Face tats, boob jobs, bleached brows, oh my! Augmenting one’s appearance for aesthetic gain and cultural acceptance (or shock value) is not isolated to the present. 1930s starlet Jean Harlow, coined the original “Platinum Blonde” by tycoon Howard Hughes, used Clorox bleach (yes, the cleaning product) to achieve her famously luminous locks (a toxic regimen that is rumoured to have aided in her tragic death). Maud Stevens Wagner, wife of the electric tattoo machine inventor, was one of the first females to gain fame as a tattooed circus freak in 1907, although nowadays, we’re more likely to ooh-and-aah at the unicorn virgin who hasn’t gone under the gun.
While fakin’ what your mama gave ya’ is not a recent phenomenon, it’s never been easier to forge that daredevil charm without actually taking the plunge. Thanks to temporary tattoos and faux septum and eyebrow piercings sanctioned by notoriously picky front-row fashion authorities, looking like a beauty risk-taker has never required less balls. When did faking it stop being about making it, and start being part of the sell?
Like many of the wackiest trends to grace the tents, temporary tattoos first made their debut during Chanel’s spring/summer 10 show at NYFW. A far cry from Coco-era tweed two-pieces, models Dree Hemingway and Anja Rubik were draped in Lagerfeld-approved rosary beads, emblematic Double Cs, and garter belts – all to be smudged off with last night’s make-up. Then celebrity tattooer Scott Campbell teamed up with Marc Jacobs on a handbag collaboration for Louis Vuitton. Apropos of the collection, Jacobs sent his hunky male models down the catwalk emblazoned with temporary LV neck tattoos hand-painted by the artist.
“A fashion show is fantastical, a temporary world with characters telling a visual story. The tattoos are an element of the story, and temporary carries just as much weight as permanent,” says Campbell, whose A-list canvases include Kanye West, Heath Ledger, and Robert Downey Jr. If forever tattoos are performance art, then so are their perishable counterparts. “Designing fake tattoos is the same as designing real. You try and understand the emotional situation that the tattoo should acknowledge, and then design something that responds to those feelings,” adds Campbell.
Since Chanel’s ode to going under the needle, fashion’s fixation on flash has become as ubiquitous as ciggies, champagne, and untouched carbs backstage. From Pamela Love’s pop-up tattoo parlor to a starry-eyed Kendall Jenner on the Tommy Hilfiger runway to metallic press-on jewelry by Vogue favorite Flash Tattoos, we’re at peak faux-nomenon. But is it inked-in-stone or just fleeting? Creative entrepreneur Tina Roth Eisenberg, founder of Brooklyn based Tattly, a line of “designy” temporary tattoos with 55K Instagram followers and 100 artist collaborations to date, started her project to fight the ugly temporary tattoo epidemic. Tattly caters to discerning design-junkies, offering everything from bookish quotes and vintage cameras to Eames chairs and juicy hamburgers. According to Nic Annette Miller, head of Tattly’s creative department, a press-on can still have an enduring sentiment. “There are various reasons why people get permanent tattoos, one major reason being symbolism to themselves. Absolutely, temporary tattoos can still have this same kind of meaning when worn. Just like clothing, what you wear can affect how you feel and want to represent yourself.”
Temporary tattoos aren’t the only stunt doubles getting under the skin of the Hollywood set (or, rather, not getting under it). Purely decorative nose and eyebrow piercings, à la Givenchy and Rodarte, have spawned an obsession with for-effect-only nose rings as rocked by wild-styled Rihanna and a tame-and-timeless Jessica Biel, both forthcoming about their non-committal accessories. And we’re not talking about the rainbow sparkly stick-on earrings that brightened up the 90s; these nosepieces are delicate gold septum hoops and ornate, industrial bull-rings. In the case of Rodarte’s spring/summer 15 collection, one fake just wasn’t enough. We’re referring to the grunge-inspired faux silver eyebrow hoops glued on by makeup artist James Kaliardos, of course. Although shockingly, this eye-catching trend hasn’t caught on quite yet.
Even those who’ve vowed ’til death do us part with body art agree that temporary alternatives can complement more indelible forms. Could it be that in adulthood these once-defiant acts have lost some of their rebellious spirit? That today it’s about spicing up your look, not declaring an identity or belief system through irreversible self-modification. Designer/stylist Jayne Min of minimalist-tomboy style bible STOP IT RIGHT NOW is praised for her anti-approach to high-fashion. In addition to tattoos from the unbookable Dr. Woo, she’s been repping the real septum cuff for seven years. “I’m all for experimentation. Teenagers do it. A lot of adults I know are still doing it. Tattoos and piercings are not as subversive as they used to be,” says the Céline-and-skate-shoe-sporting blogger. “I can see how people would be reluctant to commit to a tattoo, but fake piercings to me are a little funny. You could always just take it out. But to each his/her own!”
Make-up artist and The Work Magazine Editor-in-Chief Gloria Noto has spent much of her career fuelling the fantasy of faking it. “I think [fake tattoos and piercings] are a great way to play and make sure you’re interested in said tattoo or piercing. Like a wig, it lets you be a different type of self each day.” But her inner punk is still sceptical. “The days of true ‘punk’ concepts seem to be more sparse. The things people seem outwardly interested in aren’t always inwardly true.”
So is this faux trend friend or foe? A way to test the waters or a sign of the watering-down of counterculture? With mass retail chains like Old Navy and Victoria’s Secret hopping aboard the temp tat train, and heaps of fake septum rings for just $5 on Etsy, only time will tell what truly sticks. Since we’re at it, Gloria Noto suggests, “Let’s bring back faking the Cindy Crawford lip mole with brown or black wet ‘n’ wild eyeliner.” We’re game.
Credits
Text Jane Helpern
Photography Harry Carr Rodarte spring/summer 15