I am so incredibly honored to be part of this issue at FFO. I have been with them since 2020 and have had many stories rejected through the years.
Check it out here: https://www.flashfictiononline.com/article/face-full-of-nations/
In The Devil Wear’s Prada there is a famous scene where the character Andy thinks she is above fashion and its scruples:
Jocelyn: [holding up two belts] It’s a tough call. They’re so different.
[Andy snickers; everyone in the room stops and stares at her]
Miranda Priestly: Something funny?
Andy Sachs: No… No, no, nothing’s… you know, it’s just… both those belts look exactly the same to me. You know, I’m still learning about this stuff and, uh…
Miranda Priestly: “This stuff”? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select, I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. And you’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets?
[turns to an outfit she is styling]
We sacrifice a lot for fashion/beauty, often without realizing it. In this surreal flash I explore not only strange future beauty trends but their cost as well.