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If you’re nearing the brink when it comes to all things “core,” then hold on for just a moment longer. Mermaidcore is here to glossify your beauty routine—and it’s a trend primed to stay put for the foreseeable future.
Blame it on Disney’s forthcoming remake of The Little Mermaid (or could it be our longstanding obsession with all things wild swimming?), but there were notable nods to the underwater world on the spring 2023 runways. Aquatic hair and makeup were everywhere.
Most obvious were the oceanic shades of blue (from cobalt to cerulean) and seaweed greens that were diffused in different ways around models’s eyes, as per Chet Lo, Off-White, and Etro—not so wearable, but beautifully ethereal. Meanwhile, at Jil Sander and Chloé, iridescent silver shimmers were swooshed over eyelids and, like scales, glistened in the light.
Wet-look hair was de rigueur, from Victoria Beckham’s grunge slicked look to Nensi Dojaka and Dries Van Noten’s damp salty strands, all of which were given an undone finish—an underwater existence is about much more than precise hair, after all.
Models walked the aptly named Blumarine catwalk with longer-than-long mermaid lengths, both braided and straight, which ebbed and flowed like jellyfish tentacles. Botticelli waves—yes, like those belonging to the famous Venus, resplendent in her shell—were also very much present.
And, of course, skin took on a glossy, lacquered look at many shows, too, with skin-care brands becoming even more of a focal point during the backstage prep pre-show. Hydrated and plump, extra dewy skin was oft paired with a sun-burnished bronze glow, like at JW Anderson, where models could well have been lying on the rocks all day à la Ariel.
