After a full week of fashion shows, creative presentations, and after parties, New York Fashion Week SS23 has officially come to an end. No Sesso opened the week with a subversive edge, a reimagined Serena Williams look, and an aesthetic evolution into “Black Punk.” To close out the cycle, Tom Ford hosted the final show and presented a sexy take on glamor. While this fashion week was centered around the fashions for Spring/Summer 2023, there were standout beauty moments from the runway that were just as memorable.
This season marked a historical moment for the official fashion week schedule – coordinated by the CFDA in partnership with IMG – as a record number of Black designers appeared on the calendar. In the same breath, Black hair textures and styles were celebrated on the runway by Black designers and non-Black designers. While some designers opted for a clean beauty look, Sergio Hudson’s runway show drew inspiration from Whitney Houston and the ‘80s to deliver exaggerated glam.
Ahead, discover all of the most memorable beauty looks from the runways at New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023.
01
No Sesso
As No Sesso dived deeper into the brand’s DNA, the hair created for the show highlighted iconic Black hairstyles through an artful meshing method that combined finger waves, swooped bangs, braids and more into one style. The beauty marks, black lip liner and long acrylic nails were also a nod to Black culture.
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02
Sergio Hudson
At Sergio Hudson’s fashion show, OG supermodels including Chanel Iman, Veronica Webb and Winnie Harlow pumped down the runway in makeup and bumped hair inspired by the ’80s and Whitney Houston.
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03
Aliétte
In Jason Rembert’s garden, models strutted down the runway with vibrant lipsticks and rosy cheeks, which was the perfect complement to Aliétte’s colorful designs.
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04
Luar
Drama was served in the best way at Luar’s Spring/Summer 2023 fashion show. The spotlighted runway created a setup that allowed the models and their French roll updos and black lipstick to possess a gaudy confidence.
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05
Area
For Area’s latest collection, bejeweled cones and triangle shapes were a key design element. At the runway show, the 3D designs carried over to the hair to recreate the ponytail in a cone-shape that read as expensive and artistic rather than just a fun hairstyle.
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06
LaQuan Smith
To emphasize the effortless, sexy that a Laquan Smith woman embodies, “clean beauty” looks were the best way to direct the glam. Models strutted down the runway in no-makeup makeup looks and super sleek ponytails.
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07
Kim Shui
For Kim Shui’s runway show, she transformed each model into a warrior by designing with structured shapes and dressing the models in braided hairstyles that exuded power.
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08
Christian Cowan
At Christian Cow’s maximalist fashion show, rosy blush was applied to models’ cheeks and foreheads, and 3D hairstyles created shapes that mirrored the hair bows.
