Paris Haute Couture Week Spring Summer 2026 unfolded through distinct visual worlds. Across Dior, Chanel, Valentino and Schiaparelli, makeup and hair echoed the settings of each show, from enchanted landscapes to cinematic and sculptural references.

Valentino

Beauty followed the narratives proposed on the runway. Each collection established its own environment and internal logic, and makeup and hair responded to those conditions, adjusting tone, texture and gesture to the atmosphere being constructed. Faces and hair became part of the same visual system as garments, scenography and reference.

Botanical symbolism, fairy-tale settings, cinematic memory and sculptural intensity shaped distinct approaches to beauty, always grounded in the specific universe of each show. What emerged was a sequence of visual alignments, attentive to mood and context, unfolding alongside couture itself.

Chanel

A Grand Palais transformed into an enchanted forest set the stage for Chanel’s Spring Summer 2026 haute couture show, conceived under the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy. The collection unfolded as a visual narrative tied to metamorphosis, avian imagery and lightness, proposing a femininity in constant transition. Makeup by Lucia Pieroni embraced a barely-there approach, with carefully prepared skin, soft blush and minimal eye definition. Hair by Duffy echoed this softness through natural textures, light updos and feathered scrunchies used as discreet ornamental accents.

Dior

Like a botanical wunderkammer marked by the presence of cyclamen, Dior’s Spring Summer 2026 haute couture collection, designed by Jonathan Anderson, revisited the maison’s founding imagery and the idea of the woman as flower. Makeup by Peter Philips focused on luminous, almost dewy skin built through texture rather than colour, with eyes and lips kept deliberately restrained. Hair by Guido Palau paired polished updos with unexpected gestures such as tinted fringes and floral applications, introducing a subtle tension between classicism and fragility.

Schiaparelli

At Schiaparelli, Spring Summer 2026 haute couture unfolded under the title ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’. Conceived by Daniel Roseberry, the collection referenced the Sistine Chapel and the house’s surrealist heritage through sculptural, symbolic figures. Makeup by Pat McGrath balanced fantasy and restraint with polished skin, neutral yet defined eyes and bare lips. Hair by Guido Palau favoured clean structures and high-shine finishes, extending the architectural language of the garments to the face.

Valentino

‘Specula Mundi’, Valentino’s Spring Summer 2026 haute couture collection, reflected on the act of looking itself. Under Alessandro Michele, the show drew from the Kaiserpanorama and the glamour of 1920s and 1930s cinema. Makeup by Yadim recalled classic studio portraits, with defined eyes and satin-finished skin, while hair by Esther Langham leaned into long, fluid waves inspired by Hollywood and Pre-Raphaelite iconography, reinforcing the sense of spectacle and performative femininity.