Khaite‘s models walk fast and with purpose—just like New Yorkers. It makes sense, actually: designer Catherine Holstein is a born-and-bred New Yorker. And for her fall-winter 2025 collection, Holstein continued to give all downtown girls (whether they are literally living downtown or simply aspiring to have that vibe) a collection inspired by the late filmmaker David Lynch.
Diane Kendal and Guido Palau have been the architects of Khaite beauty for the past few seasons. “Great designers always have a vision for the woman they are designing for, and that includes the beauty,” Palau says. “We are here to help extract that vision.”
This season, it could be distilled into two words: not fussy. On the face, Kendal decided that matte was the move—a shock for anybody who has been going full-on glazed donut the past few years. “It’s time,” she told me backstage about the return of matte. “Skin isn’t so matte it feels dry, it’s just velvety. The cool tones we see in the collection are reflected in the shades we use for the contour.” For a very small amount of models, a painterly swipe of black (with an almost oil-like sheen) was swiped on one or both lids. “There’s not much thought to it, it’s meant to be something you wanted to try, so you did.”
It may feel counterintuitive, but hydrated skin is an important prep for soft, velvety matte skin. Before Kendal and her team took to painting NARS foundation on models’ faces, Athena Hewett, the founder of Monastery Skincare, was on-hand get each girl ready. It all hinged on a top-secret soon-to-be released product. “It’s can be used as both cleanser and a moisturizer,” Hewett says while massaging a model’s face with the juicy liquid and an egg-shaped gua sha tool. “Models are running from show to show, and the skin prep is both a moment for them to take a second to relax between shows, but also give their skin what it needs between makeup applications.”
For hair, Palau describes the hair as “very natural and nonchalant.” Hair was meant to have natural movement and grit (Zara’s salt spray and texture balm were used to get the look), with than 15 models wore small news boy style caps. “The Khaite show always feels very cool,” Palau says. “Very downtown girls with uptown money.”
