I am a professional hair stylist and makeup artist who recently had the good fortune to work on Lovesick 3, a runway fashion show in San Francisco created by Alexandria von Brömssen (http://www.vonbromssendesigns.com). A number of designers, makeup artists, hair stylists, still and video photographers took part.
Alexandria von Brömssen showcased 40 beautiful, sexy and edgy items of ready to wear and lingerie from her namesake collection, and created a mesmerizing theatrical performance in collaboration with Bad Unkl Sista (http://www.badunklsista.com) that I must describe: a woman with her face painted white wearing a long white gown with a long train slowly walked to the end of the runway, holding a cage that contained a fake bird (symbolic of a woman’s egg). The woman saw a man (who was actually a woman, also with a white painted face) in the crowd. He approached her and gave his whiskey (symbolic of a man’s sperm) to her in exchange for the bird in the cage. Supposedly, the woman became pregnant and gave birth. To my surprise, the woman — while standing at ease — lifted her gown up and three women with white painted faces wearing pale pinkish clothing came out! They joined the audience sprinkled metallic papers in the air. Meanwhile, a group of three people in dreadlocks sang and played banjo melancholically in the background…. It was quite a performance, to say the least.
Another notable designer was Gelareh Designs (http://www.gelareh.us). I did hair and makeup for three of the Gelareh models using vibrant colors such as sky blue, orange, gold, bronze with pale silver pink and red gold lipstick. My vision was inspired by Venetian masquerade makeup looks and hair styling like that in the movie “Sweeney Todd”.
In collaboration with head piece designer Caley Johnson (http://www.missgigglemonster.com), Gelareh (“Gia”) Alam showcased her couture designs, which in my opinion were elegant, dramatic, sensual, and intriguing. Words like renaissance and gothic came to mind, as well as science fiction fantasies. A San Francisco Art Institute graduate, Gia has proven her unique style in the apparel and fashion industry; she is also a painter and sculptor. She said that many of her clothing designs are inspired from her paintings and sculptures. She often uses draping techniques and hand-stitches, and incorporates unique elements such as robes, gold, metal and leather. When I asked her about current projects, she mentioned that she is in the middle of designing virtual world clothes for a Bay Area based game company. Now, how cool is that? — Vivi Andrijani
Credits:
Photography by Jeffrey Hipona
Hair and Makeup by: Vivi Andrijani – http://www.MakeuphairV2.com
Fashion Designers:
Alexandria von Brömssen (http://www.vonbromssendesigns.com)
Gelareh Designs (http://www.gelareh.us)
Caley Johnson http://missgdesigns.com
Jasmin Zorlu Millinery http://www.jasminzorlu.com
Art Performance:
Bad Unkl Sista (http://www.badunklsista.com)