Louise Gray's Topshop Collection Gives Summer One Last Look at Color

Like fellow fashion royalty Vivienne Westwood, British designer Louise Gray’s aesthetic is anything but black or white. Come London Fashion Week, her perennially rainbow runway somehow always surprises and delights; an innovative exploration of pattern and color gives form to almost sculptural hair and high-energy makeup—it’s just plain fun to watch! Autumn’s neutral palette aside, Louise Gray’s new Topshop makeup and clothing collab proves that a sense of self expression is paramount in beauty, no matter the season.

Her six-piece capsule collection of sequined frocks, jackets, and trousers pairs with an equally smile-inducing and out-of-the-norm makeup line. With glittered polishes and juicy lip/cheek tints housed in happy blush-toned compacts, how could you frown? This lineup is pure playtime! And while some are detoxing from summer brights this September, Louise is sticking to her sapphires-and-sequins aesthetic year-round. We asked Louise how her tongue-in-cheek approach to beauty reflects in the Topshop collection.

B: What inspired you to create the collection?

When Topshop approached me about the collection and we started designing, I really thought about what kind of things I’d want in my makeup bag and went from there. I wanted to the makeup to be really fun—like my [runway] shows. It’s just an extension of me, what I wear and how I do my makeup every day.

B: And how do you wear your makeup daily?

Sometimes I do a multi-colored cheek and bright pink lip, and the next day it’s a blue eye and a giant red beauty spot. I am all about free expression.

B: Which product captures your attention most?

The electric blue eye liner, definitely. I haven’t seen anything like it and I love wearing it every day to brighten my look. It makes me feel happy. You can use it paint on a beauty spot as well, be it a love heart or circle. I want [the Topshop customer] to experiment with the product, be daring, and have fun with it.