lundi 25 novembre 2013

Halloween -chic & creepy


pictures by Simona Zemaityte

I know it has already been a while but let me introduce you my 2 halloweens costume, (why having just one when you can make two?). Halloween is the greatest time of the year because you can be dressed in the street without anyone questioning it, you can be sit on the tube next to a zombie or queuing at the supermarket just behind Jack Sparrow.  


My only rule in my manifesto for Halloween costume is "it has to be scary. Not like in "Mean Girl" when Lindsay Lohan says" In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it." Don't go for the "easy solution" just by adding fake blood on normal outfit  to turn it into an Halloween costume but be creepy and creative.  


I had all theses theses plastic insects that my Mum found for me in charity shop and I wanted to use them somehow.  So I created the costume of the fabulous witches,  A scarily baroque character. I did a lot of experiment with golden spray but it wasn't drying (apologies to my flatmate for all these sticky gold insects agonising on the worktop of kitchen for age on plastic bags. finally I it worked with gold acrylic paint. 
Elsa Schiaparelli insects necklace

Insect collection, taxidermy & cabinet of curiosity




Lanvin, inspired by insects, catwalk AW13


With Simona we went in the abandoned cemetery with in Mile End, a large area of woodland with derelict grave where the nature took back her right in a really peaceful atmosphere. 










pictures by Simona Zemaityte


Halloween imagery has its own mythology with its emblematic characters like the corpse bride, sleepy Hollow, Dracula…With "Lady hairy" I am pretty proud because I invented a new character from my own mythology. 



I embodied Lady Hairy for the interactive performance "Monster in your Mind" directed by Dalia Yassine in collaboration with the Event Design company Rocking. 



You know hair-dresser but Have you ever seen a hair-dress?  
..Well it have been done by a couple of artist 

Lady Gaga, who experimented with every materials possible in garment



My favorite designer Castelbajac, FW/09



During the performance I was walking to the audience giving them some scissor and inviting them to cut the hair on the dress. Basically it was for me a re-enactment of Yoko Ono's cutting piece. An aspect already explored with my friend Yueer Zhang in her Flower dress show
But instead of cutting piece of fabric, the audience has to literally cut hair but not for the head but for the dress. I guess the surprise come from that the hair are at a place they shouldn't be. 

The idea was to get an "evolutive garment" that changing along the performance materialising the durational aspect of the performance. 


Like Yoko Ono piece says about her experience, it is quite scary for both side because you rely on other people. A woman started actually cutting my head piece and my hear, a girl cut the hear of the dolls and the shoes that i didn't think people will cut and inside I was thinking "Nooo….not the shoes..but you have to stay impassible in" characters" in order no to ruin the performance 

Hershman saw Cut Piece in terms of “feminism, violence, and risk”It deals with voyeurism, gender subordination, and violation of a woman’s personal space. 
It is really interesting for a performative aspect as Yoko Ono says "Instead of giving the audience what the artist chooses to give, the artist gives what the audience chooses to take. That is to say, you cut and take whatever part you want". 



"In the Sixties clothes were very important to me because I had so few. But when I performed Cut Piece I always made sure to wear my best suit. It was the total offering." 
I could feel it because at some point a girl went cutting my hat and I didn't think someone will cut that, so I was secretly dying inside "not the hat" but I had to remain impassive, in a "performative mood". 

It always draws something out of people. At Carnegie Hall, it seemed to draw violence out of the audience, like a poison. It is a frightening piece to perform. Very tense, but I wanted to show that we have to trust each other. If I’m going to say that, I have to do it myself. I have to trust people myself. It could be a bit dangerous.

Catherine Goodwin performing the psyco-bride wearing my dolls hand necklace
"Anne Sophie: everyone thinks I say 'it's because I'm hairy' instead of 'because I'm Aires' so I made a hairy dress."

I stitched one by one some barbie heads with long hear on the leather of my shoes, it had a double function, shoes and at the same time sweeping the floor! 



For some jewel I am using just the face of the barbie but I don't like throwing stuff away and waste so "rien ne se perd, rien ne se créé, rien ne se perd, tout se transforme"?  So was keeping all the barbie scalp in a box. 
When I was talking about my idea of making a dress with it  some friend they had a repulsion reaction so I thought it would be a really good Halloween costume. 
I guess it deals with the rejection of the organic of the body. What is the most disgusting thing that finding a hair in your food when you are at the restaurant? 







I was stitching directly on myself the hair on the dress and all the family of my roommate come into the flat, to say hello so I hide myself under a large jumper to come and say hi. 
"she doesn't look really artist", just her brother noticed some hair hanging from my skirt, and for one second saw that something was wrong... 


pictures by Simona Zemaityte

My golden dinosaur necklace


Nothing to do with that but this is an article in the French magazine (Brittany) Le Télégramme about my work

...and the cover of Time &Leisure magazine with my jewels styled by the designer Florina Moss




Find all the jewels of the shoot on my online shop

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