Diversifying fashion: freckles, bare faces and skin pigmentation no longer drawbacks

It seems making the most of the skin you’re in has never been so on trend

At the recently London Fashion Week (LFW) which concluded in February, there was one beauty topic on everyone’s mind: skin.

From the trailblazer Winnie Harlow – perhaps one of the world’s first models with the skin condition vitiligo who strutted on the runway for  Matty Bovan and the first catwalk appearance of hijab-wearing Halima Aden at Alberta Ferretti, to casting director James Scully’s scathing exposé of the industry’s outdated attitude towards skin colour, it feels as though the fashion and beauty worlds are finally waking up to reality.

WINNIE HARLOW PHOTO:FILE

“The models aren’t a blank page to be painted as desired anymore,” Daniel Robson, an agent at Premier Model Management told London’s The Evening Standard. “They’re bringing a lot of themselves to projects: their personality, their style quirks and they’re being comfortable in their own skin.”



This new-found focus on the authenticity of skin has come in part from social media, where the likes of freckled beauties Nikia Pheonix and  Adwoa Aboah, and au naturele bombshell Leomie Anderson have spoken out repeatedly, on attitudes within the fashion industry. Kate Upton too, who has been repeatedly bullied for her body type has proven all haters wrong by excelling in the fashion world.

KATE UPTON PHOTO:FILE

But it wasn’t just happening on the catwalks and the fashion front rows. Backstage, make-up artists are embracing this new change of mood too. Full beauty looks of lipstick and eyeshadow were firmly out at LFW while freckles, pigmentation and flushed cheeks were in. At Emilia Wickstead, Simone Rocha and J W Anderson, the bare-faced models were as much a part of the post-show buzz as the clothes, with MAC’s head of make-up artistry, Terry Barber, coining the term ‘rawgeous’ to describe his bare-faced girls at Lutz Huelle.

Nikia Pheonix PHOTO:FILE

But how did they do it? Many artists spoke of a lighter touch when it came to the foundation brush, aiming to showcase skin underneath, rather than masking with heavy layers of make-up. The result was a broad spectrum of skin types on display, from pale Asian skin and pink tones inspired by Vermeer paintings to Alek Wek’s opal black at Haider Ackermann.

And where the catwalks lead, the high street swiftly follows.

Halima Aden PHOTO:FILE

This year will finally see the launch of a plethora of foundation lines from big beauty players such as L’Oreal Paris and Estée Lauder, each with an extended offering of shades and tonal varieties — specifically those with more yellow or pink pigment.

It seems that loving and making the most of the skin you’re in has never been so on trend. Let’s hope it stays that way.

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