How would you capture the evolution of beauty over 30 years?

Mexican brothers and director-photography duo Santiago and Mauricio Sierra focused their lens on subcultures when i-D and Microsoft threw that challenge their way. In this video, they take us behind the scenes as they shoot a music video-style meditation on notions beauty and how it’s shaped by individuals pushing limits.

“We want the viewer to feel like they’re one of the characters,” Mauricio says.

By zooming in on subcultures — New Romantics, Seapunks, Futureheads and more — and then looking individuals right in the eyes, they sought to bring out sparks that would resonate beyond any one scene.

“It’s our interpretation of the world, or at least these subcultures,” Santiago says. “I think it’s very important to engage with people today.”

Our friends at i-D paired the brothers with makeup artist Ralph Siciliano as part of their 30 years of beauty “Beautiful Collaborations” project. Microsoft supported the project as part of their efforts to celebrate how form and beauty can shape devices (like the laptop-tablet hybrid HP Spectre x360 the directors use in the video).

The brothers took the challenge of showing the evolution of beauty a step further by imagining what might be beautiful in the far future.

“We like to think about the far future is quite simple and organic,” Mauricio says.
“It’s cool to think about it as just light.”

For more about the “Beautiful Collaborations” project, check out i-D.