Necromance

Trend hunting continues to be one of my favourite pass times. I get a real thrill when I find a connection between two or more elements in fashion and culture at large. A light goes on in my head and I want to dig deeper, sifting through images to find the link between what's happening in the world and what designers are creating. These parallels are rarely a coincidence - creative people are so strongly influenced by each other and everything around them - so it's exhilarating to discover these relationships and showcase them on Bloodhound.

Now that all the many Fashion Weeks have passed, I've spun a real yarn. I've compiled a series of images to tell the creepy tale of what I like to call Necromance - a self-constructed portmanteau of "Necromancy" (magic, especially that practiced by a witch or sorcerer) and "Romance" (a loving spirit, emotion, sentiment or desire.)

This year, the creative fantasts of New York, Milan, Paris and Tokyo conjured up images of witches, wizards and archfiends - a kind of seance for the new season. Who knew that interpretations of sunny spring could be so dark? There seemed to be a lot of black magic going on, casting a spell over runways and eyewitnesses. This trend stirs up eerie visions of the underworld, just in time for Hallow's Eve.

Sorcerer Sleeves

No sorceress is complete without a veiled pair of sleeves floating back from the elbows and drifting into the midnight air. With one lift of their cruel, contracted hands, these succubi could do some serious damage. 

Ann Demeulemeester.

Gareth Pugh.

Ann Demeulemeester.

Fringe added movement to abracadabra sleeves.

Gareth Pugh.

Gareth Pugh.

And speaking of fringe...

The earthy colour palette, beaded necklace and scrappy texture of Saint Laurent's fringed robe adds softness to the prairie mystic - a soothsayer of the West, prophesying the twisting turn of the the seasons.

Saint Laurent.

Colour

Despite the proverbial black of the occult, blood red leaked through in dramatic bursts. 

Gareth Pugh's devilish red queen could be caught in a sadistic game of chess. 

Gareth Pugh.

Saint Laurent's little Red Riding Hood evokes the grimmest of fairy tales.

Saint Laurent.

Pure white commonly suggests innocence and virtue, but some designers took the hue to a new level through cut and styling, creating edgy fallen angels for beautiful, sunny days.

Cushnie et Ochs.

Overzealous shredding of a hooded fang. Angel of death, cool as Tokyo.

Nozomi Ishiguro Tambourine.

Petrified hair makes model Anmari Botha look scared to death.

Theysken's Theory.

Pointed Shoulders

The modern witch might require something more practical for day. Designers found a solution with a peaked cap sleeve. This architectural detail looks less costumey and more refined, adding power to an otherwise simple silhouette.

Cushnie et Ochs.

Lanvin.

Golden Warrior

Atsushi Nakashima.

Phantoms of the Opera

Black evening wear took a playful twist with microdots, belted busts and purple lips from Haider Ackermann. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, would covet her latest weapon - multi-strapped black heels with domineering effects.

Haider Ackermann

A tailored pantsuit from Martin Grant donning a voluminous exaggeration of the peplum. 

Martin Grant.

A black cape must be thrown in for good measure, extending to the floor in flowing sheer chiffon. Wide brimmed hats are perfect for broom travel on hot summer nights. 

Saint Laurent

What would this story be without a little McQueen? Some Enchanted Empress looks otherworldly, menacing and magnificent.

Alexander McQueen

Avant Garde

While the majority of designers played with a few subtle elements, some took the preternatural theme quite literally and stretched it as far as their imaginations would allow. Such is the nature of Alice Auaa's Gothic-Lolita inspired underworld, this year the Japanese house caused a little mischief and unleashed a full-on fashion parade of lost souls.

Why is this raven like a writing desk?

Alice in Zombieland

Hat Madder

Reign It In and Drag It Home. 

Three great looks for bringing necromance into your  life. 

Day Witch

Gianfranco Ferre.

 Working Witch

Martin Grant.

 Weekend Witch

Haider Ackermann.

Hair Tips

Vampiric double parts are easy enough to execute with a flat iron, fine tooth comb and some good holding product. Try straight down the centre or off to the side, but be sure to keep it tight and defined.

Hair from Ann Demeulemeester.

Hair from Gianfranco Ferre.

Hair from Gareth Pugh.

Double tiered buns appear to be a rising updo craze. They are accomplished with a pair of hair donuts and some hocus-pocus. Here's a HOW TO from Style Noted.

Hair from Alice Auaa Runway Show.

Jessie Ware "Devotion" Album Cover.

Photo from StyleNoted.com.

Early Morning, Post-Apocalypse.

Bedroom Hymns, Look 6, Photo by Brenndan Laird, Designed and Styled by Christine Ama.

This marks the year of what some people consider our last. There is talk of an apocalypse, amusing for most, for others, a certainty. But regardless of the legitimacy of this Armageddon theory, it has bred an incessant buzz regarding the foreseeable bleakness of the future. Surely we will live to see the collections of 2013, but do we want to? Do we feel confident in the crooked path the future is taking? Is there any chance for change or any faint glimmer of hope?

These thoughts influenced my final look for our end-of-term Fashion Styling project in June, 2012. Rather than pulling expensive pieces from whatever retailer I could cajole, I wanted rather to create something entirely from scratch. I was enthralled with notions of a "new nude," a post-apocalyptic moth who has survived the blast and now scatters the earth in search of food, warmth and physical contact.

Model Kama K wears sleeves constructed from chicken wire and nude pantyhose. The bodice was created by casting my best friend's torso with plaster strips, adding texture with acrylic gesso and colour with wet bags of tea. I liked the idea of the delicate, slim figure of a model floating inside the body of a "real woman," creating an armour against the elements. Boy's tightie-whities were also tea-dyed and the shoes were a last minute purchase from the nearest Sally Ann. I knew I wanted the biggest, ugliest runners I could get. Heels or even men's dress shoes (also considered) would add too much polish. I didn't want polish. I wanted to create a creature rather than a fashion model, an androgynous hybrid of woman, boy and beast, set for survival in a now destroyed world. The alarm clock was an idea we had talked about for weeks. I wanted some reference to time, in particular, early morning. "5:30am" just kept jogging, arbitrarily, through my head. In the end, the black old-fashioned timepiece works as a kind of handbag, a "counter-clutch" as I like to call it, and adds just the right contrast to an otherwise monochromatic tribute to bare neutrals.

The school assignment was a GROUP PROJECT, a phrase that rarely instills excitement in students. One bad seed can often cause a great vision go horribly wrong. Fortunately, I found myself blessed with a crew of colleagues who not only shared a similar aesthetic, but each possessed such solid individual ideas and ambitions, bringing something unique and ultimately their own to the final product. Each of us was responsible for styling our own look, but the objective was that everything should be cohesive in the end, telling a clear editorial story. 

Mood Board and Excerpt from the Marketing Brief for our 

Final Editorial Concept - "Bedroom Hymns"

In the real world, we can’t always be ourselves. Mandated by social order, we question who we are and what we must become. We try, futilely, to defy conformity and the need to belong, but the outside world gets the better of us, day after day.

The bedroom is a holy place. The chamber of our honesty. The sanctum of the self. We are naked, passionate and raw. Unconfined in confinement. A firefly in a jar. Bedroom Hymns is the story of ourselves when in our most private space. The realities of who we are when no one is watching.

The six-look spread will explore these ideas through composition of garments modern and manufactured, with a DIY twist. Odd combinations, seemingly reckless alterations, household items such as bulldog clips, safety pins and pantyhose reworked to enhance and alter the looks, creating fashionable images with gothic touches, revised in a way that is original and chic. Architecture will meet etherealism, verging on hazardous, but will ultimately emerge sophisticated and beautiful. 

Styled by Sean Reilly. Black Tulle headpiece fastened with large dog clip, Evil Twin Solar Flare Bustier, orange belt,  black men's trousers embellished by hand with literally thousands of strait pins, cheap Aldo shoes.

Styled by Flora Chou, handmade sheer top and skirt, jewelry from Catherine Hartey and Army of Rokosz.

Styled by Jennifer Broto. Traditional Indonesian beaded dress jacket,
 yards of cascading navy silk, bandage-bound feet.

Styled by Maggie Cheung. Father's clothes, embellished safety-pinned lapel, Bunny Ring from Army of Rokosz.

Styled by Alanna Powell, H&M black gown embellished by hand with gold hardware.

Styled by Christine Ama. An alternative to the final shot, albeit lopsided sleeves, kind of cool.

Each voice was heard, every song was sung and the elements contributed and danced with each other in a kind of harmonious disharmony. I actually found myself teary-eyed during the final shoot. After weeks of planning and preparation, seeing our visions come to life was a moving and creative awakening.

Special Thanks to:
VCC Fashion Styling Instructor - Melody Rhind
Photographer - Brenndan Laird
Brad Gogh Studio
Hairstylist - Katelyn Ladencuk
Makeup Artist - Lucy Anne
Jewelry Contributors - Army of Rokosz, Catherine Hartley and Kara Woo of Twelvegems
Clothing Contributor - Jenny Fleur Loves