Thomas de Kluyver wants us to rethink the way that we view make-up. “Rather than it being a mask you need to hide behind, make-up can be worn as a fashion accessory,” he told Vogue backstage at the Simone Rocha spring 2026 show. “With Simone, we always love this idea of makeup being used as an extra accessory to the show, so there are often little bits of embellishment.”

In the opulent St Stephen Walbrook Church, fittingly illuminated by crystal-drenched chandeliers, the collection was accompanied by a dreamy, almost childlike soundtrack, and included elements of debutante dressing. “I was looking at this feeling of giving someone a bouquet of flowers and that gesture of giving and receiving, and give and take. So that’s kind of how the collection feels,” the designer told Vogue’s fashion and style editor Mahoro Seward.

Thomas de Kluyver called upon skincare by Dr Barbara Sturm and Byredo makeup for the Simone Rocha spring 2026 show.

The models’s skin was first prepped with a trio of hydrating Dr Barbara Sturm hero products: the Hyaluronic Serum, Hyaluronic Face Mist and Everything Eye Patches, to create a satin texture. “We wanted to keep it quite fresh and clean,” the makeup artist revealed. “It’s kind of how you would prepare yourself if you were actually going to a ball.”

De Kluyver created three striking lip looks, all of which were ultra-glossy, finished with Byredo’s Liquid Lipstick Vinyl Fantôme. For the first, the makeup artist imagined a vivid berry-pink flower design. “We’re using transfers of flowers that we’re pressing on the lips, and then we’re applying a layer of gloss,” he explained. “It was inspired by flowers wrapped in clear plastic at the florist,” and mimics the clear mackintoshes that were styled over floral pieces on the runway.

For the second, he used a similar technique: “We’re doing a transfer that says ‘sweet dream’ on it.” An ode to the notes that teenagers write in their diaries, and fitting in light of the lifesize pillow bags that were seen among the accessories. Last but certainly not least, he used the Byredo Kajal Pencil Kali Kali to create a lacquered black lip with a shimmer that echoed Rocha’s signature crystal-adorned dresses.

“Rather than it being about heavily done makeup, it’s about getting fun and playful,” he says—an emerging spring 2026 trend that began in New York with pastel lids (Area, Anna Sui, and Collina Strada) and colorful lashes (Eckhaus Latta and Ulla Johnson), and one he expects to see continue in Milan and Paris. “Brands were scared to push the boundaries in previous seasons, but I think designers are feeling braver,” De Kluyver muses.

When it comes to real-world application, “be playful with it”, he says. whether through lipstick, eyeshadow, or liner. “Maybe it’s a color that is the same color as your top. Makeup can be worn as a fashion accessory.”