What is fish gape? Red carpet trend adopted by Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus

Comedy movie Zoolander is responsible for making the duck face "a thing" but the facial pose has now been replaced by an equally bizarre trend, dubbed the fish gape. Celebrities have subtly traded pouts in recent months with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez and Miley Cyrus among the biggest offenders.

Gone are the days when the rich and famous would push their lips out on the red carpet while posing for paparazzi pictures as they have now perfected a whole new trend that is spreading far and wide in Hollywood. The fish gape requires the celebrity to slightly part their lips while sucking their cheeks in.

It is entirely as strange as it sounds with the pose often forcing an unnatural expression akin to a deer stuck in headlights or, according to the general consensus, gormless. Whereas the duck face makes the lips appear plumper, the fish gape aims to give the illusion of a slimmer face due to the drawn in cheeks and low chin.

Celebrities are known for adopting weird and wonderful trends but why has the fish gape caught on? Harley Street psychologist Dr Becky Spelman told the Mail Online: "Because of the way today's spotlight shines on celebrities, the red carpet is a daunting place for even the most confident and experienced individual. For a long time, the fear of giving too much of the artist's personality away on this public platform kept a relatively narrow set of rules; stand like this, keep your face like this etc."

Spelman credits the increased obsession with looks in celebrity circles on social media and the notorious selfie, adding: "However, the development of the social media generation, and particularly the rise and rise of the selfie, has seen these rules be widened, as this next generation are far more used to exposing their personalities through playing around on camera. This has led to a trend whereby, rather than be sullen and still, celebrities are being more playful in public."

The fish gape looks as though it is here to stay and these following celebrities have hit the mark: