When you are invited on a two-day jaunt to the Dominican Republic to attend a fashion show from an iconic designer such as Oscar De La Renta—in the middle of December in New York, no less—you do not say no under any circumstances. This is the advice I would give anyone, having just done that. And lucky me, as Coveteur’s preeminent beauty contributor, I also got the privilege of documenting the backstage makeup, keyed by everyone’s favorite hot-girl makeup artist, Patrick Ta.
I knew that Oscar De La Renta is known for creating elegant party dresses in varying degrees of playfulness and polish, but I also learned that this Pre-Fall 2026 show was being held in Santo Domingo as an homage to his hometown and the 60th anniversary of the house of Oscar. The island's influence is all over his archival collections in the prints, motifs, and colors. But this show brought it home even more, with a cast of 50 models, all of Dominican descent, and local hairstylists and makeup artists assisting backstage. Ta had worked with Oscar De La Renta creative directors, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, previously having done makeup for their brand Monse, and he was the obvious and only choice for one of their last collections with De La Renta.
Backstage, the models had their skin prepped with an Allies of Skin skincare routine and expert facial sculpting by the brand’s lead esthetician, Leyen Tran (who also blessed my mug with her unique combination of LED, microcurrent, and energetic meridian massage, with the strongest hands I’ve ever experienced, wringing out my lymphatic system).
When I got to peek backstage pre-rehearsal, Patrick Ta was holding court, dusting his finishing touches on the models. The look for the show? The “Santo Domingo glow": brushed up brows, vibrant blush draped high on the cheekbones and up to the temples, and juicy, glossed lips. It’s a look that translates well from runway to real life, thankfully.
Sable Yong
Personally, I love when a runway look is achievable IRL because who wouldn’t want to replicate the Santo Domingo Glow? Especially, considering I’m writing this back in NYC, where it’s 42 degrees with a wind chill that makes the real feel 28. We might be just at the bottom of the ascent towards more daylight hours in the coming months, but replicating this makeup look can at least act as a S.A.D. lamp for my face.
