The Alien Era: What does the alien aesthetic mean for self expression in fashion?

Graphic by Allie Wicks.

Image courtesy of 2017 Gucci campaign.

Beyoncé said it, so I know it’s true: we’re in the era of the ALIEN SUPERSTAR.

Reptilian fabrics, facial prosthetics, blue-and-green painted skin: a fascination with alien aesthetics has been present on runway shows and ad campaigns for the past decade. Now, the alien era is becoming more accessible thanks to bleached and shaved brows that tap into the otherworldly.

Bleached and shaved brows alter the face in a way that beacons the extraterrestrial. It creates the illusion of a larger head, similar to the dramatically oversized alien heads trope (think the alien emoji). The look is almost humanoid, altering the typical appearance of the human face, referencing an Other. 

But aliens are by no means new to the fashion world. In 2017, Gucci’s fall campaign envisioned introducing humans to alien life. Aliens, adorned in face-altering prosthetics, body paint and head-to-toe Gucci, glamorized aesthetics beyond our world. 

Image courtesy of Plato’s Atlantis show.

In 2010, Alexander McQueen’s Plato’s Atlantis show included shoes that replicated nonhuman feet. Patterns emulated skeletons or scales, while facial prosthetics manipulated the human form. It was, notably, an eyebrow-less show, unknowingly prophesying the alien aesthetics of today.

The richest inspiration of alien allure, though, can be found in drag.

Take Juno Birch, the self-proclaimed “absolutely stunning alien drag queen.” Her Instagram page is filled with images of her blue skin and ultra-thin brows, and her shows feature Jetson-esque dresses and jumpsuits.

What does it mean for a drag queen to embrace nonhuman aesthetics? Juno accesses a hyper-femininity that both employs and subverts beauty norms. She is not only gorgeous according to our beauty standards, but calls on a beauty that can transcend our world. 

Sasha Velour’s “Alien Eve” look on Rupaul’s Drag Race took the alien aesthetic to new heights, as she altered the size of her head and fingers with prosthetics. This created the illusion of purple skin, complete with embellishments that resembled scales.

Sasha told PEOPLE Magazine that she “wanted to embody the fantasy of a more-than-human alien goddess, kind of queer Fantasia for a new world of imaginative queer performers that go beyond humanity.”

Sasha Velour Image courtesy of People.

This is just it—the alien aesthetic creates a “new world” which allows us to play with, or even completely forget, gendered beauty norms. If gendered beauty norms expect women to have perfect, arched brows, then let’s shave them completely. If there is an obsession with women’s feet, then let’s turn our feet into reptile feet. Let’s show that you can still be gorgeous when you break these norms.

But it goes one step further. When our beauty norms become violent—when they reinforce white supremacy and transphobia, when they validate only one specific type of existence—then purple skin and prosthetics envision a safer world.

Alien aesthetics allow diversions from beauty norms and envision a future of fashion where difference is embraced. It allows a type of beauty and self expression that is entirely of its own world.

I, for one, am ready to be beamed up.