Bad Talents® is the creative identity of Shelby Alexander, a multidisciplinary artist + creative director working across fine art, beauty, and brand.
Alongside an active fine-art practice exhibited nationally, Shelby leads global creative for some of the world’s most iconic consumer brands. She is currently Global Creative Director at Dermalogica, with prior leadership roles spanning Barbie at Mattel and global beauty brands at Procter & Gamble.
FINE ART
Bad Talents® is Shelby Alexander’s fine-art practice, rooted in contemporary figurative painting and mixed media. Her work explores femininity, beauty, and consumption through material contrast and subtle imperfection, often incorporating repurposed vintage textiles and secondhand garments as both surface and subject.
Drawing from a background in fashion and visual culture, her work reflects a tension between beauty as self-expression and beauty as industry—examining desire, artifice, and the environmental cost embedded in what we wear. Through this lens, Bad Talents® considers femininity as both refuge and construction, balancing restraint with disruption.
BRAND
In parallel with her studio practice, Shelby operates as a senior creative leader within global consumer brands. She is currently Global Creative Director at Dermalogica, where she built and scaled the brand’s in-house creative organization from the ground up and leads global creative vision across campaigns, product launches, and brand systems.
Previously, Shelby held leadership roles at Mattel as Associate Creative Director for Barbie, shaping global campaigns and cultural moments for one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Earlier in her career, she led creative and design for Procter & Gamble Beauty, contributing to global skincare brands including Olay.
BEHIND THE WORK
Shelby Alexander lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2014 with degrees in Visual Art & Design and Business Economics and studied fashion design at Pratt Institute in New York City. Her fine-art work has been exhibited nationally in galleries and museums and presented publicly on four billboards—two in Los Angeles, one in Indianapolis, and one in New York City. Most recently, she completed a 2024–2025 residency at Art Share L.A. and the 2025 Château d’Orquevaux Artists & Writers Residency in France.
SPOTLIGHTS
Bad Talents, Great Career You’re Probably Okay Podcast
Meet Bad Talents Bold Journey
Starting Your Creative Career: Bad Talents CanvasRebel
Life & Work with Bad Talents Voyage LA
Meet Bad Talents: Artist & Designer Shoutout LA