What is ‘sexy grotesque’ and what should brands know about it?

Dan Salkey, strategy partner at Small World, a consultancy that builds entertainment-first brands and that I also work for, feels there’s a distinct reason sexy grotesque art, marketing and dressing is on the rise. “In a fragmented media environment where people are harder to reach than ever before, the name of the game is entertain or die. There are plenty of ways brands inside and outside of fashion have been doing this: Duolingo builds brand lore through its green owl mascot, Loewe creates advertising that feels like it came out of a sketch show, while MSCHF has combined commerce and creativity to entertain people in new and bizarre ways,” he explains. “Ultimately, these brands understand that in a world filled with repetitive meme-style content, absurdism is a proxy for entertainment.” Both absurdism and sexy grotesque feel like extreme attempts to rewire our brains to see marketing as cultural commentary.

Elsewhere, brands are drawing from the sexy grotesque aesthetic through sensory marketing strategies that engage consumers beyond the visual. Notably, the use of food imagery has become a prominent motif in fashion and beauty, as employed by Hailey Bieber’s skincare brand Rhode. To promote the brand’s glazing milk or lip balms in flavours watermelon slice or espresso, recent campaigns feature Bieber pouring an oversized bottle of ‘glazing milk’ over her body while model Gabriette is captured with cake smeared provocatively across her face. This emphasis on sensory appeal is useful within the beauty realm, where consumers can’t experience products before purchasing online. For beauty brands, it’s also part of a more significant trend — an effort to craft brand identities that resonate on a more visceral, emotional level.

Exploring the aesthetic

Some smaller brands are engaging with the sexy grotesque head-on. Beauty mogul and makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench and her brand Isamaya Beauty have become known for their non-conformist, provocative approach to beauty. In February 2023, Ffrench launched her Lips collection of chrome penis-shaped lipsticks released in limited drops and stocked at Dover Street Market. Last month during Frieze, Ffrench exhibited her self-portrait series ‘Suspension’ at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The series features close-ups of Ffrench’s face and body stretched or pierced by hooks, with the intention to explore the grey areas between the “beautiful and uncomfortable”, using the body as a lens, Ffrench said in a statement. Her brand declined to share revenues but sales grew 120 per cent between 2023 and 2024, led by the US, notably New York and LA.