If you haven't yet heard of Thomas de Kluyver, please allow us to introduce you.
That's because he's the hottest rising star in the beauty world right now, creating cutting-edge looks in his role as Gucci's global makeup artist, as well as show-stopping campaigns for brands such as Calvin Klein, Kenzo, and Acne Studios.
Curious to see Thomas' makeup artistry with your own eyes? Stay right where you are, because we have a sneak peek from his new beauty book, All I Want To Be, right here for your perusal.
All I Want To Be is an entirely new work designed specifically for this book. Self-taught artist Thomas approached his favourite photographic collaborators, the poet Wilson Oryema, art director Ben Kelway and, over the course of six months, created an extra-unordinary book exploring identity politics, representation and individual expression.
The book explodes conventional beauty ideals with its celebration of experimental, imperfect looks, while the contributing photographers are a roll call of industry talent, including Zoe Ghertner, Sharna Osborne, Oliver Hadlee Pearch, Fumiko Imano, Lea Colombo and Harley Weir. If that wasn't impressive enough, Thomas is donating his share of the book proceeds to Mermaids UK.
"The world of fashion and beauty has a long history of challenging gender norms but more needs to be done to represent the beauty within all of us, regardless of our gender. We hope Thomas will continue to be a powerful force in gender acceptance in an industry that shapes the way our society understands power and beauty,” said Susie Green, the CEO of Mermaids UK, a charity that supports gender diverse and transgender youth across the United Kingdom.
All I Want To Be launches on May 16th. There are only 750 books available, so snap yours up pronto!
