October was a busy month. Lots of costumes flying around. But that’s kind of my thing…

Not only was I building looks for many people and helping friends with their Halloween costumes, I myself was playing dress up too.  A good friend sent me this image and I think it’s an appropriate metaphor for what happened to me late in the month:

Many people  I talk to in the field of costume design say that they never make anything for themselves, that they spend too much time making for others that they have no interest in making for themselves. Somehow I still find a thrill in transforming myself into something else. And I hope I can hold on to this. But it takes work. And sometimes I work too much. (Actually I always work too much.)  And sometimes I’m a broke down mess. (Not always!)

I wore an Electro-Glam look for the Bowie Ball on October 10th

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A lot of time was spent working with other artists at Izquierdo Studio on robotic armor for Heidi Klum. Martin Izquierdo designed the amazing look, complete with built in stilts and chrome breasts. I respect Heidi’s desire to have a unique custom built costume every year for her Halloween party. I’d like to see a movement towards a more couture halloween.

This photo was taken during a fitting at the studio.

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For Halloween weekend I had big plans to be a skeletal bat. But Saturday night hit and I wasn’t done! Luckily there are lots of bits and pieces from past projects circulating in my world. With a borrow here and some scraps from there I became a llama. Which paired well with my friend Matthew’s creepy monkey costume. (Yikes!)

Monkey & Llama, pet us.

And for Sunday night, actual Halloween, I finished up my bat skeleton just in time to head out. ( A friend actually sewed me into the suit on the subway…)

My friend Sam was a dragon and I was a dead bat

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This photo is from a costume fitting for choreographer Cori Olinghouse. Cori asked me to design looks for a super interesting piece called The Animal Suite: Experiments in Vaudeville and Shapeshifting. The piece brings together movement from vogueing, vaudeville and silent clowning, which Cori has woven together exploring the concept of eccentric dance. After seeing the dancer move in his costumes I know we are onto something good!

Buster Keaton inspiration

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Soon I’m starting work on some new costumes for my friend and collaborator (and epic-maker) Christopher Williams. We’re taking the first steps in an an exciting new project, an opera based on medieval Welsh mythology. I’ve read an early draft of the libretto that Christopher has written and it’s incredible. (!)

An excerpt will be shown in February at the Joyce theater…  Photos from our last collaboration can be seen HERE.

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I’ll post more on the last two topics as they develop

talk soon,

_A