The Rise of ‘fashionable’ Tattoos

Barbara Maregele

Getting first tattoo

Tattoo body art is proving to be a growing ‘fashion’ phenomenon among international celebrities. Stepping away from the conventional norms of society, ‘celebs’ are encouraging their fans to express themselves in this unique manner.

The perception of tattooing has changed over time and is no longer frowned on by society as before. Tattoos have come a long way from the bodies of old sailors, prisoners and rebel biker gangs, to the bodies of young teenage girls.

“I find that my clients are becoming younger and most of them come with a picture of a celeb’s tattoo that they want done. It’s mainly the older, more mature people that have a story behind why they want a specific tattoo,” Aston Pieters , a local tattoo artist, said.

Miley Cyrus

Surveys done by kids health.org shows that the tattoo trend is growing and younger teenagers are being influenced into this by well-known celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and the infamous ‘fashion pioneer’, Lady Gaga. 


For most the procedure of having a tattoo done is extremely painful, it is advised that when choosing to have one, make sure you won’t regret it as for most, it is permanent.

“Most people, coming in for the first time have something small done, and ask me how painful it will be. Depending on what they’re having done and the size I explain that it is different for everyone,” Pieters said.

Pieters explains how he ensures that his shop is clean and hygienic as this eliminates any chances of infections and contamination of his sterile equipment. 


An inspector makes annual visits to his shop in order to ensure that he abides by the constituent health regulations.

Nikita Williams, a 19-year-old accounting student, describes her first tattooing experience as being exhilarating yet painful. She doesn’t regret having it done, but said it will be a while before she considers another one.

“I was so scared at first, when they first came with the machine I thought I was going to faint right there. The first five minutes were extremely painful, but after that you just go numb and wait for it to be all over. I don’t think I will ever regret my tattoo, but I don’t think I’ll be going again anytime soon,” she said.

Pieters says that in order to keep up with the latest tattoo trends, he follows the Tattoo Convention to find out how he can improve as an artist and to update his regular clients with the latest developments in the body art industry.

The Tattoo Convention takes place around the world, it provides tattoo artists as well as the tattoo addicts a forum to express and show off their body arts. For the first time, India will be hosting their first Tattoo Convention later this month. This shows how this culture is transforming and being accepted in a place where it was viewed as taboo and immoral.