Rose-Embellished Brows Make for a Mesmerizing Beauty Statement at Simone Rocha

From hair accessories that fast become cult classics (ahem, the bow) to pearl-accented nails, many an enduring beauty trend began its life at a Simone Rocha show–and her fall/winter 2024 runway show continues the trend

“Simone had access to–and took inspiration from–the archive of Queen Victoria’s mourning garments, so the beauty look drew inspiration from that,” make-up artist Thomas de Kluyver tells Vogue. “We wanted to do something a little darker and more gothic than seasons past, but which also felt quite elegant and sensitive at the same time.”

That translated to brows that were blocked out to make way for intricate rose stem detailing, which was applied with a stencil and black paint. “On top of the stencil, we added flowers that were cut in red or blue plastic,” he explains. Drawing upwards, away from the eyes, the embellished flowers lent an otherworldly effect to an otherwise minimal make-up look.

Hairstylist Eugene Souleiman conjured up the hair look: “It’s loosely inspired by Victorian women, so the hair is very, very clean and very flat,” he tells me. “Parted in the center, it’s quite austere.” Knitted balaclavas feature in the show, so Souleiman conceived the hair to look as if it had been styled–and made more compact–by the headwear. (Did hat hair just get cool?)

By incorporating “little rolls into the hair, like they used to do in Victorian times”, the end result was slick and severe, “using hair to accessorize hair” in lieu of adding Rocha’s usual sparkly accessories. There were, however, earrings made of bows and beads that cascaded down from the hair rolls.

“If you wanted to do something similar, you could simplify the look–part hair in the centre, rub it to give it a bit of texture, then put a beanie on your head and let it sit there for half an hour. But I think the thing is, it’s all an idea,” Souleiman says. “We’re creating a mood. Simone’s clothes offer a hard kind of romance–it’s a brutally realistic fairytale and it’s something that should sweep you away. We’re offering the dream, aren’t we? And if you can’t dream…”