Steampunk Fashion at Webster Hall

Take a step back in time to an alternate universe…A very elaborate one at that.  Legendary NYC nightclub Webster Hall (once home to Surrealist balls with Salvador Dali) hosted The Anachronism’s Steampunk: Visit to Edo event Sunday. 

Steampunk started as a literary movement blending historical time periods with science fiction.  It quickly spread to a fashion movement too, encompassing corsetry, tailored pieces, intricate brass ornamentation and vintage mechanical gears.  The movement is very inclusive and for this event, incorporated the culture of Japan.

Outfits of guests ranged from courtly Renaissance, to studious spectacled gentlemen.  Corseted kimonos were popular, with many ensembles made by hand by artists and crafters themselves. 

My favorite of the day had to belong to Genevieve of the band, Psyche Corporation, who co-sponsored the event.  She had a fantastic outfit crafted from vintage spindles and spools. 

The event had a fashion show, music and even a cosplay burlesque showcase.  (Though to be honest, the actual talent level varied greatly).  The cocktail menu was appropriately themed, ranging from the "Tesla Coil" and "Clockwork Lotus" and an entire section devoted to Absinthe.

In a city of strict fashion trends, wouldn't it be nice to step into fantasy?

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Gothic Fashion Bonanza at Wave Gotik Leipzig

It's one of the biggest displays of Gothic fashion in the world.  2000 fans converged on Leipzig, Germany for Europe's most popular Gothic music festivals.  The most impressive spectacle of course, was the fashion on display last week.

Almost every sub-style was represented at Wave Gotik Music and Art Festival.  You had your romantics, your Renaissance and Victorian groups.  Cyber punk Goths mingled with Steampunks.  Lolitas were on board, along with new styles like Camo-Goth.   While black and red are the classic Goth palette, there many who used bright colors in their ensembles.  

photos by Carsten Koall, John MacDougall

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Alternative Fashion at NY Comic Con

It's not Lincoln Center, or the Carousel du Louvre...However, the fans here are equally, if not more passionate about fashion.  Their style does not follow trends, magazines or runways, but their favorite time period, comic character or movement.

New York Comic Con brought together fanatics of horror movies, anime art, comic books, sci-fi television in all forms to the Jacob Javits Center in NYC.  For some, it was the place to show off their favorite costumes ahead of Halloween, or parade their alternative sense of style.  

The Goths...

It's about corsets, dark and edgy sensibility.  Lace, frills and theatricality.

The Steampunk...

Started as a literary movement, it's about 19th Century-WW1 and science fiction.  The fashion is about ornament, craftsmanship, gears, vintage technology.  The clothing is a little worn, formal, think vests, boots, goggles.

The Lolitas....

Lolitas are sweet and cute.  Petticoats are key.  Motifs are abundant, (cupcakes, cartoon characters, hearts, it's all good).  Sometimes there's a Gothic Lolita in there.  Wings, bows, stuffed animal purses and Mary Jane shoes are great accessories.

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Guest Blog: Dead or Alive - MAD Museum Exhibit in NYC

From Gothic style and fashion blog, The Courtesan Macabre:

Is there beauty in death? At the Museum of Arts and Design, thirty artists attempt to prove this true. Through sculptures, installations, the works in this exhibit are made from items once living, now dead.

Some of have re-purposed bones into new objects. Some have made use of the decorative patterns and silhouettes of insects into beautiful decor motifs. Usually, an exhibit with such a theme provokes artists who create for shock value, or are politically abstract. Instead, the actual craft and design of these pieces are so well thought out, many could even be functional.

Feathers have been a prominent embellishment in fashion in current seasons, and fits perfectly into this exhibit. The iridescent wings of butterflies take on the silky sheen of many taffeta ballgown, its mural giving elegance to a room.

A motorcycle of engineered bones has the edge and style that would make the American Chopper Boys Drool. The delicate manipulations of beetles in a Victorian home setting might convince you it was an aristocratic estate piece.

The exhibit runs until October 24, 2010.

Photos by Stanzie Tooth

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