Zayn Malik took face swapping to a whole new level last night, when he used the app to switch his face with the fun-sized version of his face printed on his shirt. Like most face swaps, the photo is pretty weird and fascinating. But, the question is why is Zayn wearing a shirt with his own face on it in the first place?
Celebrities wearing their face on clothing is actually nothing new (Mick Jagger did it decades ago), but there has been a resurgence in the trend. Recently, we've seen famous people like Kylie Jenner and Miley Cyrus rocking clothes emblazoned with their mug. Even though it could be written off as just a meta-display of narcissism, it seems that most celebrities are actually aware of how ridiculous it is.
The reason for Zayn's choice of shirt seems pretty clear since it appears to be his new merch, which means it is probably shameless self-promotion under the guise of a face swap. But, others like Kylie Jenner and Jaden Smith's girlfriend Sarah Snyder are clearly "in on the joke." Earlier this week Jenner posted a selfie wearing a shirt with a huge image of her face. But, unlike those worn by fellow famous people like Nicki Minaj and Paris Hilton, the picture is super unflattering. People were actually calling the move "inspiring" because to them it represented Jenner's self-acceptance. In reality, it was probably just Jenner letting everyone she isn't afraid to poke fun at herself.
Jaden Smith's girlfriend pulled a similar move when she wore a T-shirt plastered with her mugshot. The 19-year-old faced some serious charges after stealing a $16,000 Hermes bag, but she clearly didn't let that affect her sense of humor. She wore the shirt, which was created for her by the brand PizzaSlime, and posted a picture in it adding the hashtag "56 Nights," a reference to the Future's song about DJ Esco's jail time. Smith recently wore the shirt as well.
On the other hand, there are some celebs who just like to revel in their narcissistic glory. Kim Kardashian has been spotted shamelessly wearing a leather jacket that has paintings of several of her selfies on it. The reality star actually had the piece commissioned by a bespoke brand in New Zealand and has worn it on multiple occasions.
While we may never fully understand the phenomena of a celebrity wearing their own face, there's a pretty good chance they are trolling us all.
