The Second Coming
There has been a resurgence of the heroin chic aesthetic in contemporary beauty culture. Figures such as the Kardashians, who built their brands on their curvaceous figures, have begun sporting a much slimmer form. Kim Kardashian proudly shared her 16 lb weight loss in 3 weeks to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s Happy Birthday Mr. President dress for the 2022 Met Gala (Ji). Her once full-figured, tanned body now resembles the sickly heroin chic models of the 90s. Images of emaciated celebrities have begun populating social media and the red carpet. The previous ‘body positivity’ movement of the 2010’s has seemingly been replaced, once again, by the skinny ideal.
Different body types come in and out of fashion, but the speed at which the cycle circulates “sharply illuminates the socioeconomic politics of bodily modification” (Ji). The transition to heroin chic reflects the constant authority of the white heteropatriarchy (Strings). Despite numerous other body trends, the thin, white body continuously asserts its dominance as the ultimate ideal.
The Brazilian butt lift (BBL) was the go-to procedure just ten years ago, but has since been replaced by fat extraction procedures such as buccal fat removal, a procedure that removes fat from the face (Ji). There has been a rise in BBL removals, broadcasting the vagary that the top 1% are willing to surgically alter their bodies to maintain standards of beauty (Ji). A BBL and BBL reversal can cost up to $30,000 each, and buccal fat removal up to $8,000 (Ji). A curvy, tanned body and large lips -- features associated with the black body were once the ideal, but there has been a transition to thin, fair bodies (Ji). Current beauty is measured based on proximity to whiteness, but the previous ideal of the black body was still problematic, as it was a manifestation of the Western tendency to exoticize non-white bodies. Western body trends have just shifted from a fetishized to a white supremacist ideal.
Medications for diabetes management, such as Ozempic, are being abused as a means of weight loss (Ji). The increased demand for these medications created a shortage, leaving those who rely on them empty-handed (Ji). The difficulty in obtaining this medication led to the association of thinness with wealth, further supporting the desire for emaciation. This transient beauty standard created a glorification of drug abuse, eating disorders, and cosmetic procedures, not much different from the heroin chic ideal of the 90s.
Social media has taken the popularity of heroin chic and increased its relevance in popular culture. Individuals have access to never-ending heroin chic imagery, film, fashion, and depictions of self-harm. On its own, social media has contributed to a mental health crisis, but combined with the appeal of the heroin chic body, it has increased the prevalence of eating disorders, drug abuse and self-harm behaviour (Ji). Models have gone from appetite-suppressing opiates of the 90s to a diabetes treatment medication. Due to the nature of the current late-stage capitalism, the wealthy take their bodies to the extreme, thus encouraging it as a beauty.
Piece 20 is based on a screenshot of Kim Kardashian on the James Corden show in 2022. This appearance caused controversy because of how different Kim looked. The Kardashians, known for their tanned skin, dark hair, and curves, yet Kim came to this interview with bleached blonde hair and pale skin, confirming the shifting beauty ideal towards heroin chic. She is increasing her proximity to the white body by removing her curves, her dark hair and melanin.
For this piece, I used the monochromatic image to draw attention to her collarbones and arms. These features were the most significantly different. Her arms seem disproportionately thin, and her collarbones are greatly protruding from her chest. These features remind me of the bodies of 90s heroin chic models such as Kate Moss and Jaime King. Her face has been cut out because she is nothing more than a symbol of late-stage capitalism, which has normalized such extreme acts to maintain beauty. Her long, sickly fingers reflect the absurdity of the contemporary consumer beauty culture. This extreme culture is being fed to us through the media, slowly increasing our tolerance to such inhuman transformations.
T he image of Miley Cyrus I used for this piece comes from a Maison Margiela campaign from 2025 (see piece 21). When this image came across my timeline, I was immediately taken aback. I was encouraged to look for recent images of her, and with each new image, she looks more emaciated. Her face has appeared sunken, as if she's had some facial fat removal, giving her a gaunt, alien-like appearance.
The Maison Margiela campaign itself had a very unsettling feel; all the images were blurry, with Cyrus holding or wearing some part of the collection. In each image, she has her mouth slightly open, as if her teeth can no longer fit in her slim face. Every image she has has this deadpan expression, looking at us right through the camera. The combination of Cyrus’s new look and the absurdity of the styling has given the whole campaign a dystopian feel.
Using the monochromatic image, I accentuated her hollow cheeks by cutting the image right where her cheekbones sculpted her face. I took apart parts of her body and pasted them around her form. This created a rough reassemblage of the body to create the ideal heroin chic beauty, a process similar to that of the wealthy who surgically alter their face and body.
The Maison Margiela campaign itself had a very unsettling feel; all the images were blurry, with Cyrus holding or wearing some part of the collection. In each image, she has her mouth slightly open, as if her teeth can no longer fit in her slim face. Every image she has has this deadpan expression, looking at us right through the camera. The combination of Cyrus’s new look and the absurdity of the styling has given the whole campaign a dystopian feel.
Using the monochromatic image, I accentuated her hollow cheeks by cutting the image right where her cheekbones sculpted her face. I took apart parts of her body and pasted them around her form. This created a rough reassemblage of the body to create the ideal heroin chic beauty, a process similar to that of the wealthy who surgically alter their face and body.
The original image for this piece came from a 2025 GAP campaign (see piece 22). Coincidentally, the photographer for this series is Mario Sorrenti, the elder brother of heroin chic figure and photographer Davide Sorrenti (piece 23). This image depicts Gwenyth Paltrow and her daughter, Apple Martin. Paltrow is a popular actress who has been a sort of beauty ideal throughout her career. I chose this image because of the way the two women are intertwined with each other, their doe eyes staring through the camera. Their matching blonde hair and intimate posing reminded me of the Targaryen family in Game of Thrones, who are known to have incestuous relations. The unsettling connection to the Targaryens made the image feel sinister.
The two women come from a wealthy, prominent family in popular culture. They are aspirational figures, the ideal beauty. Their relevance, coupled with their appearance, shows the current shift towards heroin chic beauty standards. Slim white women are once again the beauty ideal. Their appearance, coupled with wealth and power, enforces the constant underlying colonial white power structures in Western culture.
I had deliberately spliced this image, swapping the tops of their head, showing the interchangeability of their identities. As mother and daughter, they share the same blood, the same appearance, and the same social value. The image in the center is the mother and daughter gripping onto each other and staring directly at the viewer. Enforcing the unsettling undertones of this image and the increasing supremacy of white beauty standards.