Weird Spring 2011 Trend Alert: Face Paint? (UPDATED)

When I saw Kiera Knightly‘s face painted for a portrait by Ellen von Unwerth in this month’s Vogue Italia, I thought, “Ok, that’s a little weird.”

Then, the bodacious Nicki Minaj sported some Dia de los Muertos-esque face paint accompanied by tribal squiggles painted on her legs in the Spring Preview issue of V. I was sure that this was merely a coincidence, and that we certainly didn’t have an emerging trend on our hands.

Well, I might have been wrong. The Fall/Winter 2011 show packages from modeling agencies are trickling in, and the most distinctive characteristic of the Ford Models offering is lo and behold face paint. Yikes.

Not that I’m worried that this strange phenomenon will catch on, but what’s up with the body art outside of Mardi Gras or Halloween? Aside from major theatricality points, I really hate the way it looks, unless you’re starring in a Broadway production of The Lion King.

What do you think is up with fashion’s recent fascination with face paint? And would you ever wear it?

[UPDATE: Today the cover of Doingbird #15 was released, with newcomer Britt Maren rocking some sort of clown makeup. Will somebody please tell me what is going on with this trend?]