He’s the distinctive, off-the-wall talent behind some of our most iconic images – now the make-up artist is making a mark on our masthead
Four years ago make-up artist Yadim got a last-minute phone call from photographer Sharif Hamza – would he fly to London for a shoot? He said yes, bought a ticket, and two days later returned home with his first solo editorial job under his belt: Dazed’s October 2010 cover. The resulting images were striking – Kirsi Pyrhonen styled by Karen Langley in looks that gained layers with each shot, morphing from Alexander Wang minimalism to a final medley which included Prada, Balenciaga and Lanvin. With Pyrhonen’s glowing skin softly sculpted, Yadim topped off the look with a taupe matte lip. “I will never forget that shoot,” he admits with sincerity. “Dazed gave me my first real break, the first editorial I ever worked on on my own.”
A few short years later, he’s regarded as one of the industry’s most visionary talents. He’s made-up Rihanna for a Balmain campaign, worked as Dior’s international make-up designer, and currently acts as a rep for cosmetics giant Maybelline as their global make-up artist. After coming in at number ten on the Dazed 100, the beloved beauty renegade is making his mark on the masthead as we officially announce him as our beauty editor. His first call of duty at Dazed? Making cover star and queen of the 100 Kendall Jenner into a space girl with a super glossy pout, a wide-eyed retro soldier with a row of Twiggy-esque falsies, and a veiled romantic heroine with slick lids and a striking red lip. “Everyone knows her from the pop stratosphere, but I wanted to transform her into something that we haven’t seen before,” he explained.
For someone in an industry driven by ideas of perfection, Yadim is more interested in the transformative power of make-up. “I think the most fun, unexpected aspect of beauty is that it doesn’t always have to be about making the girl look as beautiful as she can – it can be about creating something interesting or different,” he believes. This is a sentiment echoed throughout his Winter issue beauty special Thread Lightly, shot by past collaborator Gregory Harris. Model Alexandra Elizabeth’s skin glistens in a series of surreal images, thread marking out her features with bold lines, her lips a shining black in one look. “I love it when beauty goes slightly wrong,” Yadim admits. “When there’s a little bit of a dark side to it.”
“Dazed gave me my first real break, the first editorial I ever worked on on my own.” – Yadim
Despite his success, Yadim never set out to be a make-up artist. “I was just going to parties with friends and going to the clubs – we’d douse ourselves in glitter and paint,” he reminisces – “I didn’t know that I could make a career out of it, but I didn't want to work in a cubicle. I wanted to work in something that excited me every day.” After his first editorial, more work with Dazed soon followed, including several covers – March 2011, featuring Arizona Muse and lensed once more by Hamza, Riccardo Tisci’s epic guest art-directed 20th anniversary shoot for October 2011, and FKA twigs’ summer 2014 Future Shock issue. “There aren’t many magazines you can do anything for, but Dazed is one of those,” Yadim closes. “I'm so excited that I'm able to be a part of it.”
Vote Yadim to a new ranking on the Readers 100 by visiting his profile here.
Thread Lightly: hair Holli Smith at Total Management using Bumble and bumble; make-up Yadim at Art Partner; nails Yuko Tsuchihashi at Susan Price; model Alexandra Elizabeth at The Society; photographic assistant Stephen Wordie; hair assistant Vi Huynh; make-up assistants Kanako Takase, Mondo Leon; production Bo Zhang at Management+Artists; casting Noah Shelley