Nothe creative and imaginative world of My Violet everything can be painted on the skin. The young one London designer and artistdiscovered and interviewed by Dazedspecializes in body painting by airbrush, Spray painting tool that uses compressed air to atomize color in a fine and controlled manner. Mia has become famous for her creations surreal and extravagant. The designer transforms the body into a living canvascreating impossible costumes and surreal worlds painted directly on the skin: torn flesh, emerging monsters similar to gargoyle and hybrid forms cyborg style. A body dressed by his imagination. «Bodypainting has a cosplay element; it’s a fantastic way to create new characters and realities» explains Mia a Dazed. His goal? Building an imaginary that conveys to people the same sense of wonder that you feel when playing a fantasy video game.
The fantasy, erotic and ever-changing world of Mia Violet
In the body painting Of My Violet the body becomes one narrative canvason which they coexist fashion, fantasy and provocation. With theairbrush, the London artist paints non-existent clothes, cybernetic armor, tailored patterns and hyper-realistic details that look like fabric, leather or metal. His style oscillates between fantasy aesthetics, eroticism, anxiety and ironypopulated by hybrid creatures, torn flesh and cyborg figureswithout ever losing a playful dimension. Each intervention is designed to adapt to the body that wears it, transforming the person into a character and the artistic gesture in a form of performancewhere beauty and identity are continually reinvented.
The origins of body painting
The origins of body painting they are very ancient: give them Egyptians, Sumerians and Australian aborigines, man began to paint his body to transmit symbols, leave signs linked to rituals and beliefs. The modern and artistic idea of body painting was born in the first half of the 20th century when, in 1933the make-up artist Max Factor presented to Chicago World’s Fair a model with her body entirely painted, without any clothing. A gesture which, by the standards of the time, was scandalous: the intervention of the authorities was immediate and the artist was arrested on charges of outraging public decency. But the visual impact of that action left its mark, turning attention to one new expressive possibility, capable of transforming the body into a work of art to be observed and contemplated.
Airbrush and fashion: when skin becomes fabric
Alexander McQueenalready in the early 2000s, was using the body painting to create futuristic and organic texturesas in the famous collection Plato’s Atlantis (2010). Also Jean Paul Gaultier he often collaborated with body painters in his haute couture shows, using the airbrush to create illusory tattoos and tribal motifs directly on the bodies. Just to mention other designers who brought body painting to the catwalk: Viktor & Rolf, Rick Owens And Nicola Formichetti in a sculptural and cyberpunk key, as well as Valentine And Dieselwith its electric glitter bodies at Milan Fashion Week 2023. Choices that confirm the idea of body as the new frontier of fashion language. The result is a mix between painting, costume and performancein which the body becomes the protagonist of a unique visual story, which changes with every pose and movement.
Beauty according to Mia Violet
For the artist, beauty is intimate and revealing: «Understanding what we find beautiful means understanding ourselves. Through the body painting I try to capture the beauty of people, beyond the surface». Among his inspirations are magazine covers heavy metal, surreal creatures like Catman (Dennis Avner) and vintage lingerie details. «Every time I paint the body it is almost always a new person, therefore a completely new shape to understand. It’s a huge puzzle: choose shapes and colors that adapt to the body and a style that reflects the wearer. When everything works and the model feels beautiful and confident, it’s the best feeling.” For My Violetthe future of beauty is clear: «All bodies will be painted. There will be no more clothes».
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