No Eyebrows Fashionable?

The latest fashion trend seems to have started with the fall ’09 Balenciaga and Prada runways on which their models lacked eyebrows. Pat McGrath, the "genius" behind the first brow-less "beauties," used wax-like makeup to cover those on the models'. Longchamp, Givenchy and Valentino followed the example in recent ads. This trend has mostly kept within the high fashion industry, but is slowly leaking into Hollywood. In her blog, Kim Kardashian sported the look in a recently uploaded picture. She views it as a more "Gothic" or "sinister" style to which she credits Twilight as her inspiration.

Shockingly, this trend isn't entirely new. In the 1570's, during Elizabeth I's reign over England, women actually removed their eyebrows and eyelashes as a means of being fashionable. Some even purposely receded their hairlines. The hairless and chiseled look echos that of acclaimed Greek statues.

But, why do designers and makeup artists have their models waxing, bleaching, and shaving their eyebrows away in this time period? The desire is a blank canvas without emotion. It makes them appear more severe when showing off the latest clothing designs. But is this a good thing? If this becomes a true fashion trend all around the world, will it make us a more uniform and robotic people? Without eyebrows, expressing emotion becomes close to impossible. On the other hand, is this just an artistic high fashion-only trend?