Norisol Ferrari - Bespoke Punk Goth

I met my new fashion heroine last week.  Her name is Norisol Ferrari.  She is a strong, Amazonian woman who makes no excuses for her super luxurious sable coats and makes no compromises in her quality and fit. She is often compared to Alexander McQueen, which she does not agree with, except to say they both are inspired by mens' tailoring and military uniforms.  Instead, she cites more historical references like Dior's New Look that she finds to be a muse, except she updates it with modern materials and some edgier gang references.  

She has very strong opinions on how many designers try to infantilize women.  She builds clothes for a woman's shape with an almost warrior-like passion.  Norisol has images of Frida Kahlo and Louise Brooks on her office wall.  She has trinkets and carved skulls from her travels and a wall of taxidermy to show her darker influences.  Her collection for Fall 2012 was drawn from a classic Jean Harlow meets Tina Turner of Mad Max as her muse.

Norisol proudly produces her collection with trusted artisans in New York.  She refuses to sell out or tailor her label to anything less than what truly inspires her, regardless of cost.  In this day of outsourcing and penny counting, her fashion manifesto is a career to look up to.

Check out our exclusive interview by Mdivani Monroe:

Scream Queen Glamour of Christian Siriano

                      

Did you ever find classic horror heroines elegant and sexy?  Apparently designer Christian Siriano did.  For his darkest collection yet, the Project Runway winner paid homage to the divas of scare.

The prolific dressmaker sent elaborately detailed fishtail gowns, floating wings, ruched tulle, sequins and satin.  The palette had lots of sculptured black, dark blood red, with some ghostly white thrown in.  Hair was a severe pulled back ponytail and deep vamp lipstick.  Red carpet fantasies for those with a wicked sensibility.

 Yes, we may have seen a lot of fishtails at recent awards shows, but Mr. Siriano exaggerates the silhouette even more, with more fluid fabrics.  Draped shoulder details turn into wings when the model moves.  Instead of ruching as a trim, it is stacked upon stacked to built structure.

Congratulations Christian, you have achieved elegance for the post-Twilight generation!

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?