Backstage Beauty Retrospective Celebrates UK Creative Artistry At British Beauty Week Industry Day

20 Oct 2026

“The hair and makeup is the crown that sits upon the head of the whole fashion look,’ recalls Robert Fairer, the photographer who captured so many historic fashion and beauty looks (and moments) backstage during a golden era of creative artistry. A selection of his images, featuring groundbreaking beauty looks created by world-leading UK talent, welcomed guests to the British Beauty Week Industry Day. Here he recalls working with a golden era of creative talent and some of industry’s all time hair and makeup greats.

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“From 1993 to the 2010s, I did 17 or 18 years straight, between 80 to 120 collections a season in London, New York, Milan, and Paris, plus two couture seasons every year. I haven’t done the math, but one day I might,” laughs renowned photographer Robert Fairer of his inimitable backstage career. Fairer’s imagery is synonymous with the golden era of backstage beauty, capturing defining moments in contemporary fashion and beauty history. With groundbreaking looks created by some of the all time hair and makeup greats, world-leading UK talent including the likes of Pat McGrath, Sam McKnight, Val Garland, Guido Palau and Eugene Souleiman.

“Back then it was definitely a golden era, although we didn’t know it at the time. There was a freedom to experiment. There was total commitment, dedication and research by many of the hair and makeup teams and leads. You know, Guido, Eugene, Sam, Pat, Val, they really pushed things forward. They were unafraid to experiment and bring new ideas to the table and really concentrated on creating the right look for the designers. Beauty brings the designer’s clothes to life and allows the model or muse to take on the character of the clothes. It gives them the confidence to carry off the look that they are wearing on the runway. At the time it just seemed very natural and very free.”

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Robert Fairer

On working with these immense talents he says, “ It’s really interesting because I realise now that each of them created their own atmosphere backstage. So you have Pat who has a huge team and is super, super efficient. Then you’ve got Sam who’s all about the wonderful hairspray and a lovely atmosphere and everybody’s so happy to be there. Then you’ve got Eugene with the music. He played the most incredible music and travelled round with a Bose sound system which was pretty state-of-the-art in the 1990s and blasted it out backstage and everybody would be dancing in the aisles. They all brought their own character to the hair and makeup area.”

“I entered their realms as they were becoming superstars, but in the early days I’d just say hello politely and ask them if they minded me photographing them and they were always very open to it. I think, you know, I gave them the space that they needed to work but I was there, in a sense, documenting what they were creating and as time went on they’d call out and say, ‘this is the girl that you need to photograph for this show.’”

Nowadays Fairer covers special projects and commissions for the houses and says it’s an altogether different atmosphere backstage. “In the 1990s, the backstage environment was more of a functional space, not pretty and thought out, and there weren’t many photographers. Sponsorship by cosmetic companies was very much in its infancy. Fast forward to today, and many of the backstage areas are Instagram-ready and the marketing opportunities are maximized. This makes everything a bit too clean and on brand for my taste. I prefer things to be a bit edgier.”

So does he have a most memorable beauty moment? With 1.5 million images now in The Robert Fairer Archive it’s a hard ask, but here he selects some of the stand out looks he captured, for the Impact of Beauty Retrospective featuring at the British Beauty Week Industry Day.

The archive, founded and led by Creative Director Vanessa Fairer works to, ‘honour the artistry and spirit of fashion and beauty, safeguarding its moments and its makers, for future generations to study, celebrate and reimagine.’

With thanks to The Fairers for their generous support of British Beauty Week. To see more visit robertfairer.com