Aleph Beauty brought its skin-first, consciously created make-up to the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week Kahuria 2026.
We unpack some of the looks created for NZFW’s opening show The Art of Style, Twenty-Seven Names and Taylor – where Aleph helped bring each designer’s creative vision to life.
The Art of Style
This was a big one! Fifty-six outfits which equals 56 models and eight distinct creative worlds dreamt up by the show’s creative director Dan Ahwa that each explored a different relationship between fashion and art.
The Art of Style posed a compelling question: What does personal style mean in an era when algorithms can anticipate our tastes before we have had the chance to discover them for ourselves?
Ahwa’s concept for The Art of Style positioned fashion as something deeply human and looked to art as a way of protecting individuality, experimentation and imperfection.
The beauty direction followed the same central principle: that personal style should feel personal.
Rather than imposing one identical look across the cast, the hair was designed to feel natural to each person’s character, clothing and energy. For the skin, the brief was fresh, elevated and true to its natural texture, with no flat or overly matte finish.
There were also two contrasting main make-up directions that moved through the show – Dark Arts and Natural Aristocracy.
Dark Arts
The first look, Dark Arts, drew on the sharply defined glamour of Judith Baragwanath and Klaus Nomi. Black lips appear selectively, while other faces may feature a darkened eye or lip according to the individual.
The finish is intentional rather than organic: lips are precise, shapes are considered and sections of the face may carry stronger artistic detail. Yet the skin remains contemporary and fresh, preventing the makeup from becoming costume. The overall mood is best described as punk aristocracy – avant-garde beauty broken down into something wearable, characterful and modern.
Natural Aristocracy
The second direction, Natural Aristocracy, brings softness and restraint. Inspired by Impressionism, the make-up centres on naturally luminous skin and a gentle flush across the face – not a heavy application of blush, but the believable colour of someone who has been walking through cold air or running across the moors.
It’s romantic without being nostalgic, polished without appearing overly perfected.
There was also no single prescribed “face” for the show because there is no single definition of style. Some characters are sharp and graphic; others are flushed and almost untouched. What connects them is skin that feels alive and beauty that supports, rather than overwhelms, the person wearing it.
Twenty-Seven Names
Aleph’s brief was to create a beauty look that was fresh, modern and distinctly individual.
The show marked a special moment for the Wellington label, with Twenty-Seven Names returning to NZFW for a solo show and celebrating 20 years in business.
The make-up look was designed to feel polished but never overdone. Naturally glowing skin, with targeted coverage that allowed the model’s own texture and individuality to remain visible. Features softly defined rather than sculpted, with subtle washes of colour used to bring warmth, freshness and quiet character to each face.
Rather than creating one identical runway face, the beauty language reflects the spirit of Twenty-Seven Names: considered, expressive and slightly playful.
A soft flush, gently enhanced eyes and fresh skin work together to create a look that feels wearable and refined, while still holding enough presence for the runway. It’s beauty that supports the clothing without competing with it – modern, effortless and full of personality.
The final effect is clean, luminous and individual: skin that looks like skin, features that feel naturally enhanced, and colour that appears soft and instinctive. It is a contemporary backstage beauty look that aligns with Aleph’s skin-first approach and Twenty-Seven Names’ enduring commitment to local design, creativity and thoughtful making.
Get the look
Serum + Primer
Used to nourish and prepare the skin, creating a smooth, silky base before make-up.
Concealer + Foundation
Applied only where needed for targeted coverage that still lets skin look like skin.
Cheek + Lip Tint in Emanate or Ascend, mixed with Mixing + Treatment Balm
Used to create a barely-there blush and softly tinted lip, giving the face freshness without looking overly made up.
Prep + Finish Powder
Applied selectively to set, softly blur and keep the skin fresh without flattening its natural texture.
Holly Rose modelling for Twenty-Seven Names, NZFW 2026. Make-up Aleph Beauty
Taylor
For Taylor’s SOMNII show, the beauty direction explored the softness and mystery of the dreamscape – ethereal, instinctive and slightly undone.
At the centre of the performance were five dancers, each embodying a different state of mind: Intuition, Will, Doubt and Desire. The beauty shifts subtly across each performer, responding to their movement and energy rather than following one uniform direction.
Some of the looks were designed to be ethereal with glowing skin, while others had stronger make-up with deeper definition.
Luminous skin, softly smudged eyes, diffused depth, darkly lined lips and unexpected touches of shine all worked together to create a beauty language that felt expressive, individual and suspended between reality and dream.
Get the look
Use Aleph Concealer/Foundation mixed with Radiance Moon for a soft, lit-from-within glow. Cheek + Lip Tint in Grounded or Terra added natural warmth and gentle contour, and Multi-Liner Pencil in Noir to bring definition and intensity to the eyes and lips. The look is finished with Prep + Finish Powder, used selectively to blur, set and maintain freshness without flattening the skin’s natural texture.
