Audience members ascended to their feather-seats up in the sky and dangled their feet to Rusch Raymaker's otherworldly playlist, while down on the ground Black Swan gave its final coup de grace fashion presentation on Sunday August 2, 2009. The sculpted figurine of a dancer hovered above the volcanic landscape of the runway. Other amazing sculptures towered overhead; all created by the inimitable artist Light Waves. The atmosphere was magnificently surreal.
“Swan Song” was the final spectacle in a series of three Black Swan shows; the first one was “Passions” in September 2008 followed by “Winter Magic” in January 2009. For this show, Winter and Lokum had recruited an extraordinary team of designers and assigned each of them with creating one piece that they felt best expressed one of the natural elements: Fire, Water, Earth and Air. The following tidbits are highlights of the boundless imagination in design that sprang out of this endeavor.
Shown above- Callie Cline opened the show wearing her amazing creation “Swan Song” on the runway. This is a beautiful black and white feathery dress which was featured in a real life magazine alongside fashion from Dolce & Gabbana and Christian Lacroix, and shown in an art exhibition in Florence, Italy, and featured in two books!
Embellishing the swan theme is a stunning dress from Ivey Deschanel of Sn@tch (worn by Seashell Dench, below) with black swans making up the pattern of the bustled skirt, and with the perfect hair to match it by Autumn Hykova of Tiny Bird.
WATER- Shown below is a water creation by Rouge Darcy of Rebel Xtravaganza: Mareea with its curling foam accents, aqua depths and Mediterranean hues. The bodice of the gown is adorned with a delicate seahorse and the front ties are held by clasps of spiraled shells.
Below- Another stunning water creation by L'Abel; a dress clearly inspired by the painting The Great Wave off Kanagawa by the Japanese artist Hokusai, with various shades of blue, like the depths of the sea, and white and blue ruffles to represent the waves in a froth of crests and curls!
AIR – Shown below is the Wind gown by Amutey DeCuir of Bliss Couture from their elements collection, with its sheer white skirt that practically billows in the wind; worn by Haruka Kish with the Raven Valerie skin by Pulse, and Exile’s Breeze hairstyle in Strawberry.
In color contrast, but along the same air theme, is the dramatic Lament ensemble from Morrigan Dennimore of The Black Canary (worn by Takeshi Kiama below). Lament is the first of two ensembles that Morrigan crafted for the element of air. Morrigan explains "It was named thusly for the vampires of old, the Methuselah, who have seen many centuries and often sleep for many at a time. This is a sorrow of the deepest kind, in which I used smoke to represent the slow passing of time."
FIRE- Among the blazing fire creations in the show; the Fire Salamander set from June Dion of Barerose (worn by Mavi Beck & Jarl Soderstrom, below). This is an incandescent ensemble with perfect prim accents, and options galore. Helena Stringer of The Stringer Mausoleum created the matching hair, appropriately named Mane of Fire. Complementing this blistering look on Mavi is Skin Within’s Special Edition Fire Elemental Skin from the Anaise line.
EARTH- Shown below is a dazzling creation by Dezi Jarvinen of Staged; Mother Nature is a delicate yet strong outfit that combines sheer chiffon with a sumptuous shades of green and brown to symbolize nature's cycle. Skin Within’s Ahawi - the Earth Element Special Edition Skin, with its elaborate tattoo of vines and leaves covering the eyes and face perfectly compliments the dress. Cherelle Capra’s Earth accessories and Exile’s Breeze in the earthy honey shade are spectacular additions to an already stunning look.
Another earthy creation is a sexy elemental set by Exile –Untamed Earth (worn below by Jarl Soderstrom). The pants and vest appear to be an intriguing mixture of leather, branches and earth. Intricately detailed and amazing in its simple complexity. The Savage Hair, also by Kavar Cleanslate of Exile, and the earthy Brimstone bracelet and necklace set by the amazing Brandy Rasmussen of Shine make the perfect accessories for this look.
Black Swan Swan Song is produced by Kryptonia Paperdoll and presented by AVENUE and members of its staff. AVENUE Models in this production are Seashell Dench, Takeshi Kiama, Poptart Lilliehook, Shenandoah Saintlouis, Jarl Soderstrom, Haruka Kish, Summer Deadlight and Mavi Beck.
To view the entire photo set for this event, please visit our
flickr page
Photography by Tillie Ariantho
And for those who missed the show, there will be an encore on August 17 at 6 PM SLT so mark the calendar and book your feather:)
The days of strolling into a skin shop and being stuck with the preset looks is quickly coming to an end. The Body Politik, owners Maximillion Grant and Polly Pavlova, have designed an interactive and thoroughly innovative approach to skin buying with their new line, Infinity, due out mid August.
The web interface works fluidly with an in world kiosk that will be set up at their shop where you will pay for the skin once you've customized it. Once your skin is created by the software, you'll have it within 48 hours.
For those not wanting to use the web interface, they will also have an in-world vendor where you can shop for a base skin, but obviously with less combinations.
