Jolie Laide is a French expression used to describe a woman who, at times, possesses almost ugly physical features, but is also strangely beautiful. The series is loosely based on the Ugly Duckling, and it combines fashion images juxtaposed with beauty and abstract shots. Based on rites of passage, it visually describes both the morph from “duckling” to swan, and vulnerable child to graceful adult. Yet, in both humans and birds, something of the awkward childlike quality always remains.