The obsession with ‘freak chic’ has taken the modelling world by storm this year, questioning the whole concept of beauty.
Fronted by the infamous Rick Genest aka Zombie boy and the poster boy for gender neutrality Andrej Pejic. Both have found success heading extremely powerful and thought provoking campaigns for big names within the industry. Pejic has been working his ‘most beautiful boy in the world’ persona for Jean-paul Gautier and Marc Jacobs among many others. While Genest has brought Thierry Mugler back to life and featured alongside Lady Gaga in her video ‘Born this way’.
These genre defying beauties have created quite a buzz with their unique looks, proving that the idea that traditional beauty is best, is not always the case.
It was only a matter of time before someone put them in the same room and Brazilian brand Auslander has done just that, pairing these extraordinary muses cum models in their S/S 12 campaign.
An intimate atmosphere transpired at the shoot as the two stood holding hands, a subtle metaphor uniting their ‘otherness’. The minimal, clean lined nature of Auslander works beautifully against such striking models. Genest’s masculine stance and defined deep set eyes makes a stark yet beautiful contrast against Pejic’s ethereal, effeminate frame and delicate features. A thought provoking aspect of this campaign is that their ‘freakishness’ is not specifically made to be an issue.
Though Auslander doesn’t let you forget who these models are; capturing them both topless moves the campaign into a new dimension. Taking the eye away from the clothes and stripping back all the visuals, showing the two extraordinary beautiful beings that lie beneath.
Beth Gallagher