Anti-Valentine's Guide: Sweetly Demented Chocolate

For romantics of taste from a sexier, darker sensibility, bland bonbons from Godiva will not do this Valentine's Day.  Whether you want to send a deviant message of lust or hate, do it with good quality chocolate, but in a more morbid form....

Sweetly Demented is an online chocolatier from the deranged hands of Sivonne.  With a background in sculpture, art and photography, she brought her artistic skills to the French Culinary institute for work in chocolate.

She claims to have "watched too much Tim Burton as a kid" and is inspired by the natural surroundings of her Pennsylvania home.  She hand-created candy molds from actual deer antlers,hawk skulls, clay sculptures or paintings.  Sweetly Demented creations use a mix of Peter's Chocolate, edible luster dusts, fine flavoring oils and toffee.

I had the privileged of receiving these confectionery masterpieces, and the shimmering, detailed chocolate looks terrific.  I love the dark humor of this collection, and who doesn't love chocolate?

If you're looking for a tongue-in-cheek (whether the ganache stuck it there or not), candy delivery, look no further than Sweetly Demented Boutique.

Rodarte's Guide to Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Rookie Mag had a real treat this week.  They posted an article from the edgy, occasionally goth-inspired designers of Rodarte.  It turns out, in addition to loving "Living Dead Dolls" Kate and Laura Mulleavy loved the vampire fighting show as much as I did.

Their article in Rookie Mag lists their favorite moments of the show (I agreed with every one of them).  From the heartbreak of the Angel/Buffy love story to the devastation of her mother's death.  The sheer terror of episode "Hush" and the finale image of Sunnydale's Hellmouth.  

To read their picks in detail, click through here...

Photo courtesy of WB/CW

Radha Dumra - Surreal Anti-Trend Designer

The color black takes center stage to make monochrome a dramatic effect in Radha Dumra's debut collection.  The London-based designer uses a mix of leather, lace and mesh to create striking pieces inspired by surrealist ideas and rebelling against common trends.  

Ms. Dumra is a graduate of the London College of Fashion and honed her skills working at avant-garde couturiers like Michiko Koshino. 

What dark looks will you be sporting this season?  

Photos by Dorota Mulczynska

Happy 100th Birthday Charles Addams!

Have you checked out Google today?  The title graphic is honor of Addams Family creator Charles Addams.  It would have been his 100th birthday today.

Charles Addams first introduced the dark quirky family in cartoons of The New Yorker magazine.  It soon led to a beloved television show and movie franchise (one of my all-time favorites).  It recently was a Broadway musical starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth that I quite enjoyed as well.

One of his first jobs was for True Detective magazine as a photo retoucher of corpse photos.  A house on Elm Street where he grew up was the inspiration for the Addams Family Mansion.  He married three times.  His third wedding took place in a pet cemetery, and the couple named their home "The Swamp".  

Want to celebrate?  Peruse some of Charles Addam's best books:

         

The tv show, movies or musical:

     
images from the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation

Persy Collection Fall 2012

 



Sleek, chic and elegantly Goth, Yaniv Persy unveiled his collection inspired by an Oscar Wilde fairy tale. The palette is very simple, black and grey.  However, the designer uses a mix of silk chiffon, mesh, taffeta and leather to achieve a curvy, dramatic shape to the looks.  There is macrame and mesh to evoke the nets in the Wilde tale of "The Fisherman and his Soul".

I love hourglass silhouettes in fashion, and I am betting everyone who reads this blog is also partial to the dark palette.  Silk and leather are my favorite materials, they just feel sexy.  Persy is based in the UK, and the designer has some serious credentials... He counts designers John Galliano and Roberto Cavalli among his former employers.

What fashions are you wearing for the new year?

Justin Bieber Steampunk Christmas Video

Did Justin Bieber effectively kill Steampunk for the rest of us?  The teeny bopper prince of junior pop has taken the look mainstream and happy for the masses.  While I love some of the sets and costumes, (kudos to the designers) I just feel that Steampunk was always a movement for artistic, edgier, fringe, visionaries or romantics.  The thought of Steampunk being something that will be mass-marketed by huge corporations is a little creepy to me.  Am I being cynical?  

What do you think of the video?  Watch it here and discuss...

Olivier Theyskens, Gothic to Couture

One of the most influential designers of our current times gave an informal talk at the Museum at F.I.T. recently.  Olivier Theyskens, at a young age was appointed creative director at the House of Rochas, followed by artistic director at legendary couture house, Nina Ricci.  He currently designs a caspule collection for Theory.

Refreshingly, Mr. Theyskens was charming and matter-of-fact.  He chose to show slides of the various things, abstract and practical that inspired him.  He described his humble beginnings, creating "Gothic extravaganzas" (pictured left) out of his grandparent's sheets.  On his own response to media questions about his "muse", he thinks to himself, "whoops..." at not having one prepared.  

For someone with such a lofty resume and impressive creative work, I expected a more pretentious, jaded man at the podium.  I expected a lengthy speech about his direction, work, and a lot of other self-absorbed stuff one expects of designers of his caliber.  

Instead, he described his favorite images, like the blue and mystery of one, how he was moved by the contrast of rough boots and ethereal dress of another with childlike awe and enthusiasm.   He frequently referred to his design team sitting in front of him and noted it was a collaborative effort.

I loved his response to a tough question from the audience.  Someone asked for his response to the theory that women are more qualified to design for women because they know what they need and like to wear.  He was not offended, and did not disagree.  Rather, he explained that yes, women absolutely know themselves more, but he designs from the view of what looks beautiful on them as an outside admirer.