Culture Shock
The Cultures Inspiring My Work Right Now
A huge part of my creative process comes from studying different visual cultures and understanding how identity is expressed through fashion, makeup and performance. Recently, I have been heavily inspired by avant garde runway design, experimental editorial photography and contemporary performance art. Japanese fashion culture has had a particularly strong influence on my work, especially the exaggerated silhouettes, layered styling and fearless approach to transformation seen within avant garde street fashion and runway design. I am also drawn to the theatrical styling language of couture designers such as John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, where fashion becomes character creation rather than simply clothing. Music culture also plays a huge role in shaping my ideas. Album artwork, performance styling and alternative fashion scenes often inspire the emotional tone and visual atmosphere behind many of my projects.
Why Cultural Influence Matters
What interests me most about different creative cultures is how they challenge traditional ideas of beauty and identity. Some cultures celebrate imperfection, exaggeration or surrealism in ways that feel much more emotionally expressive than conventional beauty standards. As a makeup artist, studying these influences helps me think beyond trends and focus more on transformation, emotion and storytelling. It encourages me to create work that feels immersive and visually distinctive rather than simply technically correct. The more I explore fashion, performance and visual art from different cultures, the more I realise prosthetic makeup can become something far bigger than special effects. It can become a form of identity design.
