“She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.” – Rainbow Rowell. How many people can you name who look like ‘art’? How many people do you know who simply embrace their natural looks and steer clear from uncomfortable, mainstream trends?
“They all look like desperate replicas: same skin shade, same parted or side-parted hair that’s been straightened to perfection. They’re sporting the same bikinis, crop tops and hot shorts. Literally the same ones like a single clothing catalog exploded all over the beach and covered everyone with the same garments.”
“They all have that tiny little wannabe-man bun, the same tiny swimming trunks with the button down shirt, beaded necklace and the signature beer bottle in hand,” stated my friend as she shared the funny accounts of her summer in Sahel.
Her incredulous scoffing at the ‘fashion’ scene was kind of ironic, seeing as how she, herself, is a fashion designer. Who can blame her though? We’ve all seen those duplicates everywhere. Hell, we might even unknowingly be one of them.
Let’s not even get started on the Egyptian insta-famous or on their way to becoming part of the insta-famous clan, who all have the signature ‘look’. Bleached blonde hair and coloured eye lenses paired with clothes that are at least two sizes too small and a big pout, are basically what you need if you’re a young female who craves a bit of online fame. If you’re a guy though, simply take half-naked smoldering selfies at the gym or on the beach and hashtag them #beastmode.
I’m all for looking your best and feeling good about yourself, but is being just another duplicate doing that for you? Does it feel fulfilling to know that you’re, as Pink Floyd once eloquently put it, “just another brick in the wall.” Let that thought resonate in your mind.
