We’ve crossed over from reporting to merchandising with these masks to put an intensely fashionable (and sparkly) twist on a common Playa survival item.  Available exclusively at the Melting Pot World Emporium in Reno in a wide range of colors so definitely consider nabbing a couple for yourself and the ninjas, banditos, and Bedouins you know on your way out to the Playa!!!

Click Image For Expanded View

She captured so many beautiful burners in some pretty fine outfits BEing that special brand of silly we have all grown to cherish so … Enjoy!

Burning Man 2009

James Mahood posted this wonderfully candid survey of Burning Man fashions shot at random during the 2009 burn on his YouTube channel.  Hopefully he will have more for us at the end of this year’s burn!

Photo By Sasha Photography

Jessica of Junkee Clothing Exchange put on this fabulous shindig complete with the wild west stage dressin’ and even wilder wim’n wi’ skirts hitched to high heaven, Giddy UP!

*You GOTTA watch all of it if you wanna hear Junkee’s profound public service announcement.
**You WANNA hear the announcement.

Image By Dana PhotoZen Nollsch

Lauren Mari Hufft Gifford of Prism Magic Clothing & Imports located in Sparks Nevada on Pyramid Highway (hey … that’s the sweet scenic route to Burning Man!) put together a rainbow of colorful looks that honor your inner funk monkey.

*Take advantage of the full screen and higher resolution options (only accessible once you’ve pressed play)
**Peep the sweet intro as well.  There really was lighting!

Check The Designers & The Location

Photo By Dana PhotoZen Nollsch

Today’s video is a brief prelude to a series of video blogs about this fascinating burner owned business that will be posted here over the next couple weeks. If you visit them, don’t forget to mention “DustyCouture.Com” for 10% off your purchase.

Check back soon for videos showing the rest of the 3rd Annual Reno Midtown Burner Fashion Show.
*Note: Take advantage of the full screen options and higher resolution (only available once video starts)!

The Melting Pot models pose in their rainbow colorful, playa ready outfits.

A quick add for Taylor’s Tonics beverages leads into a brief video blog presentation on a leather cuff playa fashion accessory. Take this as a reminder that there’s quick tricks and creative ways for you to manifest some sweet new burner fashion accessories even as we enter the home stretch into Metropolis by upcycling thrift store scores!!!

A week ago, six Reno clothing designers spread their abundantly infectious passion for Burner style in the Loft of the Sienna resort before a hundreds strong crowd.  In addition to the decidedly playa-centric nature of the outfits, every designer invited to participate also incorporated an ecologically progressive aspect into their show-pieces.

Catherine Sweet of NightKind Productions blends her vision of a dystopian future with ancient armoring techniques to produce the dustiest post-apocalyptic visages we’ve yet seen in recycled leather and raw metal wire.  Her incorporation of colorful leathers, exciting combinations of different alloys within a single piece, asymmetrical applications, and a perfect balance of delicate flesh with edges of hardest steel.

Andrea Daerice Juillerat’s red and blue fantasy dresses compiled from curtains, shirts, dresses, upholstery, and other recycled textiles created a stir that drastically upped the energy of the crowd giving everyone a notion of what direction they could expect the show to head in next.  Any way but down.

Jordan Miller’s Red Dirt Fashion was the next to flip our collective wigs with her neon pastel color palette, full quiver of trims, and signature patch-work style that would have Tank-Girl shrieking with envy.  Her style is so unique that you almost disbelieve your own eyes when you see people other than her dressed that way!

Jessica’s Junkee gals were a special treat in part due to some very creative face-paint/makeup but more so because of their awesomely funky outfits that amazingly work just as well on the Playa as off.  Lauren Mari Hufft Gifford of Prism Magic’s Luscious Ladies provided the perfect finale with a high-tide of petticoats and tongue-in-cheek sexiness.

(Click HERE for a full gallery of pics)

The evening was an inspiring one for those who love radical innovation and self-expression through fashion.  In addition to being a Playa wet dream and environmentally responsible, the evening was also soundly saturated with a grass-roots vibe that made us proud of our community and the high level of artistry we have all helped to cultivate here.

Oliver X organized this event.  Enough praise cannot be given for his manifestation of this vision.  The photos here and in the gallery have been graciously provided by photographers Dana “PhotoZen” Nollsch, Cate Vail, and David James Kerr.

We’d like to invite you along on a field-trip outside the typical box of fashion accessories and into a world of frenzy inducing couture.  A world where the singular focal point of an outfit can eclipse even the most righteous of garments.

When we think about fashion, we often limit our thinking to fabric related items.  Perhaps jewelry also comes into our thoughts, necklaces, bracelets, etc.  But what about wearing a straight-up, bad-ass piece of metal sculpture?

In addition to their *bling*, metals also bring a color palate that is impossible to accurately replicate with textiles.  Their cold, hard energy pairs nicely with many of our radical ensembles.

The pieces shown can elevate an outfit  into the highest realms of tough adding an edginess ranging from spikes and studding to chainmaille  and form fitting plating that borders on prosthesis.  Further, there are many pleasing aesthetic innovations that can only be done with a hard material.  Take the scalloped edge of the Norris Originals keychain to the right.  Fabric and even many plastics wouldn’t look that good or wear as long.

Speaking of wear, one of the best things about a long-lasting material like metal is the patina that we wear into it over time.  While leather and some tough canvas-like materials also become patina’d.  It’s tough to match brass and other noble metals for their iconic status in the tarnished beauty death-match.

If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend NightKind Productions who’s brilliant designs are pictured at the bottom of this post and who will be featured in tomorrow’s Greno Fashion Show!  Be here next week for a full review of the show!