Photo series: What is "femininity" for Gen Z? (NSFW)

“It all started with Livvy, who I discovered on Instagram a year ago. She was the first and original subject of these photos.” Italian photographer Guen Fiore shares her latest project, GIRLS – a candid look at Gen Z femininity and its myriad forms. A collaboration with stylist Rubina Vita Marchiori, the photo series of portraits of young women from different countries sheds light on how young adults experience our world in the here and now. Refinery29 also spoke to the young people in the images.

The first pictures Fiore took of 20-year-old Livvy are beautiful. Her peachy hair and radiance while posing in her room in pretty outfits make her an intriguing subject. "I was particularly attracted to her charisma, of course, but also the way she expresses herself - with a mysterious mixture of sensuality and innocence. I had the opportunity to photograph them a few times in different environments and little by little I designed the project around them,” says Fiore. She contacted Marchiori, and the three work out a joint shoot. "After that, we were so enthusiastic about the session with Livvy that we decided to continue with other women," says Fiore.

The duo found their models in different ways - through acquaintances, through modeling agencies and via Instagram. Her process was uncomplicated and based on her shared desire for a personal, authentic and intimate approach. Because of this, they decided to photograph all the models in their own bedrooms whenever possible; when it came to styling, Marchiori combined the women's favorite pieces with pieces she had selected. “When I proposed the project to Rubina, it was very important to me that we kept it realistic and true to the women that our models actually are today. I wanted to manipulate as little as possible, but also give Rubina enough freedom to experiment and be creative,” says Fiore. "But above all, we wanted to have fun and trust the women, let them invite us into their world and link it to our own memories."

Born in 1988, Fiore is a Millennial, pre-Gen Z generation. Her own teenage life began in Pescara, Italy, before moving to Rome to study mechanical engineering, where she discovered her love for photography. Before long she dreamed of making photography a career and in 2018 she moved to London to work as a professional photographer. In 2019 she met Marchiori, with whom she became friends after collaborating on several editorial projects. "That's why, as I envisioned this story, I knew Rubina was the only person I wanted to work with on a long-term project like this," says Fiore. She doesn't just admire Marchiori's vision: "We're similar in age, so we share a lot of experiences - which was very important for this story."

Fiore and Marchiori experienced their teenage years in the 2000s. They quickly discovered that, as a result, they both admired Gen Z style and were excited to see many of the trends from their own youth making a comeback. "We're going through a very nostalgic '00s phase right now," Fiore says with a smile. Aside from the Gen Z aesthetic, the two were interested in the very different context of current youth compared to their own. Fiore says her own growing up was much more secretive than that of the girls she meets today. “I remember growing up in a society where there was no room for other definitions of beauty. You had to be tall, thin, blonde, white and tan to be considered beautiful, and that felt like something very desirable," she says. “I never realized how much that affected me until recently when I started working with such inspiring women and girls and thinking about beauty without any external filters or conditioning. I think young women today have a lot more facets to choose from and while there's still a lot of room for improvement - and the same pressure - there's so much more at stake today than just beauty."

It is not easy to pinpoint the beginning of a particular zeitgeist. But if we look at the values ​​that seem to unite most Gen Z—progressive politics, intersectional feminism, climate activism, identity as a spectrum—the Gen Z zeitgeist must have to do with how (and most importantly where) young people are currently growing up. For millennials, the internet was largely new when they were young; for Gen Z, online life is just as real as the offline world. The Internet has democratized and globalized youth. This is precisely why social media is such a big part of Gen Z identity. “On the one hand, platforms like Instagram have made it easier to present yourself to the outside world,” Marchiori says, “but on the other hand, they also make us much more vulnerable to insults and judgments from others who can hide behind a screen and throw comments around .” Also, out in the real world, women still suffer from old, sexist prejudices—that Gen Z also struggles with.

What Fiore and Marchiori admire most about Gen Z is their relentless, passionate desire for self-expression and their will to take up their own space. "Regardless of physical similarities, there's no denying that this generation of girls and women exudes a confidence, emancipation, and desire for freedom of self-expression that our generation just didn't have. It's so great," says Fiore. "The young people we've met are so much more conscious of society than I was then, and that's an element we really wanted to focus on." Marchiori agrees, adding that each of the girls has inspired her in new ways. "What sets this generation apart is that these girls are proud and confident in their uniqueness and are not afraid to be the most authentic version of themselves," she says.

In 2020, the New York Post reported that Gen Z is now the largest generation, accounting for 32 percent of the world's population. That's around 2.47 billion of the 7.7 billion on Earth. So we should listen and learn from this enormous population, especially as the next few decades lie in their hands. At least we know that this future is sacred to them.

Photography: Guen FioreStyling: Rubina Vita MarchioriMakeup: Machiko Yano and Raffaele RomagnoliModels: Livvy, Albertine, Eliza, Molly, Anugraha, Florence, Vera, Jewel (all by Anti-Agency), Catherine, Karwea and Adhieu (by Neo Management) .