03-Plastic montage

“Even the biggest brands are trying to create campaigns which have that ultra-real, user-generated feel. That aesthetic has become ubiquitous and difficult to differentiate between,”

Cue new fashion and beauty influencers creating surrealist, cartoonish, hyper-plasticised images where lips are glossily painted, gloss is lacquered on, and plastic can be applied to the skin.

“The reaction to this will inevitably be a resurrection of the imagination,” says Grossman. “Images that have a sheen of the fantastical, the surreal, or the speculative are already starting to surface, and are a welcome antidote to amateur selfie-style.”

A recent fashion shoot featuring Ali Michael photographed by Lorenzo Vitturi for Dazed & Confused magazine adopted this aesthetic, using highly glossed red lips and exaggerated blue eye make-up with an overlay of clear plastic. “Tagline Here,” MTV’S recent branded advertisement, uses surrealist and fantastical video footage.

Ali Michael photographed by Lorenzo Vitturi for Dazed and Confused, winter 2015

Why it’s interesting: