INSTAGLAM: Enter Kicki Yang Zhang’s Fantasy
Kicki Yang Zhang is one of our favourite beauty creators on Instagram with a casual scroll through her feed offering up everything from Keith Haring-like graffiti, a tiny Kermit sipping tea next to her lips or a mask of Takashi Murakami-inspired flowers. Bridging the gap between make up and fine art, she draws inspiration from painting all over the world, whether it be Picasso’s Weeping Woman or Chinese guóhuà paintings.
Having worked with the likes of Gucci and Margiela, she’s now teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to create three futuristic characters embodying different qualities, from adventurousness to sustainability to slick lines, across different Mercedes-Benz brands. Below, we jump into Kicki’s DMs to learn more about the collab and to hear about her wildest look to date.
Describe your beauty in three words.
Bold, daring, versatile.
Who or what has influenced you the most?
My Chinese heritage, my mother and my trips around the world.
What is the wildest look you’ve ever created?
For a project I recreated Picasso’s painting “weeping woman” once as face paint, I think that one looked pretty wild and it was really fun to do.
What did working with Mercedes-Benz on this project mean to you and your creativity?
Mercedes-Benz is the German car brand. Having such a huge and successful company’s trust for creating something is a real honour. I’m just really happy they like our vision and made this shoot possible even though we’re not a huge production company. It gives me the feeling that creativity is appreciated.
What is one piece of make-up you couldn’t live without?
For me it’s skin first, so my number one product is refinery BB cream!
What does beauty mean to you?
Beauty to me is uniqueness. I find the faces most beautiful which have something very special to them.
Mercedes-Benz is proud to celebrate self-expression whilst continuing to support the creative and fashion industries. For more on its recent collaboration with Kicki Yang Zhang, please visit @mercedesbenzfashion.
