At New York Fashion Week, beauty acted as a moment of reprise from the hopelessness many are feeling in the current state of the world. From Luar turning fashion week into a Carnival to Diotima and Alexander Wang putting a spin on the classic chignon, scroll on for the best beauty looks from spring-summer 2026.
Diotima
Two weeks ago, founder of Diotima Rachel Scott was announced as the new creative director of Proenza Schouler, presenting her first collection with the House a week later. But, that wasn’t her only “first” this month. At NYFW, Scott also presented her first runway show for Diotima, which up until now, has been strictly non-runway presentations.
But, interestingly enough, lead hairstylist Joey George says he actually scaled back the beauty this season. “It’s about the quality and health of the hair,” he tells ESSENCE exclusively before the show, using Oribe’s Gold Lust as a hair treatment before tucking it into a low set bun. “There’s this little flash of white clay that I mixed with conditioner just in the front,” he says, as if the residue from a hair mask was left in from the night before.
Extending into makeup, the clay leaked onto the side of the face, and for some models, even the hands. “It feels simple and dynamic,” says lead makeup artist Kanako Takase. “We left dark circles under the eyes on purpose to feel more real.”
Collina Strada
Wearing a black stocking cap over my old cornrows to Collina Strada—which took place on the Pier 6 Heliport—lead hairstylist Mustafa Yanaz says my look was spot on to what they were going for this season (also seen at Theophilio and Luar). “I do the wig wrap so quick with the hairspray then put the wig cap on,” he says, using Bumble and bumble.’s Spray de Mode to secure the wigs’s capped base.
“Hillary said jokingly ‘what if we do hats made out of hair’,” Yanaz recalled before the show. Taking a month to finish all the beanie and hat versions of the hair, “I started to do a prototype with a baseball cap, then I stitched the extensions in with a hair topper on, molded it, it was beautiful.”
On makeup, Isamaya Ffrench created five different makeup “characters” which spanned feline noses, bruised eyes, and metallic accents. But, between each model, “everybody has a beautiful little piece of colored wing at the end of their lash,” she says. With the show a reference to our “shadow selves”, “Hillary always has a feline or animal-inspired vibe in the show.”
Luar
“Celebration doesn’t have to end with clothes,” says lead hairstylist Sonny Molina before Luar’s Carnival-inspired SS26 show. “It can continue into your makeup, it can continue into your hair, and it also doesn’t just have to be hair, it can be objects, it can be patterns, textures, sticks.” He translated the message through two looks: the “Regal Feather”, which was a fantasy look with dramatic feathers, and feather adorned pigtail braids coined “Feathertails”, which Molina says offers both an over-the-top and paired down hair moment.
Meanwhile, the makeup was more full on. “This is a little more ferocious,” says lead artist Andrew Dahling. “The makeup reference [Raul] sent to me was very eyewear,” using loud blue, oversized lashes, and essentially turning makeup into fashion. “I wanted to make something that definitely paid homage to the Carnival masks.”
Guvanch
Walking into Guvanch, a table full of weave, braiding hair, extensions, and materials were smacked right in the middle of the room. From hair living two feet above head to umbrella-shaped drapings, I soon realized I fell head first into a Vernon Francois fantasy hair show. “I just wanted to do something that was provoking the imagination,” Francois tells ESSENCE exclusively, as I followed him around the room.
“Half of my inspiration was based on boning, like when you see the bone of the hair coming out,” he says, making decisions based purely on intuition. When asked if he drew any of the looks out before hand? “I can’t draw to save my life,” he laughs. “I make things up in real time.”
Kim Shui
“Renaissance goth” was the message behind Kim Shui’s SS26 show as a response to the heavy state of the world. “There’s a lot going on in the world, so everyone is up with creativity,” lead makeup artist Romero Jennings says before the show. “Part of the makeup is destroyed and part of the makeup is clean,” he says, using MAC’s Cushion Blush and a “blonzing” technique, the trend of treating blush as bronzer, to achieve the look, then paired with brushed up brows, lived-in eyes, and an erased lip.
For hair, stylist Jaylin Seng says the look was all about sensuality and femininity, referencing Diana Ross and the designer, Kim Shui. “The texture is actually Kim’s texture, that we took on aluminum foil, and we permed it,” Seng says, turning her hair into imperfectly curled extensions. “In a world where everyone feels broken right now, and almost like shattered pieces of glass, [the look] is coming together and having it be a disco ball.”
Rounding out the look, nail artist Sojin Oh partnered with Kijibae for the brand’s first NYFW show, giving a “less is more” look. “I wanted to bring something simple that’s not going to overkill Kim’s designs,” Oh says, showing off a platter of fishnet nails, black squares, and chrome dot press-ons. But, what stood out the most was a giant “K” embellishment adhered to the nails with builder gel. “We wanted to stand out.”
