Guerrilla Girl

Drivers cruising La Brea Avenue a few summers back may have wondered about the anime mural of a buxom Tinker Bell. Seemed like an odd subject for a muralist--but it was right up the alley of Disney-commissioned graffiti artist Fafi. The Parisian Pop Art phenom first painted the characters she calls “Fafinettes” on walls in her native Toulouse 14 years ago. Now she’s brought out a 35-piece collection for MAC Cosmetics based on her amped-up color palette, featuring new Fafinette characters. What is a Fafinette? “An adventuress with a very animated love life,” says Fafi, who sells striped T-shirts and pink satin pleated miniskirts at www.fafi.net. Fafinettes have adorned Diet Coke cans in France and sneakers and hoodies for Adidas. Still, she continues to rankle cops, feminists and anti-graffiti crusaders as she tags her vixens on public walls from Hong Kong to New York. She may be cashing in, but Fafi still has her edge.

--rose apodaca