Cowboys and aliens

The air was thick with dust and the sound of hooves pounded against the dry earth as the cowboys rode into town. Something was different about this particular Wild West bunch. As the sun rose, a spaceship flew by the horizon, passing by the dusty carnival fair. These visitors arrived with the intent to make a statement: there’s no good, bad, or ugly. So, ZOOT begs to ask: are these aliens or cowboys?

Creative direction by ZOOT beauty editor Antonia Rosa
Using Maqpro, Kryolan and ROWE Beauty Europe available at Makeup Kitchen Boutique
Assisted by Frederico Simaõ and Joana Lopes

Hair by
Helena Vaz Pereira and Rui Lança at Griffe Hair Style
using L´Oréal Profissional Paris
Paulo Vieira using JOICO
Edgar Venâncio

Photography by  Cátia Castel-Branco
Assisted by Tomás Domingues 

Styling Lis Mulder
Assisted by Sofia Canas at Pulp Fashion Lda • Carolina Barros • Catarina Serra , both at ETIC / MODA ETIC
Production Michelle Silva assisted by Laura Farrajota

Make-up team Micael Cardoso • Andreia Guimarães • Sara Natividade • Sofia Teleliukhina • Catarina Duarte  Nails by Bianca Brand

 

Words and interviews Guido Avelino

 

The photo shoot, envisioned by Antonia Rosa, captured the essence of an otherworldly journey, as the star cast of models embodied the spirit of futuristic cowboys and aliens, blending rugged and flamboyant looks, curated by the stylist Lis Mulder. Against the backdrop of the winter fair, Portuguese photographer Cátia Castel-Branco brought to life the retro-futuristic wave in mod flair.

The hair team, starring Paulo Vieira and Helena Vaz Pereira, approached the Mars Attacks! Martian Girl-inspired hair pieces with a 1960s “bigger is better” ethos. As Helena explained, “The references come from various sources, starting with the several decades of work, in which I have worked on various styles and trends, never ceasing to be attentive to everything that emerges new. Creativity is fed by work, it’s like going to the gym: the more you practice, the better you get and the further you can go.”

Antonia’s makeup technique uses aqueous products to create the fantastic all-over shimmer looks, with her tried and trusted creamy air by Maqpro. For the styling, Lis carefully considered each model’s individual look and personality: “My favourite thing will always be observing people, in any situation, how they express themselves through the way they dress or how they act”. She chose João Magalhães’ collection as the inspiration for the color scheme, which perfectly complemented the spacey vibe. A touch of shine and metallics was added for a futuristic edge.

On her inspiration for the photoshoot…

My carnival universe, my culture being French and which also has great post-WW2 American influences. I thought what would cowboys look like in the future? I gathered my favorite superheroes, always present in the elaboration of my makeup, and added a painting of my childhood memories. I asked my hair team to be inspired by the 60´s and the film “Mars Attacks!”.

— Antonia Rosa, ZOOT beauty editor

 

 

Isabel as
Lone Starburst

Cowboys or aliens? It depends on the day and the situation. I like western movies and I like the Alien saga.

As an actress I am always exposed to changes and new looks. That always brings discoveries, even if they often remain in the unconscious. It’s always great to be in the hands of Helena and Antonia for this challenge.
Here I had a trip to the past that took me to Toy Story and Jessie.

— Isabel Abreu, actress

 

On her inspiration for the photoshoot…

When Antonia Rosa was asking me to photograph for ZOOT magazine, and shared her idea about this editorial, I was listening to “Everything counts” by Depeche Mode—a band from the ’80s that I love and is part of my story! In the ’80s I was a teenager but most of my friends were adults and I used to hang out with them.

At that time we produced ourselves much more to go out than today. It was almost like a style competition. We were young, most of us were still studying, there was not much money to spend on clothes, there was no Zara or H&M … creativity, imagination and the flea market was enough for us to create incredible styles. We had a lot of fun with it!

— Cátia Castel-Branco, photographer

 

 

 

Ariel
as Silver Surfer

Cowboys or aliens? Definitely aliens, sounds futuristic and I like that.

My creative vision for bringing the vibe for the photoshoot was giving as much drama as I could give. Seeing myself in my outfit, I felt there’s no limits when it comes to feeling powerful. Thinking about the world today, it’s very confusing to me how much people criticize others without looking to themselves first. They don’t even try to put themselves in the other person’s shoes.

— Ariel Del Arco, model

 

 

Michael
Cosmic Elvis

Cowboys or aliens? Aliens because sometimes I feel like one.

 

We live in a very oppressive society that still has a mentality of the last century, and if there is one thing that I love it is to break out of the standards imposed by people. I really feel that my mission in the world is to break taboos and mentalities because I never cared what others thought about me.
[Seeing myself in my outfit,] I felt really good. That’s the magic of makeup and fashion: you can be a different person every day… Since I was photographed in a public place, there was a lot of looks and ignorant comments from people passing by. But like I said, I don’t care it just makes me even more determined.

— Micael Cardoso, model and make-up artist

 

 

 

Aicha as
Blue Star

Cowboys or aliens? Alienígenas!

My make-up was very beautiful with a star on one part of my face. I liked it very much; it made me feel like a star and very special.

—  Aicha, model

 

 

David
as Alien

 

Cowboys or aliens? Aliens, they are not well known genocidal maniacs.

Overall the objective was to pass a flamboyant aura, that’s what the carnival is all about in my opinion, and modelling allows you to communicate via body language in a level that’s only bested by dancing or acting. I love seeing myself in different forms. And boy, was this something different.

—  David Sebastião, model

 

 

Sebastian
as Ziggy Stardust

Cowboys or aliens? Aliens because I don’t know them.

I think it is impossible not to change the way we express ourselves because the world is always changing, and with it our way of being and expressing.

— Sebastian Hubert, model and acting student

 

 

On make-up…

I used and abused “fard creme” and “creamy air” from Maqpro and I used “mastik glue” from Kryolin for my collages on the faces of the models. Make-up plays an extraordinary role in changing human beings. Since prehistoric times, it has been part of our evolution.

— Antonia Rosa, ZOOT beauty editor

 

 

 

Sofia as
Martian Girl

Cowboys or aliens? Both! Cowboys step in with history, a sort of a safety feeling (because they have guns to defend themselves) and power. Aliens bring in the unknown and the novelty aspect, and allow us to be limitless creative.

I felt literally like a doll coming out of a cartoon!  The outfit was quite daring and sexy, and I loved the fact that it was matching the silver cowboy boots, enhancing the alien side of my character even more. It made me feel I was coming from out of space and I loved it!

— Sofia Hoffmann, singer and songwriter

 

 

Sebastiano
as Intergalactic Antman

 

 

On her inspiration for the hair styling…

A hair is always a challenge. In this case, each character had its own challenge in creating shapes and volumes. Accomplished from the mixture of natural hair and wigs. … I did research for the various characters, taking into account what best suited the models’ face shape, and in conjunction with styling and make up. Despite being a futuristic theme, there are some retro references that served as inspiration for this work, taking something that has already been done, but with a twist to give it a futuristic look.

—  Helena Vaz Pereira, hair stylist

 

 

Julia as
Spaceflower

Cowboys or aliens? Aliens. I identify more. It is life that does not originate from planet Earth.

(With my styling) I felt more empowered, more of a woman and more dangerous … I think the makeup with the hair and the clothes, the whole set, gave me more power when it came to shooting so I could express myself. Carnival for me is a lot of energy involved, a lot of mixed joy and a lot of love involved.

— Julia Pedroni, model

 

 

 

On the art of photography…

As in the title of the Depeche Mode song “Everything counts”,  in a photograph everything counts, too.
The idea, tone, casting, styling, location, the technique, the production process, the circumstances of the moment in life, in the world, human relationships, the way we deal with them, and even our biological disposition, it’s all connected and everything can influence the result.
It’s no use mastering the technique of photography if you don’t have the awareness to feel and take care of everything else—just like everything else in life.

— Cátia Castel-Branco, photographer

 

 

 

 

 

Cláudia
as Interstellar Belle

Aliens or Cowboys? Depends on the day.

For me it was all about having fun and being able to interact with Marie in a playful and funny way. I love to try bold looks. Once again it’s all about fun. I always have lots of fun experimenting new ways of discovering all the possibilities of being myself. As an artist I feel it is my duty to be aware of the world and to create a safe place based on equality, democracy and respect.

—Cláudia Jardim, comedian

 

On his inspiration for the hair styling…

The approach for me was classic with a 1960s inspiration, but with a contemporary freedom of volumes.
I research a lot on the internet, magazines and books and retain the details to prepare myself. I don’t like to repeat work and I like to create new ways and always try to surpass myself.

—Paulo Vieira, hair stylist

 

 

 

 

Marie
as herself

Cowboys or aliens? I prefer aliens, I think cowboys were always kinda boring, nothing really new from them. I love aliens because in a vertiam way I inspire myself in that futuristas way of thinking and feel like part of them sometimes. since I was a kid I was really interested on all the things and theories around them
.

As someone who uses every aspect of my life in a way of expression, I feel sometimes too overwhelmed about all the problems and the cold ways society takes life. I use my clothes and creations in a way to make people and myself live in fantasy, in a real way—in a way that makes fantasy something real, something possible. Also I create my clothes and my visuals as much as possible not using fast fashion and supporting more small artist and my friends.

— La Vie de Marie, artist

 

 

 

Chiara
as Crystal Gazer

Cowboys or aliens? Definitely Aliens.
Quoting Arthur Rimbaud, “je suis un autre”. I think there is immense otherness in each of us. We are at the same time both one and a hundred thousand persons, as said by Pirandello.
We have infinite personalities and we decide to highlight some parts and suppress others. Theater, performance, fashion, and the other artistic languages in general offer us the chance to discover and reveal aspects of ourselves that we often don’t know, have never explored, or are afraid of. And I never really sympathized with cowboys.

I am not a professional model and I have no experience whatsoever in the fashion world. I am a cultural anthropologist and I work in the field of anthropology of body and emotions. In the photoshoot, I used my gaze and facial expression to reflect the energy of a dangerous and powerful woman. I tried to identify myself with a witch or a fortune teller, recreating the risky and sensual imagery associated with these figures.

— Chiara Pussetti, cultural anthropologist

As it is obvious, the role we play in society—our profession, our status, gender, sexual orientation and so on—defines the expectations people have about our behavior and conditions the way we express ourselves. Social masks are a wound and a burden, a force and a weapon. Appearances and social masks allow us to survive in society: we are to be both simple and complex; we can reveal a part of who we are or impersonate someone more attractive, more serious, more eccentric or more conventional, depending on the contexts.
Our society accepts and promotes those who play a role, who invent a persona.
How many different personas do I create during a day? I am the mother, I am the university professor, but I also am the sensual and dangerous witch, at times, which I staged during the photoshoot. I don’t think we have real and false identities but that we are all ‘identity tourists’: we constantly change and transform ourselves according to the occasion.

— Chiara Pussetti, cultural anthropologist

 

 

Leonel
as Cowboy

Cowboys or aliens? Cowboys, because it’s something we already know so it makes it easier to work with the costume, character and environment.

 

The world has a pattern of living that makes people find it strange whenever they see a new idea or concept, so the way we express it will determine how people will interpret the idea.

—Leonel Ramos, model

 

On her approach to fashion styling…

I must admit I don’t really follow current fashion and if I do it’s most likely by accident. I usually stumble upon small designers or certain pieces that then inspire me to create the rest of the look. Either that or I try to re-create fantasies of mine by finding the right clothing that can create this fantasy look.

— Lis Mulder, fashion stylist

 

Carnival allows us to use a mask to impersonate a character, an archetype, someone other than ourselves.
It is the time of year in which we can be someone else, break the rules and do crazy things. We constantly use social masks to fit the different roles that society requires in our daily lives (mother, wife, professor, friend, lover, and so on). Quoting Agatha Christie, “The human face is, after all, nothing more nor less than a mask”.

— Chiara Pussetti, cultural anthropologist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FASHION REFERENCES

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JOAO MAGALHÃES @joaomglhs

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