People often associate the idea of "classic beauty" with icons like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. What society considers beautiful today, however, is a far stretch from those timeless beauties. Beauty evolves as certain trends become popular and what's "in" varies from year to year. So, what would happen if we took those legendary stars and threw them into the Year of Our Lord 2018? Would they follow the trends or would they keep their timeless looks?
Those are the questions London-based collage artist Mat Maitland asked himself when making over past celebrity icons. Maitland, who has been commissioned for big-name projects for Louis Vuitton and MAC Cosmetics, took photos of Hepburn, Monroe, and more and envisioned them rocking 2018 beauty trends — from lip fillers and eyebrow lifts to Botox and extreme contours.
If you've scrolled through Instagram at all in 2018, you know that "influencers" are obsessed with making their lips bigger. This is likely the effect of Kylie Jenner, who famously filled her lips to quadruple their size.
She's far from the only one who has undergone cosmetic procedures to alter her face, though. Everyone from celebrities and beauty bloggers to influencers and makeup artists have taken beauty trends to the extreme in 2018.
It's gotten to the point where people have lost sight of what's real or not on social media. But regardless, this is what's popular in 2018, and it's up to each individual to choose to follow the trend or not.
If the stars of yesteryear decided to jump on the beauty trends of today, what would they look like? Well, in a nutshell: like clones of famous folk today. But check out Maitland's work for yourself below and you be the judge.
Grace Kelly was elegant and exquisite in the '50s, and even looks beautiful with Maitland's 2018 beauty lens. Hers is one of the more mild beauty transformations.
Here's what Kelly looked like in the mid-1950s, for comparison.
Maitland gave Marilyn Monroe, the first woman many think of when they hear the term "classic beauty," inflated lips and cheeks and a chiseled-down nose. She basically looks like Bella Hadid with curly blonde hair. Yikes.
Marilyn would never.
Princess Diana is practically unrecognizable with Maitland's 2018 beauty trend digital alterations. Take away the blonde hair and she resembles Kendall Jenner.
Here's the Princess of Wales in the '90s, for comparison.
And finally, the most aggressive transformation of all: Audrey Hepburn. This is horrifying.
Though Maitland didn't intend for his artwork to become a cultural statement, many took it to be anyway. "So sad...what happened to the days when everyone had a different face & owned it????...instead of the pumped, pulled, tucked lookalikes of the 21st century?" one commenter wrote.
These alterations are... extreme to say the least. But 2018 is the year of extremes.
"I've always been fascinated by people who push beauty to the extreme. One of my heroes, Michael Jackson, explored the idea of transformation early on in his career. Cosmetic approaches to beauty were previously restricted to celebrities and the mega wealthy, but these have now become more attainable. Everywhere you look there is evidence of these contemporary ideals of beauty. You can observe the new normal across the world. This is what made me think about identity in our contemporary world. I started to imagine some of the most idolized stars embracing cosmetic procedures and trends if they were still alive today. Celebrities of the past altering their iconic looks to fit in with today's more clone-like ideals," Maitland told Refinery29.
