Taylor Swift Rewrites '60s Eyeliner at the 2026 VMAs

At the 2026 VMAs, Taylor Swift paired her signature black wing with white liner and a soft brown layer—a wearable update on Twiggy's defining '60s eye.

By Grace KimSeptember 28, 20262 min read

Updated September 28, 2026

Taylor Swift Put a Fresh Spin on ’60s Eyeliner at the 2026 VMAsElogia Marketing4eCommerce / Openverse

The takeaway

Taylor Swift wore a three-layer '60s eyeliner look—black wing, white lower liner and a soft brownish wing beneath it—to the 2026 MTV VMAs at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 27.
Swift is nominated for nine awards at the 43rd annual ceremony and wore a Tamara Ralph Fall/Winter 2026 Couture gown.
The look echoes both Twiggy's painted-on lower lashes and Sabrina Carpenter's dimensional smoky eye from the 2025 Met Gala, both built on white waterline liner plus darker liner below.

Taylor Swift arrived at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards with a three-layer take on '60s eyeliner, built on her signature black wing and bright white liner underneath.

The singer walked the red carpet at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27, as a nine-time nominee at the 43rd annual ceremony. The look immediately referenced a defined era of beauty history rather than a trend of the month.

The construction is more complex than it first appears. Beyond the black wing and the white liner along the lower lash line sits a third element: a soft, brownish wing placed just beneath the white. That brown layer adds depth to the eye without tipping the whole look into a full smoky eye. It is the difference between a graphic liner statement and a smudged, blended one—and Swift landed firmly on the graphic side.

The reference point is unmistakable. The combination channels Twiggy, the model whose bold black liner and painted-on lower lashes defined the '60s eye. White liner along the lower lash line was a standard trick of that decade, used to make eyes look bigger and brighter. Swift's version updates the formula for 2026: she trades Twiggy's drawn-on lower lashes for a subtler, more wearable finish. The brown wing does the work those painted lashes once did, creating dimension in a way that reads modern rather than costume.

Swift kept the rest of the makeup restrained. The complexion was dewy. The lip was a soft peachy-coral. Blush came in as a hint of rosy color. Nothing competed with the eye.

Her hair followed the same logic. The honey-toned strands fell just below her shoulders, slightly tousled, with piecey full bangs. The natural texture complemented her Tamara Ralph Fall/Winter 2026 Couture gown.

There is a more recent reference point too, and it came from a stage Swift knows well. Sabrina Carpenter wore a dimensional smoky eye at the 2025 Met Gala built on the same principles. Carpenter leaned harder into the retro vibe than Swift did, but the two looks share an identical formula: a deep, defined upper lash line, white liner on the waterline to open up the eyes, and darker liner placed just below it for depth.

That formula is proving durable on major red carpets. One appearance is a styling choice; two, from two of pop's biggest names within a single awards season cycle, suggests the layered '60s eye is becoming a repeatable template rather than a one-off reference. Expect the three-part structure—black wing, white waterline, brown lower wing—to show up on beauty counters and tutorial feeds as the accessible version of a couture-eye moment.

Source: NewBeauty