Beauty's retro revival

TimesLIVE

05-07-2025

The Trend: That ' 70s Show
The inspiration: David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust, disco skin, Saturday Night Fever
As seen at: Pronounce, Fiorucci, Amiri, Antonio Marras, Taakk
Nostalgia still has us in a chokehold – and while the influence of Y2K has completely taken over and become part of our everyday life again, there's still a yearning for an even greater retro comeback. While beauty trends are seeing a huge resurgence of the 1980s, grooming trends seem to be leaning towards a revival of the 1970s.
Think David Bowie in his prime when he had just created his iconic alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, the cool of a Motown Stevie Wonder or the dazzling glitz of disco fever. While the era called for flamboyance, swag and way of grooming that was effortlessly cool, the reinterpretation of the 1970s on the runways is now a little different. Striking the balance between retro and modern – the runways brought about a mood that rewrote the classics by borrowing retro touches rather than creating a caricature of the decade that could feel too costumed.
At Pierre-Louis Mascia, hair in a shade of David Bowie red adorned a model's long lengths but felt modern when blended with richer, cherry cola hues that are popular today. At Fiorucci, guy liner took a backseat as the runway makeup staple for men, in favour of frosty, shimmery blue eyeshadow and eyeliner buffed along the top and bottom lash line, that not only gave a nod to '80s blue eyeshadow but called to mind the blue gleam of Ziggy Stardust's iconic lightning bolt makeup.
3 WAYS TO WEAR IT
1. DECONSTRUCTED GLITTER
There was a cool mood to glitter on the runways as models at Pronounce and Taakk showed variations of the disco staple that felt super fresh. At Pronounce, skin was given a disco fever feel by way of deconstructed glitter placements tucked into the inner corners and under eyes that gave the illusion of wetness. Skin was reminiscent of the aftermath a night out, with a sweated-out gleam and featuring specks of glitter that look like they could have rubbed off while dancing with a body glittered queen or easily transferred from fingers to face. At Taakk, glitter was given the same treatment but this time in hair, creating the same 'after the club' effect with glitter particles trickling down along the hairline.
2. NEW-AGE POMPADOUR
Nothing says retro quite like a pompadour and at Antonio Marras, there was a strong case made for its comeback. A hairstyle synonymous with Elvis Presley and John Travolta a la Grease, this staple spanned the 1950s, evolving into the 1970s and featured volume created by brushing hair up and away from the forehead and sides of the head.
At Marras, models sported a version of voluminous hair styled in a way that gave a nod to the 1950s pompadour but didn't feel overly styled or serious with hair swept up the sides into two loose barrels of hair towards the centre of the head, while the sides were kept slicked.
3. MOTOWN BARBERING
The cool of Motown was felt on the runways as the niche influences of 1970s trickled into hair barbering. From short, meticulously trimmed Afros, baby hi-tops fades and even lamb chop sideburns, made popular by retro icons such as Stevie Wonder; the classics are reimagined as modern styles are given a retro twist. At Amiri, models were sent out with short, neatly shaped Afros and angular baby hi-tops paired with clean shaven faces for a more modern feel
THE KIT