Photo: Harley Weir.
When it comes to makeup, things are changing. Where Instagram has propelled many precise and complicated beauty trends — from HD brows to elaborate contouring, ‘dewy dumpling skin’ to pillowy matte lips — into the mainstream, recently there has been a shift toward something not quite so ‘flawless’ and perfect, and well, Kylie Jenner. Recent seasons have ushered in a turn toward more messy, artistic, even weird beauty trends, such as eyes lined with graphic swipes of colour, fluorescent blushes, full-on monochromatic makeup looks, smudged lipstick and luminous wet-look shadows. Australian makeup artist and DAZED’s contributing beauty editor Thomas De Kluyver — who recently did the makeup for Gucci’s divisive first beauty campaign, shot by the Martin Parr — is one of the spearheaders of this new guard, championing beauty looks that don’t stay inside the lines.
Who better then to release a book celebrating a sloppier, more authentic and intuitive approach to makeup? For All I Want To Be, published by IDEA, the London-based makeup artist collaborated with his favourite photographers, including Harley Weir, Sharna Osborne, Fumiko Imano, Oliver Hadlee Pearch and Lea Columbo, on entirely new looks that present makeup not just as a vanity tool, but as a vital element in self-representation, identity and creative expression. In a story lensed by Pearch, for example, De Kluyver affixes oversized false lashes onto a teen girl’s lid “to catch the innocence, awkwardness and also the imperfections of adolescence,” the makeup artist explains. Meanwhile, in a story shot by Weir, models are presented in bright all-over body paint or in a full-face of glitter in outrageous experiments that push the medium to the extreme.
Having created runway beauty looks for the likes of Sies Marjan, Opening Ceremony, Kenzo and Jil Sander, De Kluyver is an exciting visionary to watch in the world of makeup. Having cut his teeth on the subculture scene in London, he regards fierce ‘90s icons like PJ Harvey and Courtney Love to be his makeup inspirations.
ll I Want To Be, published by IDEA, is out now.
All images courtesy of IDEA.