In the breathtaking gardens of the Villa Albani Torlonia on May 27, fashion’s finest gathered to watch the Dior Cruise 2026 show after a picture-perfect, blue sky day in Rome. But just as the models hit the catwalk, the skies opened and poured rain, adding a touch of auspicious drama to the moment. Quite fitting, considering Maria Grazia Chiuri’s inspiration for the collection was ghosts and the history of cinema in Rome, a veritable love letter to her native city for what turned out to be her final show after nine years.
Inside the Beauty Look
The beauty look by Peter Philips followed suit. “This show is an interaction between living personalities and ghosts,” the creative and image director for Christian Dior Makeup says backstage. “The girls are made up almost in a ghost way, but not in a scary way,” he confides, noting that he wanted to give a preternaturally smooth, luminous finish to skin akin to the marble statues that add a knowing character to the Eternal City
To get the “very pure, quintessentially clean and nude” look, the makeup guru subtly highlighted eyes while playing up a pearlescent complexion. Skin prep was key. First, he smoothed the eye area by popping on the Dior Eye Patches for ten minutes before applying Dior Capture Le Sérum to hyper-moisturize. Tone was evened out with Dior Forever Skin Perfect foundation stick.
Getting Their Glow On
He then added “a bit of highlight” to the center of each eye with the champagne shade in the new Diorshow 5 Couleurs compact in 557 Brown Cashemire. A stroke of Diorshow On Stage Crayon in 594 Brown along the roots of lashes provided a touch of definition, just “a little bit of brown trail.” He says.
A dab of Dior Forever Glow Luminizer in 06 Opal Sequin on cheekbones and high points heightened the decidedly buffed luminosity. On lips, Philips chose a slick of Dior Addict Lip Butter in 103 Toffee, since it has “no pearlescent” quality but simply a sheen to offset the iridescence on skin.
A Crown Affair
As for the hair at Dior Cruise 2026, Guido Paulo styled braided chignons. “The shape of the hair is very much like a Roman sculpture,” Philips says. Think “Roman ladies in toga-style dresses.” The woven updos proved to be the perfect expression of Roman beauty — and perfectly rain-proof when the weather threw a curveball.
Time to Party
After the show, the rain stopped — perhaps by divine intervention. Guests then floated their way through the gardens to bartenders flowing champagne into cut crystal coups while a string quartet played. The theatrical vibe of the evening continued as fashion’s most formidable mingled with celebs and friends of the house including Rachel Brosnahan, Alexandra Daddario, Sarah Catherine Hook, Liza Koshy, and Style Not Com’s Beka Gvishiani over plates of pasta and braesola with parmesan. The revelry continued well into the night; an ethereal spirit seen through Maria Grazia Chiuri’s lens was in the air — a very fitting finale for the Italian design legend who championed feminism and following one’s art… with heart.
This story first appeared on GRAZIA USA.
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