Definition

Aesthetic refers to a set of principles or characteristics that are concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty, especially in art and design.

Pronunciation

US English

UK English


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Excerpts from News Articles

1

And across social media, online forums and private group chats, some people looking to lose weight for primarily aesthetic purposes are searching for a way to skirt the requirements.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

2

Having shown regularly during New York and London fashion weeks before making her Paris Fashion Week debut last September, she is certainly no fashion novice and her label has long been synonymous with a sexy and streamlined aesthetic — not a far cry from the sharp minis and sleek silhouettes that were so integral to Posh Spice's look, although now rendered in an undoubtedly more grown-up, glamorous way.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

3

Nautical styles are both "practical but also visually appealing," Lyons added. "I think it is this functionality combined with aesthetic appeal that makes it so inspirational to all designers -- not just luxury ones."

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

4

Alongside addressing the visual culture of Black music videos, plastic surgery and the recent belfie (a portmanteau of butt and selfie) craze in the same vein, Radke also highlights periods in contemporary history where trends skewed in different, oppositional directions. She highlights the rise of "buttless women" in the 1910s — a look best represented by the sleek look of the flapper — through the invention of sizing and the 90s brand of "heroin chic" captured by the supermodel Kate Moss . Such an aesthetic is "something that's never really gone away," Radke noted.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

5

In the ancient world, patients were usually "seeking to replace something rather than enhance their aesthetic appeal," Yousef said. And given the pain and risks involved, going under the knife was reserved for those most in need. "Wine was the anesthetic," Yousef added.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

6

Although their meteoric rise is similar to Blackpink's, and both acts are multi-member girl groups (NewJeans has five members to Blackpink's four), that's mostly where the similarities end. When it comes to aesthetic and musical appeal, NewJeans has been charting its own path with a girl-next-door-look and sweet pop tunes since debuting last July.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

7

Others opt for a more realistic aesthetic , like Victoria Lee, who became a tattoo artist shortly after completing her studies at the renowned Academy of Arts and Design at Beijing's Tsinghua University. Her photorealistic style sees her inking detailed portraits ranging from clients' relatives and pets to pop stars and historical figures.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

8

More skin was flaunted at Roberto Cavalli and Dolce & Gabbana. The former channeled hedonism and excess, with patchwork leather trimmed in crystals, animal motifs, lots of faux-fur and black lace reinvented in countless different ways from corsets to figure-hugging dresses. Dolce & Gabbana meanwhile reached for a glamazon aesthetic through lingerie dressing — bras with metal cups, lacy teddies, embroidered slips — paired with feathered parkas, white tuxedos and hourglass shaped double-wool coats — no doubt a nod to the brand's ongoing collaboration with Kim Kardashian, who was seated front row.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

9

The visionary designer's unexpected passing sent shockwaves through the industry and beyond. As the first Black artistic director of Louis Vuitton, Abloh made history when he was appointed in 2018 and was widely credited for bringing a younger demographic to the storied fashion house with designs that brought a streetwear aesthetic to the luxury world.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

10

After setting up his own firm in 1984, Chipperfield completed a series of commissions in Japan, where his modest approach chimed with the country's own minimalist aesthetic . He has gone on to build more outside the UK than within it, working extensively in continental Europe, North America and Asia, while opening offices in Berlin, Milan and Shanghai.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

11

Simply adding some egg yolk to their works, it turns out, could have long-lasting effects that went beyond just aesthetics .

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

12

For Hwang, the genre's next step should be featuring a wider range of body types and physical attributes. "The Korean sense of aesthetics does not allow for someone who is not conventionally beautiful to appear on television, but that will change, too."

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

13

For artist and beauty futurist Alex Box, the metaverse offers an opportunity to tear down existing aesthetic conventions and rethink how we present ourselves.

Logo 2023-04-09 CNN News

14

Liposuction has overtaken breast augmentation as the world's most popular form of cosmetic surgery amid growing concern about the implants' links to cancer, according to newly published data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS).

Logo 2023-04-12 CNN News

15

Meanwhile, Ena, who didn't share her surname out of privacy concerns, channeled a "dreamy, cute" aesthetic in a light-blue and cream outfit, her pinkish hair braided in pigtails under a lace bucket hat.

Logo 2023-04-12 CNN News

16

Kwame Brathwaite, the pioneering activist and photographer whose work helped define the aesthetics of the "Black is Beautiful" movement of the 1960s and beyond, died on April 1, aged 85.

Logo 2023-04-13 CNN News

17

The action was taken following a complaint to the ASA, the UK's regulator of advertising, about a promotional page on www.glowday.com, a British aesthetic treatment comparison site.

Logo 2023-04-14 CNN News

18

For women who came of age wearing them, Quant's designs represented freedom, empowerment, and the rejection of their parents' aesthetic standards.

Logo 2023-04-14 CNN News

19

In 2017, he co-authored a study mapping the self-reported emotions of over 850 participants as they watched more than 2,000 short videos. The researchers cataloged 27 emotions, some of which were more likely to co-occur and so were considered related. The study found that awe was experienced as a distinct emotion, different from beauty, although it was often reported alongside "admiration" and " aesthetic appreciation." Keltner concludes, therefore, that it's important — albeit difficult — to differentiate stimuli that are simply beautiful from those that tend to evoke awe.

Logo 2023-04-17 CNN News

20

And across social media, online forums and private group chats, some people looking to lose weight for primarily aesthetic purposes are searching for a way to skirt the requirements.

Logo 2023-04-18 CNN News

21

These wooden window coverings and balconies weren’t just popular for aesthetic reasons – although many are beautiful, with intricate designs of circles, crescent moons, arrows or stars and often painted in shades of blue or green.

Logo 2023-04-18 CNN News

22

Although their meteoric rise is similar to Blackpink's, and both acts are multi-member girl groups (NewJeans has five members to Blackpink's four), that's mostly where the similarities end. When it comes to aesthetic and musical appeal, NewJeans has been charting its own path with a girl-next-door-look and sweet pop tunes since debuting last July.

Logo 2023-04-18 CNN News

23

Romantic struggles also impact Maddy's aesthetic . While it begins with colorful matching sets and provocative outfits with cutouts, it evolves over time alongside her emotional maturation and the breakdown of her relationship.

Logo 2023-04-18 CNN News

24

The visionary designer's unexpected passing sent shockwaves through the industry and beyond. As the first Black artistic director of Louis Vuitton, Abloh made history when he was appointed in 2018 and was widely credited for bringing a younger demographic to the storied fashion house with designs that brought a streetwear aesthetic to the luxury world.

Logo 2023-04-18 CNN News

25

To be sure, the age of social media has only amplified stigmas associated with ageing, particularly for the female gender, which has traditionally been disproportionately tasked with being aesthetically pleasing.

Logo 2023-04-04 Al Jazeera

26

In "Elder Sex," Minter utilized one of her signature aesthetics , which she has explored in both hyperrealistic paintings and photographs: jewel-toned, close-cropped compositions of glistening bodies, seemingly shown through the glass of a steamed-up mirror or window. But despite her credentials as one of the most important and boundary-breaking artists today — and despite stars such as Lady Gaga and Lizzo posing for her — Minter couldn't find enough real couples willing to participate.

Logo 2023-04-18 CNN News

27

I ask my friend F, who is writing a novel featuring a medieval contemplative order, for advice. “Write longhand in a ‘scriptorium’,” she orders me, before she gets distracted by aesthetics , telling me I need a tonsure (“Take your wig off!”), and to “wear something floaty with nothing underneath” (she’s never experienced a Yorkshire spring). Another friend asks what kind of monk I’m emulating.

Logo 2023-04-03 The Guardian

28

Absolutely. One of my first papers analysed influencer aesthetics , and we found that those ranked top by marketing and advertising fell into stereotypical western beauty ideals: thin, feminine, white, straight.

Logo 2023-04-02 The Guardian

29

Lucas is a photographer, and Pálmason takes delight in the tactile practicalities of the wet-plate process he uses: separating egg whites to be smeared on the imaging glass; burying himself under the death-like cowl of his instrument. Cinematographer Maria von Hausswolff perfectly captures the aesthetics of Lucas’s pictures, adding softening rounded edges to the film’s squarish Academy ratio, with black borders framing the images like pictures at an exhibition. Her camera is largely static, mirroring the tripoded nature of Lucas’s portraits, with audacious long takes and slow pans that unfold to powerful effect.

Logo 2023-04-09 The Guardian

30

The visuals are beautiful, with lusciously detailed courses, from Liberty National with its view of the Manhattan skyline to Pebble Beach where the holes edge along rugged cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. These courses don’t simply provide aesthetic contrast – they play very differently and require planning. Each hole demands that you tweak your swing, club and shot shaping depending on the shape of the fairway, the lie of the bunkers and myriad other factors.

Logo 2023-04-10 The Guardian

31

The person who is the place has a long-sighted perspective on their own geography. Bennet’s angle is to blend the aesthetic and informative. Watery inlets are turned from pewter to bronze by the evening sun, “a habitat where rare / plants learn to live with salt, and birds nest on the ground”.

Logo 2023-04-10 The Guardian

32

I ditched the greasepaint and became Bologne in my short scene. The show’s director and designer did not attain the “ aesthetic uniformity” of powdered white faces, but I gained a greater sense of belonging and purpose during the performance. I was representing myself authentically as well as charting and acknowledging the diversity of European history.

Logo 2023-04-12 The Guardian

33

“It’s all about the aesthetics ,” beams Vegas, as he shows us round. “I’m not a petrolhead. I don’t know anything about motors, but I just love the engineering and the rounded edges of the bodywork. And there’s such a history and romance to the vehicles, which I just adore.”

Logo 2023-04-13 The Guardian

34

A Black boy in love with white girls. If you don’t think about it too much, it’s amusing, especially if you’re white. After all, a Black man is writing, so you’re at liberty to enjoy the premise, and, more perversely, to have validated an unspeakable, inevitable and “natural” aesthetic superiority that transubstantiates white people into beings of worship. If you’re Black, the smile is tight. You think, Danger! Brotha, no! Please don’t feed them that.

Logo 2023-04-13 The Guardian

35

Mani grows scrubbier further south. The ruins of Tigani castle and its Byzantine remains stand on a lonely, wild peninsula, and nearby, Odigitria church, also Byzantine, is one of Greece’s most aesthetic and ascetic churches, built into a hidden bluff above a steep slope rolling down to the sea. Both are stunning at sunset.

Logo 2023-04-15 The Guardian