2018 was such an exciting year for us in fashion, and our collection “The Visitors” was the perfect way to cap it off, at the annual Supercrawl festival here in Hamilton, ON.
This collection was our most encompassing yet, with 13 looks on 13 models, rocking the runway in the hot September sun! We really wanted to go for a more eclectic party vibe this time around, and I think we really captured the essence of what we were looking to achieve!
The collection was inspired by the ABBA song “The Visitors” – a wicked disco jam, about the anxiety of having guests showing up at your home for a party! Strangers surrounded by your books, paintings, and furniture…it can leave you in a quite a tizzy.
Disco glamour, divas, glitter, and rock n roll definitely played a hand, and we really wanted to play off the idea of visitors – who perhaps could be from a different dimension; so, there’s also a bit of space and sci-fi moments happening throughout.
Each piece is one of a kind, handmade, and uses vintage fabrics and materials.
Styled by The Eye of Faith
Makeup Up by Janet Granados & Claudia Alaimo
Hair by Hexe Noire & Poison IV
Best of all, we got to end the show with our girl Amanda Lear’s “Fashion Pack”, who was another inspiration for this collection!
For more information on any of these pieces, feel free to email us:
For our first post of 2019, we thought we’d do a classic vintage post about this most bizarre and unusual moment in time: The Miss American Vampire competition of 1970!
Move over Miss Universe (as amazing as that Lava walk was, Ms Catriona Gray), these ladies came to slay in their most imaginative Vampire-esque looks, coupled with their charm, poise, and stage presence, as well as their videogenic quality; contestants were all hoping to take the grand prize of a role in House of Dark Shadows!
There aren’t many photos of the competition, or archival imagery available but these are some photos from the New Jersey regional competition in which Ms. Christine Domaniecki was crowned by Barnabas Collins himself (played by actor Jonathan Frid; who is also definitely deserved of a {STYLE IDOL} moment)!
The competition was held in several cities including Miami, Dallas, Philadelphia, with the finalists competing for the title in Los Angeles on September 10, 1970.
According to one of the judges:
“It was fun for the first five minutes. After that it got terribly depressing. Some of the girls came in bikinis. Some of them came dressed as witches or vampires or dead bodies. One girl stood in front of me and just stared.”
In a strange turn of events, the eventual winner of the National Competition actually never followed through with any of the rewards of her title choosing instead to stay in Los Angeles (House of Dark Shadows was shot in New York).
The full reasons are unclear, however, you may recognize the original Miss American Vampire, actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather {AKA Marie Louise Cruz), from her perhaps her most famous role: accepting Marlon Brando’s Academy Award for “The Godfather” in 1973!
Brando was boycotting the Academy Awards in reaction to Hollywood’s portrayal of Indigenous Americans in the movies, as well as the recent incidents at Wounded Knee, and so Ms. Littlefeather took the stage to speak on behalf of the legendary actor.
Whilst her message was powerful, it was not so well received, garnering boos and jeers from the audience. Also, two days after the ceremony, while visiting Mr. Brando at his house bullets were fired into his front door. Scrupulous media slander also followed, and she claims that this also led to her being blacklisted in Hollywood.
So, in the end, the title of Miss American Vampire and the prize of appearing on House of Dark Shadows eventually went to New Jersey Regional Winner, Christine Domaniecki, who appeared on the show in the highly coveted role of . . . Bar Maid.
I guess, any opportunity is an opportunity!
Funny enough, even with all the dramas and confusion, the Dark Shadows crew was ready to do it again with new pageant: Miss Ghost America in promotion of their new show Night of Dark Shadows!
Granted, the prize was not as exciting as a cameo appearance (Dark Shadows was technically off the air), however, the winner did receive an appearance on The Dating Game , as well as a $250 savings bond. The winner was 18 year old Kate Sarchet.
I’d kill to find some video footage of either pageant, so if you know a source, please let us know!!!
So what do you think? Should we be bringing back these ghouly pageants??? Tell us in the comments sections below!
Have a sweet weekend friends . . . hope you get a chance to chill!
Not sure if we will, but we will definitely try to make time to let loose and rest our brains for a brief moment.
Remember if you are in Hamilton, Ontario, to visit the SUPERCRAWL POP UP SHOP in Jackson Square where we are selling some of our original pieces made from vintage materials for the very first time! And on top of that, we are amongst 7 of the city’s best brands and designers.
Its been very exciting thus far, and we are set up until the 25th , so please, if you can … .CHECK IT OUT!
There is so much power and pleasure in knowing who you are and literally wearing it on your sleeve, we really wouldn’t have life any other way than just being the real you! That’s why we always promote the joys of individuality, and showcase people who have applied this in their life and style.
But today, we wanted to showcase a strange new trend on the runways that was really epitomized by Moschino’s bondage inspired Pre-Fall/Winter 2018 collection: The Hidden Face!
Yes, indeed! Beautiful models covered in rubber latex so the only thing visible is their eyes and mouth mostly (very a la Season 1 of American Horror Story). For centuries people have seen faces in toast, trees, the moon …now it seems we are aiming to cover the face entirely…take a look at some pics below from the collection:
We weren’t too shocked however, because we had already been sourcing some strange style inspirations from the deepest depths of the web of +Larvatus Prode+ (“I wear a mask…”), and thought this would really appeal to our more adventurous readers who love when we explore the dark side of style!
Some cover up for modesty, others for pleasure, and many for secrecy and protection. Whatever the reason, these images truly fascinate us with their strange oddness and beauty.
So, in classic {PHOTOBLAST} fashion, check out this collection of images dedicated to those who present themselves masked…
+LARVATUS PRODEO+
And remember, we say don’t wear a mask, but if you’re feeling it…
1. a social gathering of invited guests, typically involving eating, drinking, and entertainment.
“an engagement party”
Hope you all had a wicked holiday season this year! New Years was a blast for us hosting Karaoke for Risky Business 80s NY Beach Bash, and if I know you guys like I think I do I bet you did plenty of partying.
Always a great excuse to let off some steam and harness your energies with the people in your life who matter the most! Whether its with family or friends- sometimes, you just need to give it up to Dionysus and have a time…
So with this in mind, we gathered 35 wicked vintage party photos to remind us of the long lineage of PARTY PEOPLE who came before us and who have left their legacy for us to muse and admire.
Infamous for bringing a dark turn to 1969’s Summer of Love co-ordinating a string of horrific murders in the Hollywood Hills of 7 highly influential and well-to-do victims including the heiress to the Folger coffee fortune, owners of a successful grocery chain, and iconic beauty – actress and model Sharon Tate.
You could say 8 victims total if you include that Tate was pregnant.
While he never committed any of the murders with his own hand – there is little doubt that his cult-like hold on his followers was so powerful that he was able to control and manipulate seemingly ordinary people to do some of the world’s most vicious atrocities using his strange magnetic quality, and the help of psychedelics like LSD.
All across the internet you can buy merch featuring his face and words, countless best-selling books about the man, his cult, and their crimes, successful feature films, and even an NBC series ‘Aquarius’ featuring the handsome Gethin Anthony as the cult-leader.
Most recently the popular FX series American Horror Story featured a scene in their latest season ‘CULT’ depicting Evan Peters telling his own followers about the legend of Charles Manson and the murders that incited his revolution. This episode aired only less than two weeks before his death, in a strange twist of fate with Peters also doubling as Manson, and series stars Sarah Paulson, Bilie Lourd, and Leslie Grossman as Susan “Sexy Sadie” Atkins, Linda Kasabian (granted immunity for her testimony at the trial), and Patricia Krenwinkle – California’s longest serving female prisoner.
Personally it felt a bit like a gross glamorization of a horrific act, and a bit of a gratuitous showcase of violence (which is very AHS these days), and the thought that these twisted fuckers could get any kind of glorification from something like this was disgusting.
We’ll post it here, and let you decide:
Then it was announced that Charles Manson was dead, and somehow it seemed like a door had been closed on all that, and maybe we can feel good that some strange twisted energy has been depleted from this world.
Or maybe, its only out there running rampant looking for its next conduit….either way:
Ding Dong Charles Manson is DEAD!
We collected some fascinating headlines from the murders and trials, and thought they made for a unique visual of the horror and terror these seemingly simple-minded and harmless people brought onto this world.
His legacy will live on for better or worse, and if there is one thing we can learn from Manson is that evil truly does exist in this world, and we can never underestimate its reach. He may have indeed incited some kind of wickedness when you consider all the messed up things that have begun to avalanche in our society.
Also, never underestimate a starving artist scorned!
From the world of darkness I did loose demons and devils in the power of scorpions to torment.
Vintage mugshots really do have a beautiful quality to them and are full of so much mystery, and since we are always searching for unusual style inspirations, we had a lot of fun scouring the depths of the internet for some really cool dudes who not only have a truly individual sense of style and self – but also, style in life…whatever that may be!!!
Take a look at 35 of our favourite below!
So here’s to these mysterious men and their shaken up lives! Looking at them gets us shook, too – so don’t ever forget: BAD BOYS DO IT WELL, TOO! And again, special shout out to Small Town Noir for posting so many of these incredible portraits.
And like all things in life – the {past} is forever in flux with the {present} and is indeed shaping our {future}! Many of these styles haven’t gone away at all, and are making a fierce resurgence around the world whether its the streets, magazines, or runways. As we always say . . . cool is timeless!
Knowledge is power, and all this amazing inspiration comes just in time for our co-founder Aaron’s role as a bad ass Drape in our local downtown theatre‘s production of Cry-Baby: The Musical based on the iconic 90s John Waters film.
He’s been practicing his elephant trunk technique and its definitely getting there – tell us what you think!
photo by Cyprian Estrada
He’s still perfecting that tip, but If you’re in Hamilton, ON over the next three weekends, escape the everyday and enjoy the show! Tickets available here.
Hope you enjoyed these stunning rebels. Let us know in the comments which one was your favourite!
