Sandy Liang Says Fashion Week Is Nothing Without the Beauty Details
We talked to the designer about dreaming up FW26 makeup looks with Rare Beauty.
“Fantastical yet realistic” is designer Sandy Liang‘s ethos when it comes to the brand’s Fall/Winter 2026 runway makeup looks. Her collections, which are known for their dreamy-meets-nostalgic flair, have become a New York Fashion Week favorite — but for Liang, the narrative arc of her world is incomplete without hair and makeup.
When it comes to this season in particular, the brand tapped Rare Beauty and key makeup artist Romy Soleimani to conceptualize “Sleepy Glow,” an effortless take on Sandy Liang’s subdued feminine archetype. “Everything I do, I want a girl at home to feel like she could recreate it herself. So the makeup is really soft and subtle, but, very dreamy still,” Liang tells Hypebae.
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Referencing films like Kiki’s Delivery Service and Sofia Coppola‘s Marie Antoinette, Sandy Liang’s FW26 show is yet another exploration of the “Sandy girl” — where fresh touches of pink blush and whispers of shimmery shadow fuse magical girl energy with Chloë Sevigny-esque grunge.
While the runway’s push to minimal makeup looks can suggest that beauty is capable of overshadowing the garments, Liang maintains that her ability to tell stories is dependent on the beauty details. “Makeup and hair make the show fun. Otherwise, you’re just looking at people wearing clothes,” she adds. Because of this, the label has become intrinsically tied to the makeup it sends down the runway — whether its SS25’s bubblegum pink lips or this season’s sparkly lids.
“Beauty is so important to bring the show to fruition, to really feel like I’m telling a story and not just like sending clothes down the runway. It helps build out the character that we’re trying to define that season, I personally find so much creativity and strength in beauty,” Liang says.
For more NYFW, read about the season’s most impactful beauty moments.
