Marc Jacobs unleashes an army of makeup-free women

Marc Jacobs closed out Fashion Week with his show. As most top designers went downtown, Jacobs did the opposite, heading to the Lexington Armory on 66th Street.

The vibe of the collection, said makeup artist Francois Nars pre-show, was almost militaristic.

"The beige, camels, all the neutral colors. Khakis and things like that," said Nars.

The backstage part of Jacobs' show is always a tightly controlled area, with minimal press and no social media allowed. But we got in early and spoke to Nars to get the scoop on the show, always one of the best of Fashion Week. Clothes aside, Jacobs just launched his latest scent, Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream. And there's long been talk of an IPO now that he's back to solely running his own brand.

Two things that are sure to leave fashion watchers talking post-show: the fact that attendees listened to the show on individual Beats by Dre Pro headphones, and the fact that his models wore no -- and we do mean no -- cosmetics.

It's the catwalk version of normcore. And yes, it even applied to supermodel du jour Kendall Jenner, younger sis of Kim Kardashian, who walked in his show. Which, might we add, started on the dot at 6 pm.

"We're not going to apply any makeup. Not one gram of makeup. Only moisturizing lotion and that's it. Absolutely nothing," Nars told us before the show.

What made him decide to go that route?

"With Marc, we're always very extreme. We either love the very crazy, wild look, or we like something very extreme. It makes more of a statement to send the girls completely bare," said Nars. "I love seeing a girl with no makeup."

Nars has gussied up models for some of this season's best shows: Rodarte, Alexander Wang, Thakoon and Jacobs.

It's been a big year for Nars; the brand introduced its Audacious Lipstick collection of 40 hues named after icons like Rita, Bette, Greta, and Audrey. The face of the campaign: Charlotte Rampling.