I generally find Western fashion magazines to be a yawn. One exception Let Them Eat Cake, which showcases emerging talent and takes inspiration from Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution: “the ignorance of the elite yet a catalyst for a new beginning.”

The new issue, themed “Art of War,” doesn’t disappoint. I enjoyed all the spreads, but these images from Neon O’Clock Works stopped me dead in my tracks. The Japanese artists (Tomihiro Kono & Sayaka Maruyama) began collaborating in 2002 and are now based in London. The overarching concept: “making visual images with conceptual stories inside […] where we explore fantasy world in reality.”

Neon O’Clock Works explores uncanny beauty through Ancien Régime styling – not unlike Gothic Lolita. Their duotone prints put children in Victorian gowns and prop them in rigid poses. A new series, entitled “Hypnotism,” combines Geisha makeup with Victorian lace and corsetry.

The images above are from “Krageneidechse” (Deutsch for “collar lizard”): “These portraits are the symbols of a slave of beauty, who stood looking at her inside in a silent room.” From the artists’ perspective, the corset is a destructive instrument that perpetuates women’s endless desire for beauty. And yet, their reflections on this theme are inherently beautiful… the footage of a lady’s lace sleeves and ringed fingers is especially arresting.