A beauty look from Shayne Oliver's Fall
Photo: Courtesy of Pat McGrath Labs
Shayne Oliver made his return to New York Fashion Week on Friday, giving us what is sure to be one of the most noteworthy beauty moments of NYFW Fall 2022 on its very first day when he debuted his new eponymous brand, "Shayneoliver." The designer often championed unconventional, weird and even disturbing beauty looks during his Hood By Air days (I'm still trying to shake the memory of the lube-inspired moment from Spring 2017, but I digress) — and his Fall 2022 runway proved his penchant for over-the-top runway beauty isn't going anywhere with his new label.
Oliver tapped legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath and her talented Pat McGrath Labs team to create a fantastical, whimsical, wonderfully weird extravaganza of of makeup looks — comprising what she referred as a "human bouquet" — to accompany the collection, and honestly, you just need to see it to believe it.
"We were obsessed with the idea of creating human bouquets — an explosion of beauty," said McGrath of the looks. "Crystals and piercings, painted faces and pollen-drenched lashes blooming into full-floral fantasies. Shayne wanted everyone to feel like creatures from the forest, each look is a work of art."
McGrath and her team ended up creating about nine different looks in all, many of which focused mainly on lashes and "the story of flowers blooming from [them]," per McGrath. They pulled from McGrath's own archive of multimedia materials ("we have an incredible archive of materials at the office," said McGrath), including silk flowers, feathers, crystals, clay, paint, pearls and glitter. (Side note: Where exactly is this office, and how do we get access?)
Recommended Articles
"The models show the birth of a fantastic floral journey. There are glistening studded ornamentation that adorns and celebrates the individual and more subtle looks with an emphasis on the lashes," said McGrath. "They are all stand-out moments, from subtle to subversive – much like the Shayneoliver collection."
Each makeup look was created in collaboration with Oliver himself, and they evolved over the course of the week leading up to the presentation, as the glam team "pushed the looks further, taking elements away and shifting the beauty narrative that ultimately became the story of birth and celebration," explained McGrath. The winning makeup looks drew from Oliver's references of "nature, decay and decadence," creating the sense of "an odyssey through the ornate forest."
Florals may not generally be considered the most original of inspirations (insert "groundbreaking" reference from "The Devil Wears Prada" here), but leave it to the creative minds of Oliver and McGrath to come up with botanical elements that feel completely new.
In other words, this beauty look is a Shayne-Oliver-approved, Pat-McGrath-created human floral bouquet to feast your eyes on, just in time for Valentine's Day. Click through the gallery below to see the dazzling makeup moments in all their glory.
Never miss the latest fashion industry news. Sign up for the Fashionista daily newsletter.