In the “I Can’t Even” section, this idea becomes particularly striking.
What this piece surfaces so precisely about the face as a site of projection (and increasingly, of vacancy) finds a very literal parallel in beauty and fashion over the past few seasons.
I’m thinking in particular of the rise of graphic beauty patches on the runway (Eckhaus Latta x Dieux, Ashley Williams x Starface), where what was once a functional, intimate skincare gesture became aestheticized, stylized and ultimately branded. These were not discreet hydrogel patches worn in private, but highly visible, often logo-emblazoned elements integrated into the look. The face, in that moment, ceased to be merely expressive; it became a surface. A medium. A placement!
There is something quite telling in that shift. Care becomes spectacle, but more than that, it becomes communication. The patch is no longer about repair or restoration, it signals affiliation, taste, belonging. It says: I am this brand. Or perhaps more accurately: this brand speaks through me.
Thank you for sharing your thinking and your lens on the world. It’s consistently enriching to read <3
a placement!!!! it really is a your-ad-here that isn't a great look but, you know, here we are. and "care becomes spectacle" is such a great way to look at this too, in that it reveals the mindset of performativity: is it actual wellness if it's an ad? does the wellness aspect matter if it's just to be seen wearing / amplifying a brand? or vice verse? who are you if you are just the brand you wear?? that isn't entirey new, but the intimacy and "noise" of it paired with these vacancies is...unsettling. but c'est la vie! you do you, kids!!!! thank you for reading as always, queen clarissa!!!
Gay 👏 guys 👏 channeling 👏
we need our divas, even those who are the mother of christ
In the “I Can’t Even” section, this idea becomes particularly striking.
What this piece surfaces so precisely about the face as a site of projection (and increasingly, of vacancy) finds a very literal parallel in beauty and fashion over the past few seasons.
I’m thinking in particular of the rise of graphic beauty patches on the runway (Eckhaus Latta x Dieux, Ashley Williams x Starface), where what was once a functional, intimate skincare gesture became aestheticized, stylized and ultimately branded. These were not discreet hydrogel patches worn in private, but highly visible, often logo-emblazoned elements integrated into the look. The face, in that moment, ceased to be merely expressive; it became a surface. A medium. A placement!
There is something quite telling in that shift. Care becomes spectacle, but more than that, it becomes communication. The patch is no longer about repair or restoration, it signals affiliation, taste, belonging. It says: I am this brand. Or perhaps more accurately: this brand speaks through me.
Thank you for sharing your thinking and your lens on the world. It’s consistently enriching to read <3
a placement!!!! it really is a your-ad-here that isn't a great look but, you know, here we are. and "care becomes spectacle" is such a great way to look at this too, in that it reveals the mindset of performativity: is it actual wellness if it's an ad? does the wellness aspect matter if it's just to be seen wearing / amplifying a brand? or vice verse? who are you if you are just the brand you wear?? that isn't entirey new, but the intimacy and "noise" of it paired with these vacancies is...unsettling. but c'est la vie! you do you, kids!!!! thank you for reading as always, queen clarissa!!!