Louis Vuitton is launching make-up at last. Here’s why Pat McGrath is just the person for the job

The autumn/winter 2025 shows are in full swing, and there is no one busier than make-up artist Dame Pat McGrath. McGrath, who will clock up 15 shows this season alone, can typically found backstage conceptualising out-of-this-world runway beauty looks during fashion month, but today she is front and centre, as it is announced that Louis Vuitton is launching its first, much anticipated foray into make-up – La Beauté Louis Vuitton – with McGrath at the helm. Stepping into the newly created role of creative director of cosmetics at the house (Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud leads on the existing fragrance line as master perfumer), McGrath has already been behind the scenes at the shows for the past 20 years, and working on the product development of this line for the past four – all while presiding over her own eponymous brand, Pat McGrath Labs.

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Make-up aficionados will know that this isn’t the first time McGrath has created products for a major brand. While not as forward facing, she was the mastermind behind the launches of Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci’s beauty lines. But this, this, is something special. And now that she can talk about it at last, her excitement is palpable.

“People have been asking me for years, ‘When is make-up is coming for Louis Vuitton?’ Now I can finally say it’s happening,” she says. “I have been creating make-up looks for Louis Vuitton for many years. We have a shared vision of beauty and collaborate in a way that feels entirely natural, but every season there is a surprise and a twist! La Beauté Louis Vuitton is a perfect extension of the journey we’ve been on together.”

So how does it differ from Pat McGrath Labs? Can the two co-exist? “Of course!” she cries. “La Beauté Louis Vuitton is the absolute highest level of craftsmanship. With product development I have always been obsessed with the smallest of details and the perfection needed in product texture… the precise application methods, just the right amount of pigment pay-off, and how products should make you feel,” she continues. “Pushing boundaries in formula innovation and sensory exploration is part of my own brand’s DNA. It can really lead to groundbreaking results and this new venture is no different.” It all makes sense when you look at the creatives the house has brought in before Pat. The late Virgil Abloh remained at his own brand, Off-White, whilst heading up menswear at Vuitton, and Pharrell Williams has followed in his footsteps while continuing to carve out his own path as a musician and entrepreneur. As with Abloh and Williams, this new partnership promises to be epic.