As the Fall/Winter 2025 shows shut their doors and fashion editors packed away their show notes, one lingering question rose above the sea of velvet capes, bleached brows, and bombastic blush—were runway beauty looks still setting the standard, or simply responding to what’s already viral on TikTok?
It’s a beauty showdown that feels more relevant than ever—high fashion versus high engagement—and the lines are blurring in the most compelling ways.
On the runways, beauty continues to serve as an ideological playground, pushing boundaries and redefining aesthetics. At Thom Browne, models graced the catwalk with bird-inspired feather lashes and painted beaks, echoing the collection’s avian motifs. At Valentino, the runway showcased dramatically draped blush, with makeup artist Yadim sculpting cheeks and lifting the eye area using vibrant pink hues, complemented by glossy red lips. Meanwhile, Chanel presented feathered winged liner that mimicked the texture of tweed and ribbon, aligning with the collection’s ode to the bow, as hairstylist James Pecis adorned models with delicate silk accents and unexpected flourishes woven through their updos.
It’s performance. It’s provocation. It’s beauty as an idea rather than a routine. You don’t walk away thinking you’ll replicate these looks tomorrow—you walk away reflecting on beauty as a construct.
These looks live primarily in fashion editorials and backstage documentaries. They’re admired, discussed, memed—but rarely worn outside of fashion contexts.
Now open TikTok, and the beauty narrative shifts dramatically.
Here, beauty is accessible, instructional, and most importantly, interactive. Trends like the #CleanGirl look, under-eye blush, lip gloss cocktails, and makeup spatulas are shared, tested, and remixed by millions in real time.
Yet, despite its practical reputation, TikTok has equally become fertile ground for creativity, allowing creators to reinterpret runway-inspired concepts in fresh and imaginative ways. Creators such as Anna Murphy, Lara Violetta, and Emily Wood exemplify this intersection of artistry and accessibility.
Anna Murphy (@annamurphyyy) showcases innovative SFX makeup, using unconventional materials like yarn to create textured, three-dimensional effects. Her experimental approach directly echoes the boundary-pushing nature of runway artistry.
Lara Violetta (@laravioletta_) brings minimalist yet bold aesthetics, notably through her “reverse eyeshadow” technique—applying vibrant shades beneath the eyes and extending them over bleached brows. This challenges traditional makeup placement, reflecting runway-level subversion and creativity.
Emily Wood (@emilywoodmakeup) is recognized for her “scribble liner” method, employing just one lip liner to sculpt and contour—streamlining beauty routines in a creative, innovative manner comparable to techniques developed backstage at fashion shows.
These creators illustrate how TikTok serves as a creative conduit, translating avant-garde runway beauty through personal interpretation and play. By experimenting openly, they democratize high-fashion concepts and inspire a broader audience to engage artistically with beauty.
At its core, the distinction lies in the intention.
Runway beauty is designed for distance—crafted to be seen from afar or through the lens of a camera. It’s theatrical, often impractical, and intimately tied to the narrative of a collection. TikTok beauty, on the other hand, is tailored for the front-facing camera—optimized for close-up viewing, ring lights, and immediate engagement. It thrives on context: every product has a name, a dupe, or a price. Where runway beauty is metaphor, TikTok beauty is method—rooted in replication, community, and daily life. Creators reference cultural moods and movements, embedding trends into identity as much as aesthetics. Runway beauty is designed for distance—viewed from afar or through camera lenses. It’s theatrical, occasionally impractical, and intimately tied to the story of a collection.
A single viral sound or filter can spawn entire makeup trends, illustrating TikTok beauty’s dynamic nature—constantly evolving and deeply interconnected.
Despite their differences, these worlds continuously inspire each other. Designers browse TikTok; creators moodboard runway collections. Trends cycle fluidly between artistic experimentation and practical adaptation.
Consider the “no-brow” revival, initially popularized on runways by Alexander McQueen and Givenchy. Now, TikTok’s “alien glam” aesthetic reinterprets it using concealer instead of bleach—same concept, different execution and context.
When Miu Miu embraces TikTok’s hair bow trend or creators like @meicrosoft recreate Margiela’s “doll skin,” we’re witnessing a new, reciprocal beauty conversation—not dominated by legacy media but driven by the dynamic exchange of runway fantasy and digital creativity.
