Sunday, December 19, 2010

Swan Song

I watched Black Swan last night. To call it anything less than a work of artistic mastery would be blasphemy. I have been waiting for Black Swan to come out for over 8 months, I was prepared to be disappointed. Building up that much hype about a film inside yourself generally tends to lead to disappointment. But Black Swan was far from disappointing.

First off, the characters were flawlessly played, deep and intriguing. I know a lot of people felt that Nina, beautifully portrayed by Natalie Portman, especially seemed to be shallow and one dimensional. But I whole-heartedly disagree. I felt a very deep, and very real connection with her character. I understood exactly her plight regarding her fears of replacement. Having acted my whole life, I know what it feels like to be in constant competition not only against others, but with yourself. I have reacted in very similar way as her, it was almost like watching my acting career in the third person.

People said, "But it didn't even seem like she enjoyed any of her dancing though!" But I know why that is. As an actor, you strive to perfect every little detail, to feel the emotions of your character, to lose every fiber of your being into theirs. The same can be said about dance. And until you get on that stage, with the lights burning in your eyes and lose yourself, you are never truly happy. 


But, enough about the fabulous acting and the personal connection I felt with the film. The costuming was FABULOUS. Rodarte designed two looks for Portman, one for her role as the Black Swan, and one for her role as the White Swan. They also designed a look for one of the principle male leads for the production of Swan Lake, Von Rothbart.

While I loved the softness and delicate femininity of the White Swan, I preferred the dark theatrical nature of the Black Swan. In fact, my favorite scene from the film occurred when Nina danced the part of the Black Swan. Not only was the makeup flawlessly edgy, the dress really made her seem to be like an overgrown (but still darkly beautiful) black swan.


Final Words: What are you still doing here reading my blog? Go watch Black Swan!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Alexander McQueen

I am a die-hard Alexander McQueen fan. Those who know me best know that my heart really, and truly, only belongs to him, and it is an absolute tragedy that such a force has been lost. My greatest dream is to one day work at the McQueen label, prior to his death, it was to train underneath him. Sadly, I cannot train under him, but I will work there! One day... 

For me, Alexander McQueen is more than a pretty label to look at. It is an idealistic view at what can be attained through human ingenuity. It is more than fashion, it is art. It is psychology, it is macabre, but most importantly, it is a kick-start to what I hope will be a long career in fashion.

Long before the thought of fashion design ever wandered its way across my head, my heart was dead set on acting. I was young and naive, I thought I could make it. Sure, winning the award for Best Actor in a Stageplay or Musical four years in a row at regional competitions meant that I was pretty damn good, but I knew that the chances of me succeeding in that particular industry were slim to none.

Then one day I was home sick. After several hours of bored channel flipping, I finally decided to watch a rerun of Fashion Television. I hadn't seen it and I liked fashion, so why not? What seemed like an innocent half-hour of television viewing quickly grew to be life changing. It was coverage of the Fall / Winter 2007 show, whereupon Lee drew inspiration from his own background. He discovered that one of his ancestors was burned at the stake at the Salem Witch Trials. People didn't like it. They said that it was too dark, too sinister. But I adored it! I was instantly drawn to the theatricality of the pentacle shaped runway, the inherent drama of the Egyptian make-up, and the clothes were simply marvelous. I skipped to the computer and spent the rest of the day watching his runway shows.

It was that moment that I knew that I was meant to be a designer, and that nothing would make me more happy. Sadly, I cannot thank my hero in person for introducing me to my future, but anything I do in this industry is for him.

RIP
Alexander McQueen



Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Millinery

Today in school we learned about hats. Normally, I look at a hat and I think " Golly gee, that sure is a fine hat, but I can't pull it off." And then my teacher busted out the Philip Treacy and I changed my mind. The problem with me and hats was that I was looking at mediocre hats. A hat should be extravagant. It truly is a metaphor for ones self. Your entire being is carried inside your head, why not adorn it with something fabulously you? And I believe Lady Gaga said it best when she said (and I'm paraphrasing) "A hat is a social canopy". I love the idea of that!


My absolute favorite hat Philip Treacy for Alexander McQueen. Spring / Summer 2008.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Your Fantasy Is My Finale

Final Fantasy. Say those words and a billion geeky memories and dreams dance through my head.Most prominently so is Final Fantasy VII. Or 7 for the Roman numerally challenged. FF7 was my first real foray into video gaming, and not only did it introduce me to the wonderful world of video games, it also helped establish another one of my career goals.

Designers these days do a lot of collaborations. David Dixon for Barbie, Alexander McQueen for Puma, Rodarte for Target.... The list could easily stretch miles long. Designers collaborate with everyone from make-up companies to toy manufacturers. Picture this: A designer collaboration to do all the costuming for a Final Fantasy game. Hold that thought, digest it, because that shit is amazing!

Just imagine, Alexander McQueen x FF. My two favorite things mashed into one. My eyes would probably explode from the visual orgasm! Thus, I have made that one of my career goals. To do the costuming in a Final Fantasy game. Not only because that would be so totally sweet and cool and other such adjectives, but their would be no creative limits. There would be no fabric or gravity limitations. "That pattern is simply impossible to draft!" Well, it just got digitized. Done. So awesome.