Ruff & Ready

This past week was all about preparing for the weekend's shoot. I didn't want to say too much out loud because I didn't want to jinx it, but I'm excited to share all the details now!

I had contacted TH Taylor to see if he would be interested in shooting my humble self (ie. ass), yet being as how it was early in the morning before work I accidentally sent it from my designer account. This worked to my benefit, as he was currently searching for someone to supply wardrobe & style a cover and 6-page layout for a magazine! He is the creative director for 4PM Mag based out of Milwaukee, and while their distribution is small the print quality is pretty good, and I'm not about to complain about my first real tear!

TH wanted something fresh and very "Spring," which was difficult because my penchant for dead animals pieces and rich tones is decidedly "Autumn." I decided to make 2 pieces using white/cream as the base color, and then use bright yellow and kelly green for the accents. They came out quite nicely I think:



Ruffleize leotard, latex.
The top ruffles popped off when putting it on the model, so I forced the poor dear to stay in it for over 2 hrs while hair/make-up was getting done and another outfit was getting shot. Hopefully she doesn't hate me.
I need to add reinforcements on the top today so that doesn't happen again.



Circlecut dress, latex.
This is just the top half of it, but I love the shoulder detailing so much. I based it off a runway piece that I saw in a magazine, but I can't for the life of me remember the name or season.

I also made a matching hat (named Monacle En Green) which I quite like (I think this is going to be on the cover, whoohoo!):

Has glass ornaments, chain, metal hoops, latex, feathers, and my favorite pleated rufle-y goodness. The glass is RIDICULOUSLY fragile, I had to completely redo it once because they broke.

And lastly, some personal visual inspiration:

Photo by Grainpusher.

Photo of Her Highness Lady Gaga at the Grammy's.

Outfit by Armani Prive.

Mess Up, Modify

Just got an image back from Corwin of the colorful '80s-style leotards I made at the beginning of the year! Model is the lovely and epic-ly wonderful Sophie King.


The back part of the neckline gaped a bit so I had to put in a dart and some extra detailing. (The bottoms also needed to be cut slightly higher.) That’s the secret to good design though: WHEN YOU MESS UP, MODIFY.
I had pretty huge scare along those lines at work last week. I was trying to take apart some seams on a custom dress, which was A. a couple years old and B. had already been worn, so they were really fragile. Try as I might to be careful, I succeeded in ripping not once twice but three times before I had to hand it to Laura and admit my defeat…sometimes you just have to know your limits. The wonderful part was we did some reworking and managed to both make the adjustments needed and keep it looking awesome. Thank fucking god or I probably would have cried. I’m bad with failure, what can I say. I’m kind of an Type-A like that.

So I’m fairly certain I’ve mentioned I’m kind of obsessed with sex. Not sure why, but have been since I was little, sneaking looks at Playboy and telling BDSM stories at slumber parties(no joke). Because of this, and because they are awesome, my friends sometimes send me these kinds of things:


In case you can’t tell from the lousy cell phone pic, it says “Forbidden Frankenstein” and the plot is straight up b&w drawn porn, HUGE franken-dick included. It's pretty magical. Yet another thing to love about the early '90s!

Random note: I am continuing my discovery and love of “M” named bands. This week it is Murder by Death & (the) Mars Volta. My music obsessed ex would have a heart attack at the fact that I’m expanding my musical boundaries.

And lastly, some personal visual inspiration:


Damn you Viktor & Rolf, for stealing all the neat ideas before anyone else can think of it/get the funds and labor needed to do so.
The first questions that came to my head when I saw this were: was the petticoat dyed before or after the cutting? And what machine did the cutting? I’m pretty sure it was done after, and with a laser cutter, but who knows.


I’ve always loved this piece by Beth Church. I must analyze and find a way to do something similar, but with my own twist of course. I love the layer-ing, the chunky-ness, and the ornate-ness of it all.

Trajectory

A day late, I know, but it’s a big one to make up for it!

My man and I (aka Corwin Prescott) are going to be guest bloggers on Late Night Feelings (FLGS) for the next 10 days! Some posts will be individual, some will be joint, but never doubt that it will be entertaining and full of naked goodies. We even got our own wizards drawn! Every time I look at it I fucking die of laughter:


I’ve been working on 2 latex hoods for a shoot with Jade Vixen at the end of February. I’m making a transparent pink one with 3-D blue wings and this pink & green ram horn one:


Thanks so much to Vex for letting me use their pattern :)
I can’t describe how much I love making headgear. Truly, so much fun. And now that I have my latex technique almost down pat, things go so much faster as well!



I saw the above painting at the Chicago Art Instutite, can‘t remember the artist and the colors aren't true to life but I love them together . The shape makes me happy too and reminds me of this dress I made for Mosh (photo by Beguiling Images):


So I finally updated my resume and put together my portfolio into a PDF so I could apply to another internship. I’m in the talks with someone in Philly (so exciting & nerve-wracking) I’ll let you know if/when it’s definite. Since I can’t go interview with her, she asked me a bunch of questions that I found really thought provoking and I thought I’d share a couple.

What are your goals as a designer?
My goals are hard to pinpoint since I've found that I work best when I let life flow organically. My pieces just sort of come out, make themselves made in a way. Part of me just wants to keep creating and living off artists grants and selling the works to people who see them as art. I crave structure though, so I would like to somehow be involved in a creative group that has a purpose. This sounds silly but being part of Lady Gaga's creative/design team is the best example of what I'd like to be involved in. I love performance and performers, I love making what is outside of the everyday. I also want to be involved in what I see as the "new craft"- the community of people who are pushing traditional fields such as knitting and DIY and embroidery to new, fresh, modern levels. I think there is still a division between "craft" and "art" and I want to be able to straddle the two with apparel, which I think is the perfect medium to do so with.

Do you see your future in fetish apparel, art for the body or high end fashion or somewhere in between? Truly, somewhere in between. Fetish & fashion have co-existed and intertwined for ages, it just hasn't been as apparent (ie. on the runway) as it has been in the last 20-30 years. My sexuality & fetishes are things that are both important to me and what I draw inspiration from, but again I don't want to be boxed into one category (talk about boring). I just want to make work that is honestly and authentically me, and I don't want to be bored. I don't want to bore others. It is another reason why I want to work with more fabrics besides latex, so I can combine them. There is a big trend for latex designers to aim for high fashion, and I feel lucky that I'm starting out with that in mind from the get-go.

And lastly, some personal visual inspiration:


Ad for SPORTMAX. The chest panel in insane, I’m so jealous I didn’t think of it.



A friend sent me this a while ago, the design is so awesome. By Erte.

Rise

I feel the waves turning back up.
This past week at Vex I worked 2 solid days on an inflatable train and jacket and it made me realize that I am definitely on the right path. I loved working on it, all through the challenges and insane amount of pleating. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. In that I am very thankful.

I have so many wonderful opportunities and shoots coming up, some I don’t want to mention just yet so as not to jinx them, but suffice to say as soon as they are done/definite you will know.
What I can tell you:

~ An outfit of mine worn by Apnea, shot by Steve Prue of TeamRockstarImages, will be featured on one of my favorite blogs, Haute Macabre! I’m not sure when it goes up, but believe you me I will be posting that EVERYWHERE once it is.
(A personal side note about Apnea/Amanda. She is such a wonderful, sweet, strong person and I am so glad to have gotten closer to her in the past few months as well as been able to dress her. I can’t wait to go back to the Ozarks to see her and Chase.)

~ I have beautiful photographic evidence of my cone boob garter dress (taken by Corwin Prescott, of course, worn by the bangin’ Stephy C)! It’s still not 100% perfected but I am much likely how it is coming along. This as well as a cone boob bra and a special girdle will be the only pieces in my ready to wear collection, Retrosity (debuting in March):


~ I am collaborating with a friend of mine, Lenora Jayne (her site here) to have her make drawings/paintings of some of my pieces! The first one I requested for her to take inspiration from is my Nostalgia For Nothing jacket (photo by Corwin, of Apnea):


Once in a while I am very lucky to wear another latex designer’s creations (in this case House of Bias) and have Corwin (again, :P) take a picture of me in them. I think this is one of my favorite shots of myself to date:


Three random thoughts of the day:
*Sometimes I look at my wrists and they look freakishly small, like they're skeletor wrists that will snap off at any minute.
*I think it might be fun to move to LA- not sure about constant summer/fall though.
*I am really into 3Ms right now: Modest Mouse, Matisyahu, & Mussorgsky.

And lastly, some personal visual inspiration:

Dress by Madeleine Vionnet, 1939.

“A Lady in a Fur Wrap,” El Greco.

Forgot where I got this, off someone’s tumblr. Anyone know and I’ll add the credit.

This is not a New Year's resolution

Well, in some ways it is but I’d rather not call it such. But I am pledging to be a more active blogger, if not for you lovelies than for my awful memory. So let us begin (again)!

As I’ve mentioned before, I am in a state of flux. I feel myself gradually becoming more stable as my technical skills increase, but I still feel dissatisfied. While being comfortable is often the death of creativity, it would be nice to be happier.

On to more positive things!
Two of the four new pieces I’ve made to start this decade off right:


Black & transparent latex top with big glittery bows. What can I say, I’ve been listening to and watching Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” constantly. She’s getting’ in my subconscious!
I’ve been playing around with adding glitter to latex, and what I’ve discovered is that it works best on accents and not on the body of a piece. It has a tendency to come off with the application of lube and rubbing/stretching, but when on little things like these I’m able to put a protective shellac on top.
I made it with the gorgeous Lily Hex in mind, but her boobs were just too big! So I need to find a hot dark haired model in the Chicago area for Corwin to shoot it on.


Pleated neckpiece.
Sometimes I feel like a sculptor when I work with fabric. I put it on the dress form and try to “listen” to what it wants to do, and then I manipulate it. The only problem with this process is that it can take weeks and weeks to finish something. I love where this one is going, but I’m unhappy with it. It’s not resolved. It needs something more…more bulk around the top I think. And maybe some velvet embellished accents. Don’t know, I’ll have to see. Corwin just finished shooting it but I wasn’t sure…I have to stop getting things shot when they aren’t 100% yet. Oh well, looked cool anyways.

The other two pieces I finished are pretty 80’s, I won’t lie. They are brightly colored leotards with crazy mutli-colored straps and “tails.” They are really cute & really funny. I also made a Goth-y-er version for Apnea to wear for Steve Prue as a feature on Haute Macabe (one of my favorite blogs). All of them have been photographed but I’m just waiting to get the files back. Will share when I have them.

And lastly, some personal visual inspiration:

Photo by Chase Lisbon:

Screenprint by Danielle Lange:

I’m going to try to update at least once a week, hopefully 2x a week. See you then!

Departure

Off to New York today, flight leaves in a few hours.
1 shoot of sexy shiz with a friend.
1 shoot of beauty portraits with thrift store finds.
1 shoot (paid) that probably won't happen.
1 shoot with my newest design in a plastic forest.
1 meeting with a up-and-coming musician about a stage outfit.

So much is going on in the next month and half. So much travel, so many good things. I'm very lucky to be able to do what I love. Even though what I love to do will probably evolve over time, I hope to only do what I want and what I need.
No fear.
Fear is a killer.
I've noticed so many people are scared to just DO, and just BE. Yes, making money is necessary, but it should not be at the expense of your mental and spiritual health. If you hate your job, truly cannot stand it, QUIT. It's not worth it. Yes your purse strings and waistband might be tighter, but don't sacrifice yourself for what is essentially temporal.
And so ends my "spiritually enlightened pep talk." lol.

I recently dropped $650 on two new machines: a Rimoldi Industrial Serger and Singer Industrial Sewing Machine. I'm so sick of having the pieces that I make not be quite right, quite professional grade. It's a lot of money to spend, but I consider it a worthwhile investment.
I also rearranged my apartment and working space so that it flows better and better accommodates the person that is moving in.
Pictures to come.

Gotta fly (literally!).
Enjoy some boobs & beauty to break up all this word mess.
Hair & Make-up: Josh & Rae
Model: Chrystyne

"Finished" is the most beautiful word in the human language.

I've been so busy it's almost too much. I say almost because in all honesty I would much rather be busy than not. One of my biggest pet peeves (and there are quite a few, let me tell you) is when people are bored and/or say they are bored. There is no excuse for boredom! Go do something! Sitting and whining is not going to fulfill you or improve your current situation. Everyone has the potential to be creative and everyone can carve out satisfaction for themselves if they try hard enough. It's not as easy as complaining, but as I realized yet again today while getting exceedingly angry at my sewing machine and my elementary skills at using it, nothing worthwhile is easy. You know it's sad but true. 

Don't be comfortable. 

Don't stop striving for perfection. 

But give yourself a break if you aren't quite there yet. 

In light of that, let us now share recently completed projects:

"Nostalgia for Nothing" jacket. Polyester lining, bamboo batting, poly fiber stuffing, polyester white mesh & black organza. 

Getting shipped to Planet Hair in Witchita, KS for their annual hair show/fundraiser.

Black semi-stretch weave with silver vinyl cut-out detailing hat-lette. I love the shape of this one, will definitely have to experiment with it some more. 

This and the matching dress were a request by Mosh for her upcoming red carpet & shoot with Lithium Picnic. 

Silver & fushia latex w/ silver netting hat-lette. Matches a super secret design & pasties, available soon! 

Going to Mosh to shoot with Viva Van Story. 

Rubber & knit drip dress. Done a long while ago, finally finished the last bits.

Going to Mosh to shoot with Lithium Picnic.

Raw edged cream silk & blue velvet dress with muslin mis-prints by my good friend Danielle Lange. The velvet part is actually an old jacket from Jet Rag thrift in LA that I chopped up. DIYwin!

I also do modifications of pre-existing latex. I did the bow & line detailing on these gloves as per Anna Evans's request to match a design I made for her. 

Black velvet & plastic mesh dress. 

Getting shipped to Planet Hair in Witchita, KS for their annual hair show/fundraiser.

Orange fun fur top. There's something to be said for ugly. 

Getting shipped to Planet Hair in Witchita, KS for their annual hair show/fundraiser.

And a little peak at two upcoming projects, which will be done by the weekend:

Shite-ton of latex bows. (Next to my favorite leopard spotted grandma coat.)

For "The Welcome Home Party" on Saturday at a friend's studio. 

Yellow tracks collar. Was a super ugly thrifted foam hat until I got my grubby paws on it. 

Getting shipped to Planet Hair in Witchita, KS for their annual hair show/fundraiser.

That is all.

Share.

Discuss.