“As a makeup artist working in fashion, no client has ever asked me what degree I have.”
Breaking into creative industries can be daunting, with varying advice regarding the importance of attending established art schools, creating social media portfolios, racking up industry experience, and – through all of it – networking. London-based Ana Takahashi is a young makeup artist that has tried all of these channels and found a way that worked for her. And work it clearly has – she’s done makeup for British and Italian Vogue and campaigns including Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs.
Takahashi first appeared on the social media radar in 2018 when she began to share her makeup looks on Instagram with a friend’s encouragement. At this point, she was still pursuing a Makeup for Performance degree at the London College of Fashion. Soon, she started building a following from her art, which ranged from using her face as a tapestry for florals and pearls to recreating the angsty Wes Anderson character Margot Tenenbaum.
When we speak over email, she has just returned from a two-week holiday in Japan. “It’s truly an idyllic country to explore as an artist. It made me feel so lucky and proud to have Japanese heritage,” she says. A much-needed holiday, as Takahashi’s schedule, is packed – something that became clear when setting up a time to talk between her travels and projects on set.
Anastasia Vartanian: You used to study makeup at university but dropped out to pursue a freelance makeup career. Could you elaborate on why you made this decision?
Ana Takahashi: I wasn’t quite satisfied with my university experience and found it more exciting to experiment in my free time, as the course wasn’t as practical as I would have hoped. The course required us to write a lot of essays that didn’t suit my abilities. It also got to the point where my Instagram was gaining attention and people were asking to book me for jobs. I would always skip class to do paid jobs, which my teachers weren’t happy with. But I figured it’s more valuable to leave university with clients than a degree… I’m glad I made this choice because, as a makeup artist working in fashion, no client has ever asked me what degree I have.
AV: How did you transition from doing personal projects to doing makeup for industry shows and shoots?
AT: The good thing about going to a fashion university is that you meet young designers and photographers. My university was part of University of the Arts London, which Central Saint Martins is also a part of. So I’d spend time there, meeting people and working on their university projects. Some of my initial collaborators included people such as Danni Harris, Conner Ives, Dean Hoy, and Aidan Zamiri. They were the first creatives to introduce me to established publications and were a catalyst for elevating my work outside Instagram.
AV: Over the years, you have done personal projects where you have greater creative control. How did these shoots come about?
AT: I started my career just before Covid-19, so I was pretty distraught when lockdown was announced because I felt my time to flourish had been majorly stunted. I was spending lockdown with photographer Josh Wilks, who has been a long-term collaborator of mine. We decided to do shoots at home to make those few months of isolation not feel wasted. Ever since then, we have been doing these self-funded projects together. Working with established magazines and brands often comes with many restrictions, so we do these personal projects to explore ideas that we wouldn’t be able to explore otherwise. They’ve been incredibly rewarding because when clients and magazines approach me now, they often praise and reference these projects we did. We definitely plan on doing more of these shoots in the future.
AV: You’ve worked with some of pop’s most stylish acts Caroline Polachek and Rina Sawayama) and fashion’s current “it-girls” Julia Fox and Gabbriette. Are you deliberate with the people you work with?
AT: When I started, I definitely didn’t have the luxury of choosing who I worked with; it was more a matter of who would hire me and pay my rent that month! It was only when I started working with artists like Caroline [Polachek] that I realized the importance of creating a connection with the people you are working with. It’s been so inspiring working with her, as every little detail in a project counts. In terms of models, Gabbriette has been my absolute favorite. Not just because of her breathtaking natural beauty but because she is extremely down-to-earth, goofy, and up for doing anything. When a model is enthusiastic about playing with makeup, I get easily inspired. I also love the challenge of transforming a model to look a way they haven’t seen themselves before.
AV: What are your dream collaborations?
AT: My dream model would have to be Devon Aoki; she has always been my favorite for obvious reasons. It’s more my goal to work with individual creatives [than specific brands and publications.] It’s important to not get stuck doing the same thing over and over again—I found the best way to avoid this is to be open to working with new people. One person I’d love to work with is [photographer] Donna Trope. I love their gritty approach to beauty.
AV: Where do you think beauty is going next?
AT: I have no idea where trends are going, but I’d love to see people start doing makeup that suits their features and enhances individual beauty. I think people are too quick to copy contour videos and lip-liner tutorials that don’t suit their own faces. Celebrating individual beauty and unique features would be an amazing trend.
Images courtesy of Ana Takahashi.
