Before models even hit the catwalk for the Dior Spring/Summer 2025 ready-to-wear show at the Musée Rodin during Paris Fashion Week, a stunning goddess clad in a one-shoulder number and waist-length braid strode down the length of the runway carrying a quiver and crossbow. With the whiz of an arrow, artist and archer SAGG Napoli kicked off the action, setting the tone for a celebration of power and femininity. A star-studded front row including Natalie Portman, Rosalia, Elizabeth Debicki, Anya Taylor-Joy, Monica Barbaro and Ashley Park sat transfixed.
The performance art and show narrative was a nod to creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s inspiration for the collection, the archival Amazone dress designed by Christian Dior in 1951, reimagined here with asymmetric bodysuits, updated trenches, shiny tech fabrics, metallic gladiator sneakers and more functional yet fabulous silhouettes. The beauty on the runway followed suit.
Backstage, makeup artist Peter Philips shared that Chiuri wanted models to have an “Amazonian” beauty. “It’s about a strong woman,” he said, who looks as though she either just wrapped a workout or “came from a heroic battlefield.” In this fantasy, she projects a no-nonsense, here-for-it appeal — she means business.
The cornerstone of the look was flushed cheeks — “workout blush,” as Philips called it — achieved by blending the brand’s new Rouge Blush Color & Glow from the hollow under the cheekbone down towards the jawline, noting that powder blush, rather than a cream or liquid formula, imparts just the right amount for a subtle wash of color. “It’s not a strong pigment, this one,” he advises. “It’s not a contour blush,” he insists, noting that the vibe should mimic that healthy rush of flush that one achieves post-run.
Eyebrows were simply filled in and brushed up and likewise lids were bare save for a slash of black liner, specifically Diorshow On Stage Crayon in 099 Black. Philips placed color haphazardly along bottom waterlines and had models blink to transfer pigment for a decidedly undone, lived-in look.
As for skin, the pro prepped the complexion with Dior’s Capture Totale Serum and Hyalushot before smoothing on Forever Skin Contour foundation sticks. “I always do a matte foundation on the catwalk because it’s got enough coverage and then the lights make it look luminous,” he says. But, for this moment, to mimic the appearance of exertion, just before models hit the runway he added a touch of strategically placed serum “to get more of a wet effect.”
Lips were slicked with clear gloss, Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil in OOO.
To complement the woman-on-the-move makeup, hairstylist Guido Palau fashioned devil-may-care, looped ponytails harnessed by ‘90s-inspired bra-headbands.
Amidst sayings scrawled on the walls like “I don’t know if I’ver ever shined, but I have resisted,” and “I get obsessed looking at the way people move when they’re doing something they’re really good at,” the message was clear: You don’t have to look — or perhaps feel — perfectly put together to control your destiny. Have the courage to own the undone.
