At couture fashion shows, extravagant and often costume-like garments dance down the runways. Equally over-the-top hairstyles and creative makeup looks tend to accompany the high-fashion ensembles. While these elaborate beauty styles may seem way too ridiculous to ever imitate, the average runway-admirer can still recreate these trends in less dramatic ways.

A common theme in this year’s shows was the return of the headband. Elie Saab went for silver metallic jeweled pieces that resembled fashionable tiaras on his models. At Giambattista Valli, nearly every model was adorned with a thin, plain black headband to accessorize their pulled-back hairstyles. Ultra-feminine dresses at Ralph & Russo were topped off with simple ribbon headbands in baby pinks and creams.

To try out this trend for everyday life in 2016, avoid channeling a high school Blair Waldorf and stay away from giant bow-and-flower headbands. Stick to simpler thin bands à la Giambattista Valli for everyday occasions to add sleekness to your hair.

On the opposite spectrum, several couture shows avoided sleekness in favor of wild and crazy hairstyles. Models at Jean Paul Gaultier embraced huge, amped-up ‘dos that took natural hair to the next level. At Schiaparelli, almost every hairstyle was identical, marked with enormous, crimped pigtails.

These styles are a bit more difficult to translate into normal life, but the idea of crimping might be making a comeback. If you want to be a trendsetter and get on top of this revival, try crimping just one section on the side of your hair, and then pull all of your hair into a ponytail for a cool, textured take.

Couture shows take their makeup to extremes as well. Several designers showed off smoky black eyeliner and shadow looks, which aren’t things that are usually expected for spring. At Giorgio Armani Privé, a line of eyeliner across the top of the lid mirrored the standard line along the lash line for a mod ‘40s look. At Chanel, makeup artist Tom Pecheux created dramatic eye looks with three-pronged eyeliner — a long, wavy line on the top of the lid, a normal winged line on the lash line and a long, wavy line under the eye to balance the top. At Dice Kayek, every model sported mime-like eyeliner: nearly fully rimmed eyes that ended in a teardrop-like vertical line under the eye.

For shadow, Jean Paul Gaultier showed off dramatic charcoal shadow wings. At Atelier Versace, makeup artist Pat McGrath created a sultry black shadow look, continuing the trend seen with the other designers.

Evidently, black is back for spring in the form of smudged shadows and graphic liner. Try the look for a night out by accentuating your normal winged liner with a black shadow layer that extends the wings, or add an extra line of black for a fun twist.

And at the other end of the spectrum, there was Maison Margiela. Arguably the most extravagant and couture-like of every show, this makeup concept was full of glitter, color, stars reminiscent of David Bowie. While the first 12 looks in the show were minimal and barefaced, the looks that followed were intense and futuristic. One model wore bright violet lipstick, and another model’s lips shined in metallic silver. Several looks included star or lip appliques on one eye only. Celestial influences came out when a model walked the runway with a face completely mapped out in star constellations.

While these extreme looks seem out-of-this-world, they may be paving the way for the future of beauty. Don’t worry — a little sparkle never killed anyone.

Jackie Homan is a sophomore magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email her at [email protected] or follow her @jackie_homan on Twitter.

Published on February 8, 2016 at 8:08 pm