Paradigm Shiftin’


Tracking the under-currents of Playa couture at play in the default world.

Playa FATshion: Luscious Ladies

Last weekend a group of large and in charge fashionistas hosted a rawkus celebration of couture designed with the plump woman in mind. Sexxxy got brought by the babes with the most back to the delight of all.

A 6'4" tall beauty of a woman with black hair, pale skin, and red lips models an emerald green lace-up bodice with long frontless emerald gown revealing black ruffle panties and fishnet tights stretching down long almost endless legs.  A dark brown fur shrug accents the ensemble with elegace.

The Lucsious Ladies of the Fat Girls fashion show took back control of the runway and in doing so manifested the re-envisioning of everything a sensual woman can be.  These incredible feme-fatales walked the room in an array of off-the-rack and custom sewn creations, that highlighted the reality of their beauty, power, and energy.

Lauren Mari Hufft Gifford of Prism Magic and Meredith Tanzer of La Bussola brought together a tremendous stable of talent for a revolutionary show that incorporated Burlesque, Lounge Singing, Belly Dancing, and Body Painting performances in addition to epic fashion.  An especially notable highlight was the most over-the-top, steamiest, sinful cupcake eating performance we can imagine!

There was a deep sense of knowing surrounding the paradigm shift our community was manifesting that night.  Amidst the laughter and wild cheering we all seemed to know that this happening was bringing a much needed counter-balance to the over-sold and brutal “ideal” image of the female form that western culture is currently plagued by.  With their own sexual energy and clothing our voluptuous vixens shed the omnipresent awareness of the body a woman is “supposed” to have and transcended all comparisons while giving the finger to any who would scheme to alienate them from their own bodies.

A large, well proportioned brunette with pinkish olive skin and smiling eyes models a salmon pink piece covered in red brocade print, corset attached sleeves with fur cuffs.  The top also has black leather accent panels on the abs and lower sides.  Crimson silk bloomers and fishnet tights complete the look.

We citizens of Black Rock City are familiar with the conscious act of taking control of our image.  Burning man has always been a deliciously deconstructed platform to reform how we see ourselves.  Radical self expression is a common description of what we are up to out on the playa but perhaps Larry Harvey said it best in the 2000 SUMMER NEWSLETTER Burning Man Journal ” … participants commune with themselves, … regard their own reality, that essential inner portion of experience that makes them feel real, as if it were a vision. I like to say that visions aren’t defined by light which falls upon them, but that they shine forth with their own light – they radiate outward, they illumine the world, they redefine reality.”

Special thanks to our co-author for this piece Mairin Kareli, Artist and Owner of Kareli Kairos www.karelikairos.com
Mairin’s unique insights can be attributed to her background as an extremely intelligent luscious lady, visual artist, business owner, and fashion designer, as well as multiple other pursuits she is engaged in many of which she excels at beautifully.

Two large, made-up women bare their fangs and mug the camera.  One is brunette with silver eyelash extensions a black bead necklace and a pink corset with black boning.  The other is fair skinned with orange dyed hair and retro white framed glasses, she wears a mottled rainbow mohair jacket and sparkly red mini-top hat.

A Nod To Burner Style From … Victoria’s Secret?

Gorgeous women in skimpy lingerie and wings rocking playful, over the top haute couture.  It could be the Playa but what we’re hinting at is this year’s annual Victoria’s Secret (VS) fashion show which just occurred.Victoria A

One of the most anticipated and popular events in the default world fashion community, the annual VS fashion show has a reputation for being a sensational smorgasbord of perfect bodies in sexy undies.  This year’s presentation, however, is generating even more buzz than usual due to a bevy of the buxom barbies sporting pieces clearly inspired by alternative fashion sub-cultures, most notably Steampunk.

VS continued their angels-wearing-wings theme but added a daring new twist by replacing feathers with balloons, gears, patchwork quilts, and other nontraditional  items.  It will be fun to see who from our community will one-up these designers with the wings they construct for this coming year’s burn.

This show reminds us how effective skimpy undergarment outfits are on the Playa.  They’re also easy to pack and practically keep themselves organized.  Just imagine only needing a medium sized purse for all your Playa outfits! (Well, that and a really warm fur coat.)

Victoria B

Plus, consider the off-playa benefits: cleaning them is a breeze, they’re great for the bedroom or the beach/pool/hot-tub, and they almost never go out of style.  The bottom line is, they create a titillating opportunity for adding potent sexual energy to the atmosphere of any situation.

VS’s notable departure from their typically blase’ style campaigns of the past resulted in Playa-worthy looks that are every bit as glamorous while being immensely more fun!  Whether or not this is a continuation of the BRC-inspired trendsetting announced during the Milan fashion show is unclear at this point but we’ll take this as a strong indication that the paradigm shift isn’t over yet …

If you’re interested in wings, we’ll be posting soon about a radical pair we are currently crafting.  Click the subscribe links to the right and you will be notified!

UPDATE: Watched this show online (click here) 3 times yesterday with a large group and everyone LOVED it.  It’s great entertainment in addition to the incredible fashions (many of which I had not seen pictures of yet).  I recommend that you skip the “reality show” portions but plan on watching it more than once!

Victorias C

Virtual Burn Brings Style “Home” Part 2 of 2

As mentioned a couple of days ago, the virtual man burn yielded a wonderful opportunity to drop in and check out some of the brilliant fashions that Second Life (SL) participants created for their virtual regional.Burning Life 2009 Post C

Now, let’s consider what it must be like to craft virtual fashions. Virtual and non-virtual crafting though seemingly different, share the same fundamental intention: to assist in the creation of an experience for you and those who interact with you.

While there are many similarities, let’s now consider some immediately obvious differences.  In the non-virtual world, materials conform to environmental constraints automatically.  A long black strap will naturally hang down a certain way for instance.  In the virtual world, these normally unconscious reactions must be accounted for and the incorporation of such a response then becomes part of the crafting process.  Taking this a little further, we quickly see how programming in the way a material folds, responds to different types of movement, lighting, and numerous other environmental factors paves the way for some intense crafting.

Acting upon brilliant inspiration remains the genesis, manifesting a detailed & beautiful extension of the character is still the goal, but much of what must occur in between is worlds apart.  An interview with Second Life fashion designers is in the works.  If this interests you, click the Subscribe links to the right and stay tuned.

Burning Life 2009 Post D

Virtual Burn Brings Style “Home” Part 1 of 2

The Burning of the Virtual Man was epic.  So epic that it crashed the servers and we almost didn’t get to see it!  Fortunately, we did get to view the outfits on the burners who remained to celebrate around the ashes.Burning Life 2009 Post A

Just in case you are confused between the video and the pics, time moves more rapidly in the virtual world of Second Life (SL) and the night of the burn turned to day shortly after the man became “ash”.  You may also notice some less-defined “gray areas” in the video or the pics.  These are pixels that weren’t rendering properly due to the heavy traffic on the SL burn servers.

One of the things that is so spectacular about the fashions in SL is that some of these ingenious creations would be impossible in the non-virtual world.  By removing the physical limitations, even more potential for expression becomes instantly possible.

At the same time, there is a fine line to be balanced upon as going completely a-wall and abandoning all semblance of physical constraints would almost certainly result in a suspension of disbelief “backlash”.  Further, with regards to the virtual burn, there is an ever-present aesthetic constraint to contend with in that burners expect playa couture to appear … burnerly.  While it is certainly impossible to define or authoritate what is and isn’t burnerly, I think we can all agree that, though the reason(s) may be anomalous, some looks just don’t seem suited for the backdrop of the playa.

Burning Life 2009 Post B

Confessions of a Virtual Burner

Every year the global on line community of 2nd Life (SL) hosts a virtual burning of a virtual man on a virtual Playa.  The event is an official Regional called Burning Life and this year over 100,000 participants are expected to attend the festival!Burning Life 2009 Pre A

Equally amazing are the fashions that are being designed for this virtual world.  2nd Life has an impressive fashion industry as well as SL specific fashion blogs.

The fact that burning man fashions have a growing and significant presence in this new virtual world is yet another verification of the paradigm shift occurring.  We entered the virtual playa (after doing a little shopping and putting together an outfit of course) to see some of these sweet fashions in action.

While there was a plethora of visually stunning art (including an utterly breathtaking temple) we didn’t find many people.  Most everyone we came across was at center camp and only a handful were decked out to any degree.  Still though, the potential is most certainly there and we are eagerly anticipating returning for the burning of the man this Saturday!

Stay tuned as the virtual man will burn on Oct 24th and we’ll be doing a follow up with pics of those who gathered to celebrate!  Subscribe by clicking on the links in the right column to ensure that you don’t miss out.

Burning Life 2009 Pre B

Burning Man Storms Milan Fashion Week

Angela Missoni, a top fashion designer in the default world, debuted her 2010 Spring/Summer line to great fanfare at fashion week in Milan.  While her creations shimmered up and down the runway, Missoni dropped a bold Fashion Week 2009 Ahint at a main source of inspiriation: her daughter’s attendance of Burning Man. (Telegraph Article Here)

But it seems some of the world’s other top designers are taking their inspiration from playa-riffic sources as well!  Scope these snapshots from the recent fashion weeks in London, Paris, and New York.

Christophe Decarnin of the Balmain label designed the fashions shown on the left and right of these words.  They are dubbed “military” by the default fashion world but seem to be more a very sexy take on Steampunk mixed with a little post-apocalyptic desert organica.  It’s easy to imagine a Black Rock Citizen rocking either of these on Playa.  Some playa dust might get these models smiling too!Fashion Week 2009 B

Of course we’re not  implying that these fashion designers are “stealing” designs from off the playa.  That wouldn’t be nearly so thrilling as the truth of it: that there are beautiful similarities emerging between what is considered avant-garde at the heights of default world fashion and what has always constituted beauty in our own dusty couture community.

There is a paradigm shift occurring and the particulars of who did what or took  inspiration from whom are losing significance, giving way to the beauty of synergistic and spontaneous combustions of human creativity without judgment or the need for credit.  That’s what this site is all about!  Sharing ONLY the intention to inspire and provide helpful tools that will assist you in manifesting the fashion experience you choose to create for yourself and others with no judgment or concept of authority.

The fact that we arrived at the idea for this blog just days before this story broke is a great example of the metaphysical mechanics at play.  A nod in our direction from the global fashion industry verifies that we are not alone in feeling this shift.  Stay with us and share in the creation of a fashionably new paradigm by clicking on the Subscribe links to the right.