At the dawn of the new year, looking both back over the past year and forward to the new year is what many of us do. Our history precedes us and our future is in front of us. How to best create our future may be forefront in our minds. Perhaps we have decided to look at our past experiences and choose to let some of the memories of them go. Maybe even recreate how we look at those memories, creating a kind of alternative history.
The idea of creating a futuristic alternative history is what Steampunk is all about. Old-fashioned steam power plays an important role. Victorian life and silhouettes, the Wild Wild West, exploration of new worlds, and fantasy is all wrapped up in a fashionable hybrid of past and future. While Steampunk “fashion” may be thought of as costume, so many elements are inspiring to me. The clothing and artistic direction of my last 2 editorial photoshoots of 2013 were inspired by some of the creative ideas in Steampunk.
I am fortunate to have met so many talented artists and models to collaborate with in my quest to create fashion stories told in photographs these last 2 years. Everyone involved in these 2 photoshoots are top notch and I’m so greateful for their involvement.
Thanks to Model Dana Johnson, Photographer Chika Okazumi, Makeup Artist Tania Hahm, and Hairdresser Terah Tidy for Glamifornia for their work on “Full Steam Ahead”, photographed against the background of vintage steam engines at Travel Town in Griffith Park.. Fabrics include reincarnated cashmere, beaded wool, micromodal/spandex, and hemp/silk satin.
See the story here:
The last photo shoot of 2013 was inspired by an unusual fabric I came across a few years ago and had used to create some bustiers in one of my previous collections.
Called Sonic Fabric, this recycled/futuristic looking fabric was invented by conceptual artist Alyce Santoro, and is an audible textile woven from recycled, recorded audio cassette tape. Since the casette tapes were recorded with music, etc, the fabric can make sound.
When I heard Alyce was creating a version of Sonic fabric with one note, the sound Ohm, I knew I had to have it. It was the perfect fabric to use in combination with my reincarnated cashmere and hemp blend fabrics to create a collection of Eco Conscious Steampunk Couture. I also pulled jewelry and belts from my archive of Milanese mesh belt and jewelry pieces from the beginning of my business as a belt and jewelry designer in NYC in 1983.
Model Katie Leishman, Photographer Anjani Lynn White, Makeup Artist Julia Taylor, Hairdresser Terah Tidy for Glamifornia, and Production Assistant John Vanatta helped to bring the idea of a futuristic victorian fashionista explorer to life. We shot it at the old Los Angeles Zoo, among the eerie abandoned ruins, cages, graffiti covered walls and dark stairwells where the animals used to live in the early 1900s. See the story here:
Happy 2014 everyone. May your future be exciting and historical!