The Beauty in the Brutal, or why we’re in love with the unconventional and the ‘ugly’

Fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries thrive on symmetry, balance, and polished narratives that come full circle. But at the other end of this ideal spectrum lies a different kind of beauty. One that is asymmetric, unsettling, even ugly. And yet, just as captivating. Miuccia Prada once said, "ugly is attractive, ugly is exciting." A sentiment that resonates across artistic disciplines. While none of Prada’s work is in actuality "ugly," she has transformed the concept of style by challenging long-held beliefs about what is considered ‘chic.’ Through her redefinition of the word ugly, or beautiful, she has opened the floor to new aesthetic possibilities. Another brand that has made "ugly" its signature is Balenciaga. From its Crocs collection to exaggerated silhouettes and ironic pieces (DHL tape dress, eBay backpack), creative director Demna rejects conventional beauty in favor of something raw and distorted. This brutal aesthetic forces you to confront your own biases about taste and standards. 

In art, the tension between the ugly and the beautiful is just as present. Chiharu Shiota’s recent sold-out exhibition at the Grand Palais wove a similar narrative through tangled red threads and a burnt piano, but more aptly, a presentation of an earlier work where she explored the same tension with nature. In a video performance, she rolled in mud, embracing dirt and revealing a broken beauty amidst the mess. Artists like FKA Twigs and Fecal Matter similarly embody this unsettling beauty. The British singer recently attended the FW25 Rick Owens show in a look dedicated to alien-like aesthetics. While such styles are common among Rick Owens attendees, her presence stood out in stark contrast to the polished perfection of other celebrities, with her skullet and face tattoos pushing the boundaries of identity. 

Fecal Matter, the Montreal-based duo Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran, creates a similar impact with their extreme makeup and unwavering commitment to their aesthetic. From their name to their avant-garde fashion and eerie performances, "weird" isn’t just an adjective for them, it’s the very core from which they’ve built their brand. In a very timely fashion, while working on this article, we stumbled upon a recent post from model Rianne Van Rompaey, which perfectly summed up our exploration of brutal beauty. Her recent embrace of being "weird" and "gross" as a means of artistic and personal elevation into her new era aligns with our sentiments about the raw and unrefined aspects of attractiveness. If there’s one thing in common among our examples, it’s that by challenging beauty standards, they’ve all broken conventions and sparked conversations on an important scale. After all, the most compelling aesthetics don’t just emerge from perfection. They also arise through a lens of disruption.