Modernised smoky eyes and silver nail detail among trends from AW17 catwalks

Clean, soft and minimal emerged as buzzwords for the make-up and nail looks spotted on the AW17 catwalks of London and New York Fashion Weeks.

CND was backstage at Simone Rocha, where the team, led by education manager Roxanne Valinoti and creative lead Marian Newman, gave models a “barely there” manicure using CND’s Ridge FX to enhance and brighten the surface of the nail.

Meanwhile, the Leighton Denny Expert Nails team created a similar look for Emilio de la Morena, where lead manicurist Sabrina Gayle chose Créme de la Créme, a sheer vanilla cream shade, which was painted onto short, oval nails for a fresh finish. Superminimal manicures were also seen at Mugler, Mary Katranztou and Emilia Wickstead.

If designers wanted nails to be a little more noticeable, many opted for flashes of silver. At Julien Macdonald, Jenni Draper’s team punctuated otherwise bare nails with a metallic slick directly under the cuticle to frame the nail, while the “matted down” look at Daks saw silver layered with a matte base and top coat to flatten the metallic finish.

Sophia Webster and Antonio Marras went for silvery accents like mini iridescent pearls and glittering French tips.

A key make-up trend was doll-like lashes, created using four cluster lashes on the lower lid at Jeremy Scott, and crafted from deliberately clumpy mascara application in lime green and bright pink at Emilio Pucci.

Drama was also created in the eye area by the modern, metallic smoky eyes seen at shows including The Blonds, where highly pigmented, shimmering shades of rose gold and copper created a multi-dimensional halo around eyes.

At Elie Saab, make-up artist Tom Pecheux created a deep, glittering black look with pencil, gel liner, powder and two shades of glitter.

A more wearable trend was freshly stained lips in berry tones, seen at Temperley and Public School, where Aveda artists pressed in a light stain for an autumnal finish.