Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Makeup for "Mr Nice Guy Vegan Cupcakes" Promo

I spun my hand at makeup artistry for local company Mister Nice Guy Vegan Cupcakes new promo cards. Classic pin-up style makeup, with full glittered red lips for little more disco.
A pleasurable job considering the model was bodacious burlesque bombshell Miss Evie Red (Evie and I performed together at "Metropolis" at Red Bennies this year) And despite the fact I'm a raving carnivore and also quite enjoy diary, I can safely say they were super yummy and I'm still pondering how they tasted so fat-tastic and chocolatey without the aid of an animal...


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Maniac superman rockstar JIMMY STEWART!

There's few people on this earth who could convince me to make them a customised superhero suit.
Jimmy Stewart is one of them.
This amazing creature cruised into my world in a pirate gypsy get-up so authentic I thought he must own a horse instead of a car.
The Melbourne musician is the real deal rockstar, and with such charming self deprecating wit commissioned me to construct him a STUPIDMAN suit. That's right- you read correctly.
So for his upcoming gig I made him the first ever glam-rock metallic vinyl Superman suit, complete with hand appliqued cape and pants so tight only a real man can wear them.

Note: Unlike Christopher Reeve's nightmare unitard, Jimmy's suit is much more practical. Looks like a one-sie, but is in fact a two-piece, enabling Jimmy to strip off halfway through a performance, and perform as a shirtless Stupidman.
This is why I enjoy making costumes for rockstars.

Note the nice Aussie touch of the blunstones instead of red superman boots. Noice.

I hand appliqued the symbol. Its rather difficult with stretch pvc I dont suggest you try it unless you have the patience of a saint...which luckily I do.

Check out Jimmy here:
http://jimmystewartswonderfullife.wordpress.com/about/

Check out his music:
CLINKERFIELD (for all your drunken pirate convict rockenroll needs since 2002)
THE MISERABLE LITTLE BASTARDS (depression era show tunes for the new global recession and an emancipation procession against emotional oppression since 2008).
For the writing on the cape, I copied the original Superman font, redrew it into "Stupidman" and hand appliqued/patchworked the whole thing!


On receiving his finished costume, dear Jimmy spent the day preceding his gig cycling around Melbourne fully costumed! That's commitment to an aesthetic!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Chimera costume for New York Songstress Kim Boekbinder

For a select few months of this year, Melbourne was graced with the presence of US songstress and all round sparkly glamour unicorn Miss KIM BOEKBINDER!  (http://www.kimboekbinder.com/)
Known as The Impossible Girl, Kim is a performer, composer, musician, and visual artist who defies genre.
Kim’s debut solo album, The Impossible Girl, was funded by a successful pre-order campaign that raised $20,000, allowing Kim to record with legendary Boston Producer, Sean Slade (Radiohead, Dresden Dolls,) and engineer Benny Grotto (voted Boston’s Producer of the Year 2010.) The power of her dedicated fan base is making her first album one of the great success stories of the new music paradigm.
Released on December 15th, 2010, The Impossible Girl has already garnered favorable reviews from fans including: Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, Rosanne Cash, and more.

                                          Video of Kim Boekbinder's song "Impossible Girl #2"

I had the pleasure to create a costume for this fine woman, a wild glittery creation which paid homage to Thierry Mugler's "Chimera" haute couture dress, as well taking inspiration from Kim's beautiful dreamy music, glitter, birds, unicorns, sequins...and her wild mane of pink hair.
Please check out her website, and if you dont already own it- buy her CD! (http://www.kimboekbinder.com/)
To say that I'm obsessed with her music is putting it lightly...its no wonder she has a track titled "Stalker"...
Kim wearing her Chimera dress, in concert New York 2011
Final fitting

Add caption

Epic piles of sequins required!

First sequin appliques applied


The bottom half of the dress was a combination of sequin appliques, loose sequins and feathers all hand stitched.

Me working on the dress

Finished! The feather bustles at the waist were my favourite detail

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Sexy Death with Cleave & Daly

Agent Cleave and I once again hit the floor of anti art school DR SKETCHY's Melbourne, with a costume pose-tastic extravaganza for the Halloween weekend...we made it "SEXY DEATH!"
Melbourne's talented artists sketched our mincing and strutting, to the sultry tunes provided by the wonderful DJ Knave.
Our costumes were all designed and made by myself and Agent Cleave.

Black Mad Max-esque vinyl gothic go-go dance leotards with asymetric shoulder details.




Gold skull headress, with gold antlers and blond mohawk. Matching gold skulls shoulder pieces.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Queens of Arts

Elite freaks as hired guns for the Lord Mayor of Melbourne.
We were....the entertainment.
Myself and 4 other performers (Agent Cleave, James Andrews, Conor Gallacher and Anita Stevens) created a mad hatters tea party, ran riot and created obnoxious mischief amongst Melbourne's hoy polloy last Saturday at the Lord Mayor's Annual Charity Ball, held at the very grand Plaza Ballroom, at the Regent, Melbourne.
The costumes were designed and styled by myself and Anthony Cleave (aka Agent Cleave) and rather than go down the Disney path- we instead favoured (naturally) a more obscure high fashion take on ye olde Lewis Carroll.



Me- as the Queen of Hearts. Wig, makeup and costume by Jess Daly


Actor Conor Gallacher as the Mad Hatter. Costume designed by Jess Daly- inspiration: Nikki Sixx (from Motley Crew) at a tea party in a circus ring.

Dancer, performer and seamstress Anita Stevens (aka Lady bird) as Alice. Wig by Jess Daly (probably one of my favourite wigs Ive ever styled) high-fashion editorial inspired Alice as it were...

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Metropolis 2040

Just finished a three week season performing in cyber babe-fest "Metropolis 2040" at Red Bennies.
Featuring the cream of Melbourne's circus, burlesque, performance artists and dancers, and curated by burly-q darling Vesper White. In a robot inspired piece conceived by Vesper White, she was joined by myself and bootylicious bombshell Evie Red, and together we morphed into the "UV WARRIORS"!
All robot armour & lights made by Vesper White, jumpsuits made by Jess Daly.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Strung Out - Queer Rock Social!

As "Cleave & Daly", myself and Agent Cleave have a monthly residency performing at Fitzroy queer rock social STRUNG OUT! Where our epic costumes and special brand of death metal go-go dancing combine with the rockin musical stylings of DJ's Kid E07 and Daniel Oh.

Featured in these pics are the "Gothic My Little Pony"costumes Agent Cleave & I wore, part of which we originally made to wear on the Peaches DJ tour in Dec 2010.
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Friday, August 5, 2011

"Cleave & Daly" 2011 Tour: New York, Berlin, Amsterdam & London

I've spent the past two months touring the globe with my partner in crime Agent Cleave, swanning through New York City, Berlin, Amsterdam and London. I worked on a number of costume projects, and together with Agent Cleave as duo CLEAVE & DALY we covered the crowds in hair, feathers, blood and glitter.

In New York City we continued our collaboration with Candian songstress Peaches, getting down and dirty at Webster Hall and Rockbar as part of her DJ tour. Part of our time spent in New York included a sejour care of the fabulous hospitality of artist collective & warehouse/theatre extrordinaire "House of Yes" in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We not only stayed there but also performed, created costumes, networked and above all made friends with and were inspired by an incredible group of set and costume designers, musicians, circus performers, dancers and performance artists of all sorts- a heavenly crew of fabulous people. Speaking of heavenly, Agent Cleave and I also found our fellow kindred spirits in the form of the Zand Collective. A gorgeous crew of NY vogue goths; such beautiful and talented performers, dancers, musicians and artists, who adopted us into their bejewelled world with open arms and showed us the glamorous, the fabulous, the box, le bain; la vie en noir.
What a city.

A number of gigs in Berlin including the Vice magazine party, K-TV club opening and two performances at the infamous White Trash club- Agent Cleave and I created a death metal grotesque dance installation in their window- where punters were treated to our gothic go-go and sprayed with blood while eating their dinner.
In Amsterdam we got our hairy zebra chic-on and danced amoungst the babes at queer club UNK, and in London performed at art party Glossy, then finished the tour with en epic finale- joining her leather clad highness Peaches once more for her DJ set at Lovebox Festival. Wild.

More pics from the tour to be posted soon- stay tuned!

Agent Cleave & I with Peaches, Webster Hall, NYC. Photo Santiago Felipe

Anth, Peaches, Me. Webster Hall, NYC. Photo Santiago Felipe



Me livening the crowd up at Trash, Webster Hall, NYC. Dancin with DJ Jess, photo Santiago Felipe




Peaches, Cleave & Daly, Mignon. Vice party performance, Berlin

Cleave & Daly, performance at "Kingsize", Berlin

Cleave & Daly with DJ Aristocunts, Kingsize Bar, Berlin

Me post-gig at Kingsize, Berlin. Wearing fabulous satin wings care of DJ Bronson Hawkins

Cleave & Daly, post gig Kingsize, Berlin

All dressed up for dancing at the Lonely Hearts Club, Berlin

Pre-gig warm up. Glossy party, London