Beautystacked: Venus X
*This article was originally published in Beautystack Magazine Issue 1*
Venus X has redefined New York’s creative culture. With her underground club nights GHE20G0THIK, she kickstarted a now global movement, championing inclusivity and self-expression, whilst providing a space and platform for the underrepresented.
As we speak, her soft, husky voice delivers commentary on her own journey and personal style that’s as enlightened as it is considered. It’s rare to talk to someone whose view on beauty is so distinctive and self directing, formed by an amalgamation of references from the Bronx, to Chinatown, her Dominican roots and Tokyo streets. She’s smart, determined and infinitely inspiring.
We spoke to the New York native about her ghetto gothic approach to beauty, the community-driven salon culture of her childhood and becoming the sci-fi heroin in her own creative world.
ON HER BEAUTY STYLE
My beauty style best is described as functional and fantasy-based, I like to inspire myself with my looks. I view myself as an agent within my own life, with the ability to construct my own identity. I take the opportunity with my hair, my nails and the clothes that I wear to project an image of my own creation, instead of what's institutionalised for my gender, my culture, my city, my age group or whatever. It’s a reflection of my imagination and who I want to be, not who I'm expected to be - that's GHE20G0THIK style. I’m lucky that I chose a job that allows me to create my own persona. In a sense, I'm creating a character that no one else could be, the Venus X uniform. I like to think about what I would look like if I was in a movie or a cartoon, that’s where I would say my style is on its best days.
The biggest influence on my beauty style has definitely been music - New York artists from the 90s like Lil Kim and Busta Rhymes, they've been really, really instrumental in how I see the world and how I see myself existing in it.
ON HER RELATIONSHIP WITH BEAUTY
Honestly, I didn’t think that beauty products were targeted towards women like me because of the way that they were marketed. I just feel like there weren’t women who represented my body or my skin tone, my lifestyle or my economic background. Growing up where I did, I was used to the extravagance of the Latino and Black communities. Lots of jewellery, lots of baby hairs and updos, it was a very creative time in a very poor neighbourhood. It was an island aesthetic and an island dedication to looking fabulous - wearing really bright colours and really beautiful hairstyles for parties that just happened in my living room, you know? I didn't ever feel like those women I grew up with were represented in beauty, I still don’t. They’re either watered down or just used as a reference.
ON HER MOST FORMATIVE BEAUTY EXPERIENCE
It was probably getting ready for my aunt’s wedding when I was around 11 years old. The whole wedding party - me, 15 of my cousins, my mom and my grandma were in this Dominican woman’s salon. It was very loud, full of music and we were probably there for six or seven hours, but that was a normal thing for us. It was definitely a formative experience for me, I don't recall anything as clearly as I do that day. I just remember realising that this is the culture of women in my community. Beauty culture in a lot of communities is a very private thing, but in mine it’s a very public and shared experience, it’s like another playground or marketplace. Women talk and they connect in so many ways at their salon, and in my neighbourhood that was a real place where we spent every Saturday morning. We were taught what it was to be a woman and given space to design our personalities. It really moulded me and my perception of beauty.
ON HER FAVOURITE BEAUTY TREND
My favourite beauty trend right now is face tattoos. I'm an advocate for personal freedom and I think that people are being very short-sighted about them as a form of self-expression. I always try and think anthropologically, and I think that what we're experiencing is an evolution of humans, in the same way that we're experiencing an evolution of gender and body fluidity or technology, we're also experiencing humans redesigning their relationship with their skin.
I really want to get face tattoos, even though I know that it's going to compromise some job opportunities and some people are going to be uncomfortable, but for me it just feels very natural. I just like the way it looks. I’m obsessed with that kind of scarification and I want to get my whole body done. I'm all for pushing people's boundaries. If it makes you happy, I think you should be able to do it. Why should I preserve my face just so that I can make some simple-minded humans feel better? I want to see a world where people are more concerned with the skill of the person and their integrity or personality, than what they look like.