Autumn/Winter 2012 #22

http://www.lenaquist.com

CreditsIssue cover model: Sara ToninPhotographer: Leona Turford PhotographyHairpiece: Ghoulia’s PeculiarsJewellery: NiziblianWardobe: Photographer’s own

Editor: Leona TurfordAdvertising: Magenta

Contact Alt Fashion info@altfashion.co.ukwww.altfashionmagazine.co.ukwww.altfashion.co.uk

Next issue: Spring/Summer 2013

Disclaimer: All links/details correct at time of publication.All opinions & views expressed may not necessarily be the views of the publisher, but of the individual writers & interview-ees.Contributions are welcome, any individual providing material must ensure they have obtained the correct permission before submission.Alt Fashion is a non profit publication, therefore all contribu-tions are taken on a creditation basis, with your credits pub-lished on your feature(s).

FashionCyanide Kiss - 12Rubber Monkey Latex - 20Raffles Bizarre - 36Tokyo Royale shoot - 8

SpecialsS.O.P.H.I.E 2013 Calendar - A visual feast - 16Club AntiChrist’s Top 8 - 26Brighton Fashion Week in pictures - 32The alternative hen do - 46Bubblegum metal shoot - 22Baeli shoot - 42

Articles & FeaturesThe alternative & burlesque fair - 6How to make your own mini crown; tutorial - 11Black Orchard Photography - 28Steampunk Style - 34Face of the fair - 38Dr Sketchy’s North Wales & Chester - 40It’s a Horror Play - 48

Cyanide Kiss

Club AntiChrist’s Top 8

IndexAutumn/Winter 2012 #22

S.O.P.H.I.E Calendar preview

A word from the editor..

Well what a six month’s its been since our last issue, we cer-tainly weren’t expecting to end up in digital only format back when our last issue came out! It’s been a hard six months, but we hope that you’ll agree that our digital switch-over is a blessing in disguise, we’re still able to bring you all the high quality content in a portable ‘on the go’ format, so you’re not missing out on an issue of Alt Fashion & of course you can always swing on over to Mag Cloud and order a print copy if you’re missing that feel of the paper betwixt your hands as you flick through our magazine.

This Autumn/Winter issue we’ve brought you a wonderful mix of content, from all the usual gorgeous alternative fashion (Rubber Monkey Latex, Cyanide Kiss, Raffles Bizarre), a blend of culture (Black Orchard Photography, Steampunk Style..), events (The alternative & burlesque fair, Dr Sketchy’s North Wales & Chester) & even a sneak peek at the forth-coming S.O.P.H.I.E calendar with much more inbetween!

As our first fully digital edition you’ll notice a few changes to our usual digital format, why not click away on some article links & see where they take you! Whilst you peruse this latest copy we’ll be busy working away on what will be a bumper packed Spring/Summer 2013 edition, due out in April.

Leona x

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Event

This June the Heresy N Heelz Alternative and Burlesque Fair brought it’s magic to the Birmingham Ballroom, and received a warm welcome for it’s first appearance in the city. A much loved gig venue, it was bizarre to be in the Ballroom (formerly the Academy) during daylight hours, with attendees casually strolling around in latex and elegant dress. There were great expectations for this event after the success of the previous fairs up North, and it didn’t fail to impress.

As with their previous events, a mind boggling amount of vendors were present (over 70 in total), sprawling over the three rooms and two floors of the cavernous Ballroom. A total of 600 people attended the fair throughout the day, an impressive amount for the first fair to be held in Birming-ham, making it easy to see why there is already another one scheduled for later in the year! As with the previous fairs, it is the mix of tantalising goodies for sale and the top quality burlesque performances scattered throughout the day that made this too good to miss!

The stalls spread throughout the building were split into themed areas. The Burlesque Boudoir brought together a wide variety of accessories and clothing, displayed across the second floor, and filling the smaller room on that floor, where tucked away in a cosy corner was the stage for the Ministry of Burlesque performances throughout the day. The majority of the room glittered madly under the ceiling lights, helped along by Jane Ann Bespoke Millinery, who showcased some of their awe inspiring Swarovski crea-tions. Hobby FX were an edgy addition with their superb quality (and very reasonably priced) custom fangs and prosthetics.

The small and personal stage in the room was the perfect location for the Ministry of Burlesque movers and shakers show, showcasing up and coming performers. The delight-ful Kittie Klaw was compere for the show – the audience instantly warm to her relaxed and effortless charm. Havana Hurricane gave a devastatingly sexy performance in luxuri-ous costume that showcased a voluptuous figure. Lola Lashes’ Betty Boop inspired act was perfect and refresh-ingly different. The whole performance including her make up, outfit and mannerisms totally embodied the spirit of Betty Boop, and it was a delight to watch.

The alternative &Burlesque fair

Review: Carey Armstrong | Photos: Dave Charsley

Birmingham Ballroom, June 30th

Stripy sailor dress £40

Model: M

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Feature

S.O.P.H.I.E 2013 Calendar A Visual Feast..This Autumn will see the first

official S.O.P.H.I.E calendar released through the foundation, a celebration of all things alternative helping to raise awareness & funds for the foundation.

As soon as we heard about their first calendar we couldn’t wait to see the results, the result of months of hard work from alt model Evie Wolfe, pho-tographer Rei Bennett & stylist Claudia Falcieri, who’ve put together a wonder-ful selection of images for what will be the first official 2013 S.O.P.H.I.E cal-endar. Showcasing an array of alterna-tive talent & styles that are close to the alternative scene.

How did the idea come together to work on a 2013 S.O.P.H.I.E calendar? Well, I (Evie Wolfe) was at the Midlands Goth Fest in Birmingham, promoting an alternative runway show, and got talking to some of the amazing people on the S.O.P.H.I.E stand. After a while, I got to

showing them some of my work and they mentioned that they were looking for someone to produce their first official calendar. I immediately offered myself up for the job, although I had no idea how much work it would be! I’d do it all again though, it has been an incredible few months, and we’ve been working for a great cause.

Is this something you envision doing every year from now on?That depends greatly on sales of the calendar. We are planning the 2014 calendar now, and by the time this issue goes out the search for models will be well under way, but if we get low interest we may not be able to go ahead with a 2015. I would love to do this again, I’ve met some amazing people and the whole team has become one big family.

Who can we expect to see gracing the monthly pages inside? & how did you pick the alternative talent for each month’s shoot?Actually, the talent more or less picked us! We didn’t have a whole lot of time to plan or scout, so we relied on word of mouth and picked people who we knew were reliable. Unfortunately we were let down by a few of the models we hadn’t worked with before and wanted to feature, but our core team of dedicated workers pulled it out of the bag every time.

A few of the faces you’ll see are well known, like the lovely Miss Blitzkrieg, the gorgeous Little Sofi and Peggy Soo, but you may not recognise Miss Soo when you see her – she’s pulling off a very different look! We’ve also used some real up and com-ing talent though, like Valen Vain, who

Behind the Scenes at ‘Queen of Hearts and Court of Lovers’ - the black and white swans

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Rubber Monkey latex are by far one of the most creative latex com-panies you’ll find, with a catalogue that pays homage to latex clad geekyness just as much as pin ups & high fashion staples. Where else could you find Wonderwoman outfits next to high waisted hot pants & polka dot bras!

Truly inspiring and gorgeous latex wear that will easily make you stand out and feel that little bit gorgeous.

How did you start Rubber Monkey?I bought a length of latex with the inten-tion of trying to help a friend who is a burlesque performer. I did some re-search on line and locked myself away for a weekend. After a lot of pulling my hair out, many a cup of tea and lots of referencing to my research I emerged with my first pair of high waisted pants. They were far from perfect but I was proud... it also gave me the bug to want to improve and do more :)

What attracted you to work with latex? I like the versatility of it, along with the challenges it brings. I can sew but I don’t have the patience.

You have such a varied catalogue of styles, do any particular influences inspire your designs? At the moment I am super busy putting my new collection together. It’s a little bit darker and more vampish than my recent costumes and fun character work. I am mainly led by my customers though... it’s their ideas and commis-sions that give me the freedom and scope to produce lots of exciting and new pieces.

You’ve got a great selection of comic & sci-fi inspired designs, how did these pieces come about & are there any more comic inspired pieces in the pipeline?I am such a geek at heart... I love su-perheros and comic book stuff.

I am currently working on a Gremlin (to go with Gizmo) and also several manga characters for commissions. In addition, I have started work on my Harry Potter inspired range so keep an eye out for my Chamber of Squeaklets!

Do you prefer creating more fun & quirky latex outfits to the traditional dark fetish & high end fashion looks that are so often associated with latex wear? I must confess, I do prefer the quirky stuff however, I have been working lately on a more fashion/fetish focused collection ready for the Club AntiChrist Halloween party in October.

Since Rubber Monkey launched last year you’ve already established a great following, what do you think is the secret to your success?I’m not really sure :) I guess I have just been lucky. I like to think I’m quite honest in my approach to my latex. I am the first to admit, I make mistakes and I am still learning. I’m not sure, as a designer in any genre, that you ever stop learning as you need to continu-ally evolve and make something new. I work closely with a select number of models and photographers and I have become quite firm friends with several of them. I think this allows me the luxury of shaping shoots and they also have an understanding what it is I am looking for in a picture and model.

You’ve certainly been taking the road a lot this year with fashion shows & events, are there any forthcoming shows this autumn that our readers can find you appearing? Yes... My monkeys will be touching down in London at the October Anti-Christ Halloween Party. October 26th, Vauxhall.

What are the plans for Rubber Mon-key this year & beyond? Work, Work, Work! Get the new range together. I also have a mens character and quirky range that is developing.

& given the chance to design an out-fit for anyone in the world who would you love to design for? Skin from Skunk Anansie. I just think she’s amazing :)

You can find Rubber Monkey Latex online & get hooked at http://www.rubbermonkeylatex.co.uk/

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RoadKill Couture by Jess Eaton

RoadKill Couture by Jess Eaton

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Raffles Bizarre’s unique take on jewellery has long stood out to us here at Alt Fashion, truly taking on the creative, unique approach of the alternative scene with an artistic flair and a varied range of designs that tick all the boxes.

Launched by designer & make up artist Jess Heath, Raffles Bizarre has certain-ly taken on her artistic flair. Whether you like quirky illustrated designs, romantic gothic designs with oodles of lace & crosses, retro loveliness or simply just something thats as unique as you are. With an ever changing range of one of a kind designs & styles whatever your tastes your certainly bound to find something that catches your eye.

How did you start Raffles Bizarre? & What sparked your interest in jewel-lery making and art? I’ve been creative all my life and ended up choosing art subjects in education leading to my degree in Model Design and Special Effects. I picked up vari-ous skills and techniques throughout this which lent themselves to jewellery making. During uni I started making jewellery for myself so I had something different to wear than what was on the highstreet, I’d make presents for friends and family and this gradually progressed to selling my work. I started off selling my jewel-lery on Myspace, just to see if anyone was actually interested and it ended up really taking off. Eventually I got myself a website and began selling in other places online or at fairs and that was that. I now do my jewellery full time and also work as a freelance makeup artist.

You have such a varied catalogue of styles and designs with your jewel-lery, do any particular influences inspire what you create?I pretty much just make jewellery I like and would wear myself but my own taste is obviously influenced by popular culture. I like to design things that are quite quirky and you won’t find widely available whilst still tapping into current trends, such as my festival range.

You use a lot of different materials to construct your pieces, do you prefer any one material to the other when you are creating jewellery?I used to vary my materials a lot more but I now have such a huge range of stock, I’ve been trying to refine it and concentrate more on my illustrated jew-ellery. I love designing these as it gives me the freedom to create absolutely anything (as long as I can draw it) and they are affordable and can be easily replicated so are perfect for wholesale.

You also take on commissions for your jewellery, have you had any favourite requests for custom pieces over the years?I love commissions in general, it’s more of a challenge working to constraints other people have set and fun to create someone else’s vision whilst still adding my own personal touches. Some of my favourite commissions have been mini hats.

What attracted you to working within the alternative scene?It’s in my nature, I’m into the alterna-tive scene myself I suppose...well more than any other kind of scene. So as I said before, I tend to find it easiest to create jewellery I like myself. However I do have such a broad range of styles on my site there is also cute and girly, vintage-esqiue and bohemian jewellery available. I think the alternative scene does allow you to show off your individ-uality a bit more, there’s no rules so you can be as creative as you like.

Alongside running Raffles Bizarre your also a make up artist. Do these two sides of your work ever tend to merge together? Yes definately, I’ve provided jewellery for shoots that I’ve done makeup on before and I’ve organised a fair few of my own shoots specifically for Raffles Bizarre. Also working on other fashion shoots or LFW are even more excit-ing than usual because it’s not just the makeup side of things I enjoy, I love to watch the styling and everything else too.

What are the plans for Raffles Bizarre this year & beyond?Right now I’m trying to work that out my-self, I have a few things coming togeth-er at the moment and hopefully you’ll be seeing RB in some new places. My goal each year is just to refine my style and jewellery making skills and reach a larger audience, but whatever happens I’m very happy doing what I do.

You can find Raffles Bizarre online at www.rafflesbizarre.co.uk

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