushed onto the skin several times.

As for the rest of the look, McGrath bleached the models' brows, which were "replaced by pencil-thin arches drawn on using neutral-toned shadows." The team used various shades of the Mothership Palettes on the eyes, ranging from neutrals to jewel tones. Finally, they applied the MatteTrance Lipstick in black or deep red, and topped it with the Lust Gloss for "a surreal pout."