This past weekend’s Met Gala provided a higher-than-average number of internet-certified Looks, as fashion luminaries from around the world attempted to wrestle (with mixed success) with the theme of “Camp.” But while we can brook any number of arguments about who did or did not understand Susan Sontag’s proclamations on the topic of unintentional excess, we can definitely say that only one person showed up carrying a 3D-printed copy of his own head, and that person was Jared Leto.
Indeed, the former (and future?) Joker showed up carrying a Gucci-printed version of his own bewigged dome, one that apparently, per Forbes, cost a mildly ridiculous $11,000 to create. Which seems—and admittedly, we haven’t been on the fake celebrity head market in a while, so our estimation and evaluation skills might be a little rusty here—like a lot. Surely, given the proliferation of 3D printing technology out in the world right now, there must be a better way?
Obviously, the easiest way for us to get the skull-bling in question would be to politely ask Jared Leto to sit down with a 3D scanner and get the job done professionally. (Forbes—really, the planet’s foremost authority on the acquisition of digitally manufactured heads—suggests in a separate article that this would cost about $400.) But of course, Leto is a notorious prankster, and we have to ask ourselves: What if he somehow fooled us, and we ended up with a copy of Jake Gyllenhaal’s head instead? That would certainly be an amazing red carpet flex, sure, but it’s not what we’re looking for in fake craniums at this precise moment.
Luckily, there are ways to get around the Leto Necessity—notably, techniques that allow you to use 2D photos to build a 3D model. Happily, Jared Leto, as an actor, model, and musician, is one of the most photographed people on the planet—at least by people who manage to enjoy looking at Jared Leto—so we have to assume this is the right way to go. A quick Getty Images search brings up more than 22,000 photos of the 30 Seconds To Mars singer, so you’ve really got your pick, especially if you don’t mind your particular Personal Jared having a watermark burnt into his face. Heck, there are even free programs for the 2D to 3D conversion, so at this point, all you’re out is some cash for printing filament, wig and artificial beard hair costs, and your time—which, if you’re pursuing this particular project, is probably something of a low-value commodity.