The body as a cultural surface: tattoo, fashion and self-image

We spend our time watching people,

Clothing, hair, jewellery, tattoos, shoes… everything.

Not necessarily to judge, even if well, we all have a little opinion sometimes.

But above all because I feel that we communicate a huge amount with our appearance even before we've spoken.

And naturally, being a tattoo artist, I notice it even more. A tattoo completely changes a silhouette. So does an outfit. And a haircut as well.

Ultimately, our body is perhaps the first image we construct of ourselves.

A tattoo doesn't need to have an incredible story

This is probably one of the things I repeat the most.

Not all tattoos have to represent your grandmother, your spiritual rebirth or the three events that changed your life.

You also have every right to get something tattooed just because you think it looks nice.

And that is already a reason.

I even find it quite funny that so much is asked of tattooed people:

"But what does that mean?"

Even though nobody is asking you for the deep meaning of your jacket. Sometimes, you just like a graphic.

You like the way it falls on the arm, the colours, the style, the era it refers to.

And frankly, it's very good as it is.

Fashion and tattooing often tell the same story

For me, fashion and tattooing have always been very closely linked.

In both cases, we choose an image. We choose what we want to show.

And above all, we draw heavily on cultural references.

Punk is the perfect example:

Leather, torn clothes, pins, hair, tattoos… everything was connected.

It wasn’t just a way of dressing. And even today, a huge number of brands still use these codes.

I am thinking in particular of Enfants Riches Déprimés.

First off, just the name: Enfants Riches Déprimés. I love it!

The brand blends luxury with a whole punk, rock, rather dark and at times intentionally provocative universe.

And they had their opened Autumn-Winter 2026 fashion show by Marilyn Manson.

Frankly, could one find anyone more consistent?

I don't think so.

Manson has always used his appearance just as much as his music: the makeup, the clothes, the tattoos, the contacts, the hair…

Everything is part of the persona. And that's precisely what I find interesting.

You look at the person before even hearing the music and you already know what kind of world you've just stepped into.

Music has always influenced how we dress

And that obviously doesn't just apply to Marilyn Manson. Music has created entire looks.

David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Siouxsie Sioux…

You could mute the sound and recognise their universe immediately.

And years later, we still reuse their codes without even necessarily knowing where they come from.

That's what I find brilliant about visual culture, everything circulates.

Music influences fashion. Fashion takes from the street. The street takes back the runway.

The tattoo recovers images from everywhere.

And then it all starts over again.

My references rarely come solely from tattooing

When I am working on a tattoo, I do not just look at other tattoos.

Quite the contrary. It'd end up getting bloody boring very quickly.

I look at a huge amount of painting, posters, architecture, fashion, photography, graphic design…

In my work, Art Nouveau and Art Deco come up a lot.

Mucha obviously, but also Tamara de Lempicka, vintage posters, certain typographies and that whole way of working with lines.

I actually told you more specifically about all this in my article on the construction of my artistic identity in tattooing⁠.

I really think that a personal style is built with everything one looks at.

Not just with what we do for a living.

The body completely changes a drawing

That is also a major difference between an illustration and a tattoo.

You can have a magnificent drawing on paper and end up realising that it doesn't work very well on the body.

It happens. Size changes everything. Location too.

A small piece on the forearm is not going to have the same presence as a large tattoo that takes up a whole thigh or a back.

When I work on large pieces, I think enormously about the silhouette.

I don't just want to place an image somewhere, the design needs to follow the body.

Otherwise, even though the drawing is nice on its own, something doesn't work.

You can see several examples of this work directly in my portfolio⁠.

And tastes change too

We don't talk about that enough either.

Our tastes change, and a good thing too.

I no longer dress like I did when I was 18, I don’t follow exactly the same artists anymore (apart from MM) and I don’t necessarily want the same tattoos anymore.

And yet, the old ones stay.

That's also what I love about tattooing.

He ends up becoming a trace of different versions of us.

Certain tattoos are a perfect match for the person we are today.

Others tell of an era. And frankly, I find that much more interesting than having a body perfectly curated like an Instagram feed.

Tattoo trends, yes… but

Of course there are trends in tattooing.

Like everywhere else. At certain times, everyone wants very fine lines. Then we see tribal making a comeback. Then ornamental. Then the 90s. Then traditional.

And six months later TikTok will probably decide on something else.

I don't think you necessarily have to run away from a trend. If you really like something, go for it.

The problem is rather when you choose a tattoo solely because you've seen it fifty times in the week, or because your sister, mother or girlfriend told you that a certain design would be better.

Because a fashion trend, you can stop wearing it.

The tattoo, slightly less.

So take at least the time to know what YOU like about it.

• How's it going?
• Investment?
• The style?
• What period?

This is generally where one starts to build something more personal.

Eventually, our body is bound to tell a story

I think that's mostly what I like about tattooing.

It is never just a drawing. There is the person.

Her clothes. Her jewellery. The way she wears her tattoo. Her age. Her tastes.

And all of that can completely change the perception of the very same image.

It is exactly the same in my work as a web designer with Minuit d’Orsay.

When I build a website, I think a great deal about what people understand even before they start reading.

The colours, the photos, the typography, the spaces... We look first.

Only then do we read. For a body, it is the same.

And I believe that is ultimately what connects a huge part of what I love: tattooing, fashion, music, art and design. It all starts with an image.