BEAUTIFUL
CHLOE BARNARD
BEAUTIFUL:
A REPORT ON BEAUTY
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BEAUTY
A COMBINATION OF QUALITIES, SUCH AS SHAPE, COLOUR OR FORM, THAT PLEASES THE AESTHETIC SENSES, ESPECIALLY THE SIGHT.
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We think of beauty as something exceptional. Yet there is ample evidence that what makes you beautiful is something quite different. We find most attractive those things that look familiar to us, including faces. We like eyes that are an average distance apart, and average-sized noses that are an average distance from a top and bottom lip. A symmetrical face is considered more beautiful. Today being beautiful is a lot more complex. The standards and ideals of beauty have become extremely problematic and intricate. It used to be simple to be beautiful. Being beautiful was associated with class and money, or defined by age, gender, colour, body shape or size. In Ancient Egyptian times, if you were prosperous enough you would paint your eyes with black kohl and this alone would make you beautiful. This use of cosmetics was to impress people - that has not changed. However the processes we go about impressing people through beauty have developed and transformed immensely. Today beauty is not as black and white. To give a definition of ‘what is beautiful’ would be very complex, there is not a definition that can define truly. One persons opinion of what is beautiful can be different to another. However there is a new version of beauty that seems to be transforming our perceptions. This report will look at four significant problems with beauty. Problems that have made our standards of beauty rise and our definition of beautiful change. Four problems - unsolved. Following these studies the report will look at what is considered as beautiful now and the changing faces of the beauty industry. Redefining beautiful.
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PROBLEM 1: SEEMING LIKE A CLONE We all try so hard to be different, but it is fact – we are not so different. We are told what to do and how to do it. By trying the same processes and conforming to the same beauty ideals, this makes us clones. Not clones likening Dolly the sheep, but clones of a standard. Clones of an industry that strives for the highest expectations. Being unique is hard when you are told what to do. It is a rare find. Maybe we should stop listening. If we perused our own ideas we would all be very different.
SYMMETRICAL FACES SCIENTIFICALLY BEAUTIFUL Symmetry is deemed a beautiful thing. Bees are more attracted to symmetrical flowers as they produce more nectar and therefore are sweeter. Good symmetry shows that an individual has the genetic goods to survive development, is healthy, and is a good and fertile choice for mating. Symmetry is key to a plastic surgeons process; beauty can be quantified by mathematical measurements and ratios. It can be defined by distances between features and the size of features. Fashion photographer Alex John Beck experimented with a series of faces. He mirrored one side of the face to the other to create an entirely symmetrical face. This was called ‘Both Sides of 2013’. A symmetrical face is received by our brains more acceptingly and therefore considered more attractive. Babies have also shown signs of responding to symmetry better than an object or shape that has asymmetric tendencies. 5
A BEAUTIFUL BALANCE
Mirroring halves of faces Photograph by John Alex Beck
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NATURAL BEAUTY BODY MODIFICATIONS WHICH ARE IN LINE WITH OUR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE NATURAL, WHILST THOSE THAT DEVIATE FROM THE NORM ARE SEEN AS UNNATURAL.
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PLASTIC FANTASTIC Plastic surgery is no longer a taboo, in fact it is so openly talked about now that you no longer have to shy away from the truth that you may have had a tuck here and a lift there. The acceptance of surgery has led to numbers going under the knife to increase massively. It is not just the volume of people having cosmetic procedures but it is also the sheer number of different types of surgeries available. As it becomes further accepted in our society, more people will go and become that little bit closer to perfection. As surgery statistics rise beauty standards escalate. It is virtually possible to have anything you consider not to be beautiful to be corrected by surgery. New treatments are frequently being offered. The gap between supermodels legs - you can now have that at the expense of your bank account and thirty minutes of a surgeon’s day. Or, ever dreamt of eyelashes like Twiggy’s? How about having an eyelash transplant to correct your unfortunate stubby lid hair. Lunchtime cosmetic procedures have also become as simple as a trip to Pret a Manger – you can now have your lips filled in and wrinkles ironed out in a lunchtime and return to work as if it never happened. We all queue up in the clinic, one after the other receiving our resolutions to being beautifulclones. The accessibility of such regimes has made it very easy to correct our insecurities. As medical technology develops procedures will get easier and more affordable meaning that the normalisation of surgery will only keep raising our values of beauty.
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Photograph by Jamie Nelson for Vogue Mexico 2014
CONTOURING Photograph from Pinterest
WE CAN NOW HAVE THE CHISELLED CHEEKBONES WE ALWAYS DREAMT OF
Contouring is a hard business. It is a process that gives shape to an area of the face and enhancing the facial structure. All you have to do is search YouTube and you will be bombarded with endless amounts of contouring tutorials. But dedication and persistence is the key as it takes a large chunk out of your day to achieve a bone structure like Kim Kardashian. We can blame Kim for this inclination. She is the crowned queen of contouring and introduced the world to it as she did herself, with a big bang. Now everyone wants cheekbones, lips and eyes like Kim’s. This has raised make up standards. Contouring has created a whole new lie, realistically we are not all gifted with defined bone structure, luscious lips and exquisite eyes. Two hours later after applying a bucketful of contouring make up we are transformed into mini a Kim – sounds perfect. Once we scrub off the lie before bed we are back to realistic normality – is it worth the effort to tell a lie? Contouring is a far cry from reality. But is it just a fad or are we in fact going to be this way inclined for the rest of our years? If so, set your morning alarm for a suitable hour earlier, you might need it to complete your full contouring regime just in time for work.
49% OF WOMEN HAVE TRIED CONTOURING AND 17% OF WOMEN USE CONTOURING TECHNIQUES IN THEIR EVERYDAY ROUTINE.
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THE SUPREMACY OF MAKE UP MAKE UP - COMPULSORY? THE CREATION OF A NEW IDENTITY. AN IDENTITY THAT UNCOVERS A NEW FOUND CONFIDENCE. Make up can be transforming to our appearance but also an essential in our everyday lives. Make up has the power to create features on the face that people do not naturally have. For example, with the process of contouring you can create thinner noses, higher cheekbones, smaller chins and dashing foreheads. Just by using different shades of colours and effectively painting the face someone can be completely transformed. As our make up has developed into fancy long lasting lipsticks and metallic eyeshades the options are endless. The processes of using make up has advanced too, we are learning more about how to apply our make up than ever before. Does it make us weak that we do our make up the way we are told to? Do we always do what we are told? Is it compulsory? NARS released a series of photographs demonstrating their summer collection of make up. The photographs show the model before and after their make up transformation. The alteration is extreme in these cases and shows how the use of make up can transform us into a new being.
94% OF WOMEN SAID THEY FEEL MORE CONFIDENT WITH MAKE UP ON AND 32% OF WOMEN WOULD NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT IT.
WE LIVE BY A STAPLE DIET, MAKE UP IS JUST PART OF IT
NARS Summer 2011 Collection
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365
DAYS OF MAKEUP
LERNERT & SANDER NATURAL BEAUTY
NARS
Make up can be horrifyingly scary. How about a 365 day make over? Artists Lernert and Sander did just this. They applied 365 days of make up to a model in one day and the after effect was shocking. The result showed the total large consumption of products we use in a year. In the experiment they used seven bottles of foundation, two bottles of eye cream, three bottles of lip cream and two bottles of blush colour. It raises questions of what impact does this amount of application of make up have on skin and your health.
The model after her 365 day make over
PROBLEM 2: TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED Our perceptions and deception’s are rose tinted by technological barriers. We now live a very complex lie. In the same way that a video goes viral, so does our lives. Technology has created pressures amongst us, not to the extent that someone has put a knife to your back, but that everyone now knows what you did last summer and who you kissed on that beach in Goa. As technology becomes more advanced and the invasive internet has cascaded our lives, our standards of beauty have become a whole lot higher and more complicated.
INSTAGRAM BEAUTY IDEALS OUR SECOND LIVES - THEY ARE TRULY WONDERFUL A NEW IDENTITY Instagram is a platform that allows us to create ourselves a new identity. With the use of editing applications and filters it allows us to enhance our photographs of ourselves to entire new standards. The values of beauty on Instagram are above and beyond anything in the natural world. Being beautiful on Instagram takes time and dedication. It allows us to create the identity we always dreamt of. A new identity where everything is perfection - there is no such thing as flaws. We are now busier than ever, running our real lives and our social media ones. 17
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Typical imagery from Instagram is unbelievable. Celebrities are partly to blame for this. They now have accessible accounts in which they post impeccable Selfies of themselves, which hypnotizes us into thinking this is what everyone looks like, therefore we need to conform and take part in such rituals. The standards are high. High and mighty. Imagery from standard accounts are displayed here after searching beauty tags. Hash tags such as ‘natural beauty’ deliver results of quite the opposite. A pornographic look is common, made-up faces, long hair, unrealistic tans and huge boobs. Natural? No.
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NATURAL BEAUTY IS DEAD FILTERING APPS TOOK ITS PLACE.
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EMOJI CULTURAL UPDATE Apple launched its update earlier this year, which featured a series of multicultural emoji’s on their redesigned keyboard. Any human icon can now get a new skin tone if the user taps and holds the character to change the skin tone. The available skin tones are based on five tones in the Fitzpatrick scale, a dermatology standard adopted by the Unicode Consortium. This much needed and requested change on the Apple update has given a sense of freedom to those who felt they were trapped in a Caucasian idealistic world. But is this too late? The update has expressed diversity and presented the fact that beauty comes in all shapes, colours and sizes. We are all different. However we all knew that already. We have done for a long time. Now it is hard to see the light, its 2015 and we are in a technologically booming society and we have only just got multicultural emoji’s? The fear of creating them may have come from the ideologies that we all want to be the same. We do not want to be different from each other. But we are all different.
THE MORE WE ADVANCE, THE MORE WE DECLINE
SELFISH SELFIES Selfies have taken over the world. Selfies are everywhere. You could relate them to marmite - you either love them or you hate them. There’s the high angle Selfie, awkwardly featuring the photographer’s arm. There’s the mirror self-portrait. Or there are group Selfies. Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Madonna are all serial Selfie up loaders. Even the Obama children were spotted posing into their mobile phones at their father’s second inauguration. The Selfie spectacle has raised the self-portrait standards to a new level. We do not just take Selfies; we then vigorously edit them, filter them and compile them into collages to suit our needs.
Photograph by Ellen DeGeneres, Selfie at the Oscars
The very long stick that gets waved around in your face when you are in the Louvre in Paris or a pub in Brixton, is the Selfie stick. This somewhat irritating but clever device is very important for our other identities that we have created on social media. The device has bought the Selfie to a whole new world. A world that has endless opportunities. After the Selfie stick for your mobile, What will come next? Will it be a set of studio lights, a tripod or a reflector kit? The more we advance, the more we decline. Selfies are selfish - putting ourselves at the centre of everything we see, marking the landscape with our faces, as though the only interest of the outside world is that we are in it. 24
PROBLEM 3: WE LIVE IN A CELEBRITY CULTURE KIM KIM KIM, KARDASHIAN KARDASHIAN KARDASHIAN - Words that slip off the tongue very easily. We know so much about her it seems as if she may even be our best friend. However the influence and impact she has on our lives and the way we see beauty is insidious. However it is not only Kim telling us to jump and we say how high? Celebrities are setting the standard universally more than ever before. The obsession with celebrities has exasperated our brains. We have been brainwashed into believing that they are all naturally beautiful. They have set a new standard of beauty.
ALL CELEBRITIES ARE NATURALLY BEAUTIFUL
THE POWER OF ONE WOMAN Kim Kardashian may be obsessed with Selfies, in fact so obsessed she has released an entire book full of her personal Selfies, however our obsession is with Kim herself. Why are we so obsessed with this Californian brunette? People get very angry because she receives so much attention, yet has no ‘talent’. Is being beautiful a talent? Lets put it this way: how did Paris Hilton’s former assistant become one of the worlds most famous people? That doesn’t happen by accident, or even by luck. It may be shallow, but there is no denying that Kim Kardashian is compelling to look at. A huge part of that is genetics, but there is also a substantial part that is entirely effort on her part. She made contouring a phenomenon and taught the world all of her beauty secrets. Kim does not shy away and sets the standards for all of us. Being beautiful and staying beautiful is Kim Kardashian’s talent. The Kardashian sisters also have a sizeable part to play in our beauty deliberations. They may not do much with their time but they know how to apply make up and how to do it well.
Photograph by Nick Knight for Show Studio
Photograph by Solve Sudsbo for Love Magazine 2013
BOLD BROWS They say that eyes are the windows to the soul, however in 2009 when Cara Delevingne signed with Storm Model Management, little did she know that her eyebrows would become the soul to British beauty and transform the eyebrow world. Boasting contracts with Burberry, Chanel, La Perla and DKNY it has become almost impossible to open a magazine without seeing her face and most importantly those bold brows. Cara Delevingne has transformed the eyebrow from a carefully plucked work of art, to a free and key feature to the face. It is for once okay to break the rules of the beauty bibles, throw the tweezers in the bin, cancel the waxing appointments and let the eyebrows ‘go wild’. Now, people all over the globe are filling in and darkening their brows on their delicate faces to make them the most prominent feature. The eyebrows, before becoming such an essential fashion accessory, are there to prevent sweat, water and other debris from falling into the eye socket. Apart from this practical reason, the eyebrows are also a fundamental part of human communication and facial expression. The eyebrows strengthen expressions as they move during communication and give definition to the eyes and the forehead. The Cara Brow trend however may not be so beneficial to all. Cara’s eyebrows will not suit everyone, because of their dark and daring nature they are at risk of swamping a dainty face. Not only could they overwhelm a face, they could alter ones natural facial expression considerably. However despite the risks, Britain has adapted to a new beauty standard and gone for bold brows.
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EXPRESSING PERFECTION
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Photograph by Mario Testino for Vogue April 2015
REALITY TV THE NOT SO REAL HOUSEWIVES The real housewives are not so real. The housewives are filmed around the globe and are frequently seen on our screens. Hard to miss those peroxide blonde mops and bloated lips? The reality TV show is really not that real. The housewives have a whole new platform of beauty. With constant trips to the plastic surgeon and visits to the hair salon as common as the school run, they are certainly on a new level. Maybe it is because they are worried about their wealthy husbands running off with a new younger version of them, or that in their social circles this is the norm. These ideals though are what we watch and consume everyday on our TV. We consequently become immune to their extreme looks and start to duplicate aspects of it or dream of such things. It is not natural, it is very unnatural.
THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX The Essex reality TV show hit our screens with a thud. Tans resembling ketchup, superficially long hair extensions and eyelashes going over the brow, it cannot to be missed. These men and women are bringing in new beauty ideals. A ‘Vajazzle’ – gems placed and stuck to your pubic area. Only in Essex. Once again, we are force fed these ideals through such programmes; gradually we become immune to them. Believing that this is reality. After all it is reality television, what is there not to believe?
Bravo TV
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AMERICANISATION
Cher Lloyd - ‘Sorry I’m Late’ Album cover after her Americanistaion
When introduced into the celebrity world in 2010 on UK XFactor Cher was a far cry from your average celebrity. With wonky eyebrows, pale skin and irregular teeth - she was rough around the edges. However once her career took off and her venture carried on to America, her image progressively changed. Today Cher Lloyds Americanisation process is complete. She boasts a perfect porcelain white smile, symmetrical eyebrows and a consistent glowing tan. This change she has endured confirms that celebrities have elevated beauty standards. This process however is not unique to Cher, when Cheryl Cole was first introduced into the WAG circle she was in a similar position to Cher – just not quite perfect enough. As new celebrities become more engrossed in their celebrity culture and their fortune increases the prospects of correcting their flaws becomes affordable and therefore normality. These transformations in the celebrity world mirror back into the real world and the barrier between celebrities and us become more blurred as we just clone and conform to what they do. In nutshell – we are all mini Kim’s, Cara’s and Kendall’s – just not famous ones
PROBLEM 4: DISHONESTY STARTS YOUNG Our standards of beauty are drummed into us at a very early age. We are exposed to false advertising and imagery from the word dot. With dishonesty starting so young there is no hope for our future generations. The lies will never be erased if they are created so early on.
#NOTSORRY From a very early age girls are given Barbie dolls. These dolls then become their favourite toy, best friend and their role model. However Barbie may not be the ideal role model for a young girl. Her very perfect face with lashes longer than Penelope Cruz and legs beating in length of Cameron Diaz’s, Barbie is telling a very big lie. Barbie is unrealistic. Measurements of Barbie have been compared to an average woman and the results are extremely shocking. Her neck, legs and arms measurements are significantly longer than they should be. Her waist is half the size of the average woman’s. It is not just Barbie’s body, her face is picture perfect. Mascara, eye shadow, perfectly plucked eyebrows and lipstick are just some of the attributes Barbie boasts. But for a five-year-old girl aspiring to be like Barbie, their make up processes start young. Mattel has created a Barbie make up range too so girls are encouraged to use make up from a young age, just like Barbie. BARBIE IS EVERYWHERE. 33
PROBLEM SOLVED:
LAMMILY Barbie’s lie has been resurrected by a woman called Amanda Lamm. She created ‘Lammily’ – a more realistic alternative to Barbie. Lammily has more accurate proportions and beauty ideals to an average woman and should be a better role model for young girls as expectations are not too high. However Lammily has not been popular and although her morals are better intended than Barbie’s, both adults and children opt for Barbie. Mattel recently also created other cultural adaptations of Barbie, for example in Asia they released ‘Ling’ – the Asian version of Barbie, with dark hair and typical features of an Asian woman. However Ling was not popular with Asian girls and they are still asking for the mainstream western blonde version of Barbie. In the battle of the Barbie doll, today it seems that any solution made to delete any brainwashing high expectations of beauty on our youth of today is impossible.
BARBIE WILL LIVE ON 34
D IS H O Photograph by Paolo Ballesteros, Kandee Johnson transforms herself into Barbie
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N EST Y Classic Barbie - Mattel
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Photograph by Andrey Yakovlev Series ‘Retro Flight Attendant’
TO TAKE TO THE SKIES YOU HAVE TO BE BEAUTIFUL Cabin crew have always had, and still have, strict beauty requirements. Some airlines request certain make up to go with their uniform and to be in keeping with the airlines aesthetics. Colours of lipsticks and eye shadows have become very mandatory to an airlines image. Virgin Atlantic cabin crew - male and female - must attend a ‘groom school’ at the airline’s base near Gatwick Airport. The school teaches the company’s staunch rules on appearance, which includes a minimum make up requirement. Stewardesses are requested to wear mascara, blusher and red lipstick. The airline even has its own shade of lipstick - Upper Class Red by Bare Minerals, which exactly matches the uniform. Nails should be red too, or smartened with a French manicure or pale pink polish. Air Asia also has its own unusual requests, asking for cabin crew applicants to be aged between 20 and 28 with excellent eyesight. Such requirements are discriminating in our ‘free world’ today. Beauty standards for jobs are perhaps regarded as old fashioned, however nothing has been done about it. What do you expect when you fly? Does a pretty air hostess set sights high for a fantastic holiday in the Maldives? Or merely just a thing you do not notice in the excitement of going on holiday. Flying is a glamorous thing, always has been, but insisting your staff wear make up - is this a practice older than its time? Appearance requirements in certain jobs are mandatory. However, to work for a hotel, you would not think you would need to meet strict beauty standards. Nevertheless, the lavish seven star Burj Al Arab in Dubai has stupendously strict appearance desires. Staff are recruited by their ‘good looks’. Wealthy customers are supposed to respond better to people that are more appealing to the eye. If you are paying £10,000 a night its very easy to have your requests met. Discriminating or not, having a pleasing facade makes your job prospects a whole lot higher.
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Beyonce Self-titled Album Cover 2013
DOUBLE STANDARDS No, this is not genetics. No, lets not pretend this is something new. Beyoncé’s skin has got whiter and whiter as she has got older. What does this say about our society? It says that as an independent, strong and extremely successful woman of colour she is still unable to embrace her skin tone. If Beyoncé has to lighten her skin for projection then what about the rest of us? What standard is this setting? A double one. In recent advertisements by L’Oreal, a massive global brand, either photo-shopping techniques have been used to lighten Beyoncé’s skin tone, or she has undergone lightening beauty regimes herself. L’Oreal is not the first brand to have been accused of editing celebrities to fit in with today’s ideals. In 2011 L’Oreal was forced to pull advertising campaigns featuring Julia Roberts, as there were complaints the Pretty Woman star was over airbrushed. Dove released a series of ‘real beauty’ campaigns which celebrated the diversity of beauty and that we are all different. Hypocritical – as they were marketing ‘firming’ creams to tackle cellulite. Then it was later announced that these ‘real women’ were digitally manipulated. What is the truth? You can’t have a ‘real women’ campaign and then digitally enhance it. It is all just lies.
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EAST MEETS WEST ASIAN DELIGHTS You’ve heard and seen it all: Asians like pale skin, double eyelids and thinner noses. Plastic and cosmetic surgery is booming in Asia, South Korea if one of the world’s plastic surgery capital. By some estimates, the country has the highest rate of plastic surgery per capita in the world. If you want to take a self-confidence hit and feel bad about your looks, go to the streets of Seoul. The subways are plastered with advertisements for plastic surgery, before and after pictures are broadcast ceiling to floor, with blunt captions telling you that everyone has gone under the knife, so you better do it now. The boulevards are lined with clinic after clinic, hospital after hospital, all offering bargain procedures promising fantastic results. The surgeries that are publicized are inclined towards westernization. A typical high-school graduation gift for a Korean teenager is either a nose job or a blepharoplasty, also called a double-eyelid surgery, which is by far the most common procedure performed in Korea. The insertion of a crease into your eyelid to make your eyes look bigger. Sounds extreme? It gets worse. Jaw slimming surgery - achieves a desirably narrow jawline by breaking the jaw and using saws to realign the bones. High standards – they are the only two words that can be used to describe Asian beauty. A race that is being deracialized. Keeping up with today’s principles of beauty in Asia is insufferable. It’s about geography.
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BEAUTY IS IN THE GEOGRAPHY Photograph by Alex Evans in Chloe Beauty Magazine
SOLVING THE PROBLEM: SIGNS OF HONESTY
It is not all bad. Dishonesty may be part of our DNA now, but there are those that are fighting against it. Some celebrities are not embracing the correction procedures and keeping their flaws just the way they are. For example – have you looked at Cheryl Coles nose? Or Lara Stones teeth? These are all examples of embracing what God gave you, and not doing what is expected of you - pulling out all stops to make it correct. Fashion changes all the time. As we develop and advance, beauty does too. More is expected of us. Our standards get higher. There are some anomalies however. Brands and people are making attempts to change the face of fashion. Some brands are producing campaigns with more realistic people. Modelling agencies are taking on people with flaws. True. Will this be enough?
UGLY MODELLING AGENCY A new kind of modeling agency. A modeling agency that is making a change. A change our unrealistic world needs. UGLY takes on people who have something different about them, perhaps a flaw that would ordinarily be a taboo, But UGLY embrace it. They like their women fat, their men geeky. Or extraordinarily tall people, or shockingly small. No one is too abstract for them. They are ugly and they love it.
CHANGING FACES OF FASHION CHALLENGING BEAUTY IDEALS
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Photograph by Philippe Halsman
Photograph by Bert Stern for Vogue 1963
With a career spanning six decades Barbra Streisand is an icon in entertainment. Streisand is not afraid of having imperfections, in fact she celebrates hers. Her pronounced nose is famous within itself. With being consumed by celebrity culture you would expect her to have had ironed out her flaw, but instead she has had countless photographs taken of her profile which enhances the view of her nose. Her nose is bigger than average and considered uneven. This embrace by a celebrity gives hope to us non-celebs. It is okay to be different. It is the courage of Barbra that attempts to keep our standards of beauty down, however it will take more this Streisand’s nose to bring us back down to reality. IF BARBRA CAN HAVE A BIG NOSE, SO CAN YOU 46
AIMEE MULLINS 47 Photograph by Howard Schatz
Aimee Mullins is a double amputee Para Olympian and is now one of the leading changing faces of fashion. She has been photographed by legends like Nick Knight, Walter Chin and Steven Klein. However Aimee is what some people would say ‘blessed’ or naturally beautiful’ and perhaps it is not just her sheer determination that has given her a modelling career but because she has an inherently stunning face. Her legs do make her different, nevertheless the photographs taken just of her face tell another story. Would she be one of our fashion icons if she did not bare such big eyes and sharp cheekbones? It is worth asking. This is a woman who has had an unfortunate start and made a great success of herself. There are many of us who have the upmost respect for her and idolise her. However we do not all have such naturally gifted attributes. It is hard to say Aimee is changing the face of fashion. She is shifting our body image perceptions. That is a start.
Photograph by Inez & Vinoodh
DAPHNE SELFE AGE IS JUST A NUMBER - FOREVER YOUNG Aged 86 and busier than ever, Daphne Selfe has been modelling for more than 60 years but her 80’ s seem to be the peak of her career. She’s still got it. Daphne Selfe - who has graced the pages of Vogue, Harper Bazaar and Vanity Fair - has been named the world’s oldest super model. A mane of silver hair, an elongated neck, high cheekbones, intelligent, bright, lively eyes, and all etched upon her face, she is not your typical beauty. But age is just a number. Youth is often associated with beauty. Daphne has brought a new light to our opinions on age. To see her in advertising campaigns such as TK Maxx is liberating, a woman in her 80’s who is not depicted in a care home, suffering from dementia or sat at home in her Marks and Spencer’s cardigan watching Countdown. A vital beauty graced with power and sex appeal. No Botox and no facelift. A natural beauty. There is such thing as growing old gracefully and Daphne demonstrates this. This could be the start of something new. A new generation who accepts age and growing old. May Daphne and her fellow cohort continue to change the way we see beauty.
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Photograph by Iakovos Kalaitzakis
Photograph by Nick Ballon
Photograph by Mery Rozzi
CHANTELLE WINNIE WILL THE WORLD STOP NOTICING HER VITILIGO?
Chantelle Winnie is a model in demand. She has embraced the pages of our magazines and her army of fans includes artists, designers and photographers. Former contestant on the US Next Top Model and the face of Desigual she has changed the fashion industry by a storm. She has become a symbol of diversification. Her beauty is undeniable. Her skin breaks down the barricades of what we consider to be beautiful. Why does she break down the barriers? Her skin is not a normal sight. It is abnormal. She suffers from a condition called Vitiligo. The white patches of her skin are unique markings. Like a Cheetah. Her beauty breaks back down to science – her markings are symmetrical. If she were to have asymmetrical markings, would she be one of our most inspirational models? It’s back to basics – symmetry. It is more appealing to our eyes and brains. Humans want to see the same types of people all the time, because that is what we are used to. We are simple creatures – we do not like change. However this is a change that we are slowly adapting to. It will just take us a little bit of time.
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Photograph by Matt Barnes
53 Photograph by Sarah Kjelleren
SHAUN ROSS & DIANDRA FORREST WANTING TO IDENTIFY THE STRANGE
By definition, a model is an archetype, an example to imitate. Within those standards, Shaun Ross and Diandra Forrest are models of imperfection. Both young models were born with albinism, a condition that results in little or no pigment in the skin. Neither of them are ‘conventionally beautiful’ but they are edgy. And edgy makes them beautiful. While the catwalks continue to be dominated by waif-like bodies, angular faces and round eyes, Ross and Diandra arrived on the scene just as the modelling industry is questioning about what it means to be beautiful. Albinism in modelling has never really been seen and arguably there is not enough racial diversity in the modelling industry. There are a limited number of diverse models. This needs to change.
Photograph by Alexander Haessner
Photograph by Emin for West East Magazine 2012
MOFFY
MEET MOFFY, THE CROSS-EYED MODEL What sets her apart is her crossed eyes—her eyes are beautiful, huge, and greenish-grey, but they do not align. She has cross- eyes. In the 21st century it’s uncharacteristic for someone in the public eye to be anything less than perfect, it’s refreshing to see someone who is not a match. Ultimately breaking the mould of beauty.
Photograph by Tyrone Lebon for POP Magazine
BREAKING THE MOULD OF BEAUTY She had her debut on the cover of POP, now the accidental model’s unconventional looks have earned her another big modelling gig, We are sure to be seeing more of those eyes as she has just signed with Storm Model Management. Moffy’s sign up with Storm is a breakthrough. A revelation. To be in the books alongside our perceptions of perfection, Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford, is a sign of change. Moffy should be the first of many. 57
Photograph by STORM Model Management
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Photograph byJosef Jasso
RICK GENEST ZOMBIE BOY Tattooed as a living skeleton, Rick Genest is far from normal. He was not born this way, or given a gift from God - this is just pure self-infliction. He is one of the most tattooed people in the world. Rick Genest got his original tattoo as a teenager: a skull and crossbones on his shoulder. This marked the creation of a life-long dedication to body modification, as he gradually inked himself with an entire human skeleton, and an intricate skull on his face. These characteristic markings all over his body have made Zombie Boy recognisable. He is different. Rick is sending out a message to the fashion industry, a strong one. It is okay to be different, but it is also okay to make yourself look different. Body modification is acceptable and should be talked about. Conventional beauty is deceased. Being beautiful in your own way is what being beautiful is. Genest made a choice. Its not a crime.
WE ARE ALL A WORK OF ART – IN PROGRESS
ADAPTING ADVERTISING There has been a major shift when it comes to diversity in beauty advertising and magazine beauty editorial spreads. It has been a long time coming. After suffering such high expectations for so long there has been change. The Dove ‘Real Beauty’ campaign broke the mould, succeeding in its mission to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence not anxiety. If this told us anything, it’s that consumers are hungry for something different – messages they can respond to and brands they can truly believe in.
Photograph by Ogilvy & Mather 61
Diesel’s innovative advertising is hard to miss. A series of images that appeal to a new generation set on instant gratification. Diesel is a brand that does not shy away from keeping their clothing and advertising campaigns edgy and provocative. People from various subcultures around the world are shown in the recent campaigns, which is a reflection of how you are not alone, we are all connected.
Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh
WE ARE ALL CONNECTED
These women are real; they are high flying, leading ladies. However they are not the fashion models that sprawl our glossy magazines. This makes the Marks and Spencer’s series of adverts about real women different. With women such as acid attack victim Katie Piper and creative director of American Vogue and car crash victim Grace Coddington, these are women who have embraced beauty in different ways to your typical advert girl. They are leading ladies. Embracing what they have ben given, leading us to new truthful views on beauty. An extraordinary group of exceptional women; this campaign is the embodiment of true British style, quality and most importantly diversity.
LEADING LADIES
Photograph by Annie Leibovitz
Photograph by Tim Walker
LANVIN
CELEBRATING THE OLDER YEARS Fashion’s current celebration of older women by Lanvin in their SS15 campaign could seem like a current passing phase, but it does seem like it may be more than that judging by the ubiquity of older women fronting campaigns. Julia Roberts (aged 47) is the new face of Givenchy, Joni Mitchell (aged 71) for Saint Laurent and Joan Didion (aged 80) is the prominent poster girl for Céline. The French fashion house has chosen a handful of beautiful mothers to pose alongside their daughters in mischievous mirrored images shot by legendary Tim Walker. Model veterans Violetta Sanchez, Pat Cleveland and Kirsten Owen are leading Lanvin’s mother/daughter motif which began with founder Jeanne Lanvin and her daughter. The contrast between the old and the new is refreshing. Lanvin have done the mums proud. A changing technique in advertising. Inspirational.
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STANDARDS ARE CHANGING The word beauty is a controversial word. It is only until recently that the beauty and fashion industry have taken a step backwards and revaluated the word. The revaluation has allowed the standards of beauty to change. Global perspective, diversity and unusual beauty are the keys to changing the definition of beautiful. We now understand that there is a link between beauty and diversity. Diversity is vital to the change of our standards. It is now okay to be different. Different is what sets us apart from one another and gives us our own identity. With individual identities we have more freedom. Celebrities are part to blame for our high standards of beauty and they influence us to conform to ideals. We will never win the fight against advancing technology however we can resist the archetypes of beauty presented to us through it. We are seeing a change in advertising, but these are few and far between. The likes of Dove and Lanvin should be leading the way. They need to become normality. The shift in advertising featuring women of different shapes, sizes and ethnicity contributes to building our self-esteem. It may take us time to accept changes; this is because we are creatures of habit, but we will adapt.
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A NEW BEAUTY IS BORN
Creative direction, photography and writing: Chloe Barnard Layout Assistance: Mariam Gomez
REFERENCES American Psychological Association BBC Bustle.com Business Insider Business of Fashion CNN News Elle Magazine Harpers Bazaar Huffington Post Icon Magazine Examiner.com Fashionista Mail Online National Geographic PAPER Thandie Kay Telegraph Beauty The Coveteur The Daily Beast The Gloss The Independent The Observer Ulster Medical Society Vogue Magazine Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful - By Daniel S. Hamermesh Reconcilable Differences: Confronting Beauty, Pornography, and the Future of Feminism - By Lynn S. Chancer The Beauty Myth (Vintage Feminism Short Edition) - By Naomi Wolf Decades of Beauty - By Kate Mulvey, Melissa Richards Selling Ourselves: Marketing Body Images - By Dana Meachen Rau Adi贸s, Barbie: Young Women Write about Body Image and Identity - By Ophira Edut 70
BEAUTIFUL
CHLOE BARNARD