Is Tyla’s snakeskin shirt actually a tattoo?

South African pop sensation Tyla has never been one to shy away from a fashion risk, and her latest appearance in Paris has certainly given her fans a reason to do a double take. Stepping out during the final days of Paris Fashion Week, the 24-year-old Water singer appeared to be donning a snakeskin-print jacket. However, a closer look revealed that the top wasn’t actually a piece of clothing at all, but a temporary tattoo on her skin.

Decoding the art of illusion in Tyla‘s tattoo shirt

The mastermind behind the latest fashion sensation is Simon Carle, who has certainly been making waves with his latest inked fashion pieces. The snakeskin-print jacket on Tyla consisted of a faux snakeskin print applied in multiple sections across her torso and arms to mimic the look of a fitted moto jacket.

However, while the front presented a believable illusion of a turtleneck shirt, the back told a completely different story. The design ended abruptly under the arms, leaving the singer’s back completely bare, aside from a delicate gold Chanel chain necklace. In taking to Instagram to show off the finished piece, Tyla captioned the post with the following words: “Skin tight X @simoncarle__ Thanks for my Tat.”

Y2K inspiration

To complete the bold outfit, Tyla drew inspiration from the Y2K fashion trend. She combined the body art with ultra-low-rise Rock Revival ‘Camille’ Moto Jeans, which she wore unbuttoned to show off her bedazzled belly button piercing. Tyla accessorised with vintage DSquared Fall 2016 Samurai heels in a bold splash of color and a Valentino suede and python shoulder bag.

A growing trend

However, this isn’t the first time Carle has replaced fabric with tattoo art. The fashion designer, who used to work under John Galliano at Maison Margiela, has in the past created tattoo shirts with lace designs, playing cards, and even a cone bra corset. With Tyla’s sophomore album A-Pop set to drop this summer, it looks like the singer is ready to shed her old skin and get a new fashion injection with her new style.

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