Fashion: The ‘Fierce’ Look

Why do so many fashion models choose “fierce” poses or “mean” faces in magazines and on the red carpet instead of smiling?

Models, believe it or not, were invented to sell clothes. The supermodel and the model as celebrity is a relatively newer phenomenon. When models adopt fierce fashion faces, it’s to project an image that will sell the clothing. Usually this image is “directed” by the photographer and the stylist working for the clothing company or the magazine that is sponsoring the shoot or the show. The model, of course, adds his or her own look and emotions to create the collaborative effect that is the fashion face.

Many serious designers prefer fierce faces on their models or blank expressions because it prevents the models from detracting from the clothes. If a model is too interesting — like an actress — the audiences who are the buyers will look at the model’s face and not the clothes. If the model’s face is like wallpaper — fierce or blank — there is more of a chance of the attention going to the clothes.

Of course there are times when a designer or a photographer or a stylist or an editor wants to project fun or sexy and energetic moods, and they will ask the model to make faces that project those emotions. They do this because the clothes or the “story” an editor wants to project is about a certain mood.