Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story is a 2017 documentary film that presents a deep dive into the life and career of renowned makeup artist, Kevyn Aucoin. Celebrated as a visionary in the world of fashion and beauty, Aucoin’s story is filled with creativity, passion, and a unique sense of what it means to be beautiful. Directed by Tiffany Bartok, the documentary features interviews of supermodels and music icons who speak highly of Aucoin’s influence on their careers and the glamour industry at large.

The film starts with a gripping exploration into Kevyn Aucoin's childhood, primarily spent in the small town of Lafayette, Louisiana. Kevyn as a teenager was seen diving into princess Diana’s wedding photos in 1981 and teaching himself to do makeup by contouring his sister's face with a charcoal pencil and corn starch. His early years are filled with high school strife and struggles with an adoptive family that failed to understand his burgeoning homosexual identity or his unusual obsession with makeup artistry. These struggles build a firm foundation that set the stage for the tenacity and resilience that Kevyn would need throughout his career.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story showcases Aucoin at the apex of his career catapulting from obscurity into a celebrity makeup artist, shaping the visages of supermodels like Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and countless other big names. The film splendidly captures the dualities of Aucoin’s life, as glimpses of his glamorous career are interspersed with shots of his private world. It shows how he handled the fame and influence he amassed, as well as the significance he attributed to beauty and his mission to help everyone find beauty in themselves.

The movie articulates Aucoin’s vision and work through interviews with his family, friends, and big names who offers sincere, heartfelt anecdotes, including Tori Amos and Christy Turlington. These interviews paint a picture of Aucoin as a kind-hearted, empathetic individual who approached his celebrity clients and friends as an equal. Anecdotes from fashion photographers and supermodels highlight Aucoin’s unique technique, his innate talent, and creative genius that set him apart in the industry.

In the documentary, the viewer also gets a detailed insight into Kevyn Aucoin as a person, exploring his personal relationships, coming out story, his joy at finding his birth family, and then his tragic downfall. His continuous body dysmorphia and subsequent addiction to painkillers have also been highlighted to portray his struggle for self-acceptance. Despite all these struggles, he continued to make hundreds of fashion runway participants and many Hollywood celebrities shine all the more.

Aucoin’s life journey is presented in its full tilt – exploring the height of success he achieved, the personal and professional challenges he faced, and his untimely death. Archive footage of Aucoin at work and at play, home videos, and family photos are meticulously interwoven to create an authentic image of the man behind the makeup, taking the audience on a deeply emotional journey.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story does not simply provide insights into the life, work, and influence of Kevyn Aucoin. Furthermore, it delves into the zeitgeist, evoking the effervescent fashion and beauty culture of the 80s and 90s. It provides a nostalgic glimpse into the whirlwind eras of fashion that Aucoin played a prominent role in crafting.

The documentary, in essence, gives us a closer look at the man who transformed the art of makeup, pushing beauty industry boundaries and experimenting with ideas others hadn’t dared to pursue. It illustrates how a young boy from Louisiana changed the perception of beauty in the fashion industry, becoming an advocate for individuality and self-expression.

The film provides an inspirational depiction of one man's illustrious journey in the world of glamour and simultaneously bringing about deeper and broader conversations about beauty norms, body acceptance, and identity. The palette of emotions explored through Aucoin's life story - from joy, success, struggle, to pain - makes this film a truly compelling watch. In all, Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story is as much a celebration of Kevyn Aucoin’s passion and talent as it is a poignant account of transformation and self-acceptance.