The Secrets Behind the Bold Eyes at Vivienne Westwood’s Fall 2024 Runway Show

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At Vivienne Westwood’s Fall/Winter 2024 show in Paris on March 2, the late designer’s widower, Andreas Kronthaler, showcased a modern Renaissance collection that pulled from Westwood’s early-’90s collections. But the beauty looks drew on different, older inspiration: 17th-century Buddhism.

Lead makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench sent models with bright, nearly white under-eyes down the runway. While it may look like a heavy-handed concealer application, Ffrench intentionally created the eye-catching look as her version of Buddhist imagery meets punk.

“The sculpted brightness at the center of the face brings intensity to the look,” Ffrench tells Bazaar. “ We referenced 17th-century Europe, the punk movement, and lots of Buddhist imagery.” The stark, matte under-eye is a drastic departure from today’s buzzy launches and makeup trends (think makeup and bronzed, glowing skin), so Ffrench turned to the original backstage beauty brand to help bring it to life: MAC Cosmetics.

MAC has been partnering with Vivienne Westwood's team since 2017, and Ffrench continues the partnership and Westwood's legacy. MAC Cosmetics continues to have a significant presence backstage at fashion week–even 40 years after its inception.

“We’ve come a long way–backstage is now a very different environment,” says Terry Barber, MAC Cosmetics’s global creative director of makeup artistry. “It used to be purely about the craft of applying beauty to models' faces for the show, but social media has transformed it, making the backstage experience accessible to all–not just fashion insiders.” The legacy brand works on nearly 60 shows yearly, spanning New York, London, Paris, and Milan.

The brand was created out of the fashion space, which Barber says is the reason behind the durable, highly pigmented formulas that pop on a runway. “MAC backstage feels like a natural habitat,” he adds. “What designers love about working with MAC is that the partnership doesn’t come with a set of rules. They don’t have to feature the latest collection or new launch; it can be a statement look or subtly nuanced, glamorous or anti-beauty, classic or avant-garde. It is always the story told through beauty that interests MAC rather than simply promoting a product.”

In the case of Vivienne Westwood’s show, Ffrench created the statement look using the brand’s Studio Fix 24H Concealer in a shade four times lighter than the models’ skin tone, so it appeared white rather than skin-like. She used the Studio Fix Powder in Shivering White to keep the pigmented color in place. Both hero products for the look are some of MAC Cosmetics’s most cult-favorite products that have been on shelves for decades.

Studio Fix 24-Hour Smooth Wear Concealer

Full Coverage Foundation in White

MAC Studio Chromagraphic Pencil in NW25/NC30

Studio Fix Sculpt and Shape Contour Palette Light\/Medium

“The shape is quite snatched at the outer corners of the eyes and upwards towards the temples,” says Ffrench. To further enforce the sculpted effect, she carved out the cheekbones and the eye sockets and skipped heavy eye makeup, adding just the Chromagraphic Nude Pencil in the waterline to add brightness. She finished the look with a bit of lip balm.

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