Miss Americana: This beauty shoot explores three Hollywood archetypes

Somewhere between neon-lit gas stations, vintage cars parked in otherwise abandoned lots, and desolate industrial areas by the side of the highway, is where the all-American girl resides. Reminiscent of a Lana Del Rey music video or a faded postcard from Hollywood’s golden age, she’s got big blow-out hair, a full face of glam, and a dream. Or, as musician Aimee Gillingwater puts it, she’s got ”hair, tits and angel eyes”.

Gillingwater is the star of a new shoot paying tribute to this archetypal Miss Americana. Shot by photographer Lewis Vorn with make-up by Aimee Twist, the images reimagine the beauty and contradictions of Americana in all its hyper-glamorous, bittersweet glory. The shoot continues Twist’s ongoing exploration of “escapism and dreamland culture,” a fascination she has previously celebrated in her Priscilla shoot. “Having always been drawn to old Hollywood and icons of previous generations, I like to create these worlds in my work,” Twist shares. “It’s possibly because it’s the polar opposite to growing up in London, it’s about fantasy for me.” 

For the project, the team channelled the personas of stars like Dolly Parton, Shania Twain and Lana Del Rey to embody three classic archetypes: the aspiring starlet, the glamour girl, and the blonde bombshell. The characters are brought to life through hair styling and exaggerated wigs by Linus Johansson and the pageant style make-up by Twist.

Here, the team tells us more about how the shoot came together, the products used to create their iconic beauty looks and the timeless appeal of Americana.

What do you think of as a typical beauty look for the Americana aesthetic?

Aimee Gillingwater: Hair, tits and angel eyes. There’s something about being provocative and also being a good American girl, once again it’s a beautiful juxtaposition.

Aimee Twist: It’s a very glossy and glamorous look, almost pageant style. It’s very heavy on the eyes but also bronzy with natural freckles coming through, reflective of Western girl style.

What archetypes do you explore in this shoot? 

Aimee Gillingwater: As the wigs came out and the looks came together it was only inevitable: Dolly, Jolene and Lana. There’s the American songbird Dolly with a heart of gold and a purity unmatched. Jolene, the misunderstood who craves love even if it means being a little selfish. And Lana, who is the best of both devil and angel. It was extremely fun.

Aimee Twist: For the cowgirl, we played into the aspiring starlet narrative, she’s a little rebellious but she’s got big dreams of making it in Hollywood. Then for the glamour girl we wanted a classic Hollywood look with elements of Southern Belle and for the Blonde, she’s your classic country music star and loves the pageantry, very girly but also fun and not too serious.

Which products were key to achieving the beauty looks?

Aimee Twist: For the aspiring starlet, I used Freck freckle pen to create lots of freckles on Aimee’s face. I then used similar tones to create a monochromatic look that matched with the hair. For the glamour girl I went heavy on the lipliner, I used Endless Cacao by Make-up Forever which is a real staple in my kit. And for the Country Music star, I used Half Magic Beauty’s Face Gems to create the rhinestone eye look.

What role did the wigs play in transforming the model’s identities?

Linus Johansson: I think the wigs and general styling of the models’ own hair played a big part in transforming their identity. But I think the look could be completed with or without either hair or make-up. The new persona was coming through as make-up was being done, and then hair or wigs were the things that topped it all off. You could really see it in the model that they adapted a whole new persona for each look we created for them and I think that comes through in the images as well.

Aside from the romanticised aspects of the aesthetic, do you ever think about the darker aspects of Americana?

Aimee Gillingwater: All the time. Women definitely have a much harder time in that part of the world, even today. It’s part of the reason that strong characters – like the Dollys and Lanas – are so important. Beauty has been weaponised due to things like beauty pageants, which start at extremely young ages and have been proven to have darker sides and outcomes. But showing a strong girl who’s beautiful and fierce is exactly what the world needs.

Photography Lewis Vorn, make-up Aimee Twist, hair Linus Johansson, talent Aimee Gillingwater, clothing provided by Amo Vintage