We were about to put Dusty Couture on the backburner and start a new blog when it happened: Los Angeles Magazine picked up the phone and called.  Their Buzz: Au Courant columnist Monica Corcoran needed a playa fashion expert to provide background info for an upcoming article on “Burning Man” being used as a buzz-word in the default fashion industry.  The end result?  Dusty Bacon ended up being quoted as saying that Alexander McQueen’s styles would “fly all night” at Burning Man.

Even though the article wasn’t specifically about the fashions of BRC, we appreciated receiving credit for our small portion and were proud to let the default fashion industry know that their works of art would be respected on the Playa.

That mention lead quickly to a much more fulfilling collaboration with LA Weekly’s Style Council author Sophie Duvernoy who allowed her interview with “Bacon” to become half the content of their 2011 Burning Man Fashion Survival Guide.  The article does what we believe to be a great job of translating a banquet of playalicious style concepts into tasty nibbles for default world fashionistas.

What really impressed us though was that Sophie paid heed to our passionate plea to her that she accurately represent our desert tribe by first researching for herself Burning Man’s 10 Guiding Principles and the true fashion ethos of Black Rock City which she concluded the article with: ” … don’t expect to go to Burning Man and dress to fit in — the whole idea of fashion there is to stand out as much as possible … ”

We finally felt like our message got through in an article that we got to guest-author for Heather Vaughan’s Fashion Historia blog.  In her recent series on the fashions of Burning Man entitled: “Nevada’s Desert Dress“, Heather invited several very knowledgeable fashion experts to share what they know about our tribe’s rapidly developing fashion palette.  Since each guest has a different background and relationship to the event, the series connects a wonderful variety of dusty dots.

Speaking of “Dusty”, Mr. Bacon was again the one who spearheaded the writing of this article and it is arguably his best work to date. Click Here to read A Liberation of Fashion.

Writing isn’t the only thing we’ve been collaborating with others on.  The newest urban-adventure hotel on Reno’s strip contacted us needing models for an upcoming advertising campaign.  They found out about us during our recent collaboration with Black Rock Arts Foundation for their 2011 Pre-Playa Party (click here to learn more).  While they asked for models in “burner costumes”, we just couldn’t put Burning Man up on a billboard for a commercial development.  Instead, the models (pictured throughout this article) were instructed to dress for a radical re-envisioning of what Reno could become in their wildest dreams.

As you can see they fused ne0-tribal with classic show-girl, a steamy future that never was with the classic styles of Reno’s last golden era.  The results (photographed by Frank Haxton at Digiman Studios) are stunning and the development (which will remain nameless for now) couldn’t believe their good fortune at having had access to such radical beauty.  As you can see, the ladies we called in to model thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

We hope these collaborations are the beginning of a significant trend.  We’ve been at this almost two years now with only one goal: to show the art-form that is Burning Man fashion to all who might be influenced by it.  We can say with certainty now that people are noticing, people are seeing, the message is getting through and we will be there to keep that message pure and in line with the 10 Principles.

UPDATE: Check back after the Burn for a very exciting announcement!

Recently, Junkee Clothing Exchange in Reno hosted it’s fourth annual Burner Fashion Show which featured fashion presentations by four designers who are also local vendors. The styles were amazing and continued the show’s tradition of evolving playa fashion into beautiful new realms of manifestation.

While our video coverage of last year’s third annual Junkee show was exhaustive, we were forced to take this year off from filming the event. Fortunately for you though, we were able to acquire some “bootleg” video of the Melting Pot World Emporium’s theatrical fashion presentation which features on-stage interaction that highlights the clothing and accessories in a very innovative way.

Thanks to Monkey Girl Monique for supplying with this exciting (if a bit out of focus) clip:

For those of you who will be traveling through Reno to get to Burning Man, here are some of the best stores to shop at for amazing Playa Wear and specialty Burner Supplies:

• Poly Esther’s Costume Boutique located at: 655 South Virginia, Reno, NV 89501
• Prism Magic located at: 2161 Pyramid Way, Sparks, NV 89431
• Junkee Clothing Exchange located at: 960 South Virginia, Reno, NV 89501
• The Melting Pot World Emporium located at: 1049 South Virginia, Reno, NV 89501

These stores are owned by veteran burners who have incorporated Burning Man’s 10 Guiding Principles into their businesses to a significant degree.  We have experienced the tremendously positive impact their entrepreneurship has on both Black Rock City and our Local Reno/Burner community.  For places to shop for things other than clohting & accessories, check out  BurningMan.Com’s Reno Downtown Shopping Directory.

This is likely our last post before we head out.  See you in the Dust!

xoxo-Dusty Couture

The event was a tremendous success and the energy coming back from the audience threatened to overwhelm us.  The crowd was really affected by the brilliant styles manifesting before them as well as Dusty’s heartfelt words regarding the magic of Burning Man Fashion.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSqCujSy1lE

As he mentions in the video, Dusty was really scrambling to put this together at the last minute.  What really inspired him to pull out all the stops was actually a negative experience he’d had at Reno radio station KTHX’s “Burner Costume Parade” at the Nevada Art Museum the night before.  Though there were some fantastic Burners dressed up brilliantly at the museum, the MC for the “costume parade” shared nothing with the audience regarding his familiarity with Playa fashion or the Burning Man event.  It did not seem to us that he was familiar with either subject and when he began goading the Burners to dance for the enjoyment of plain-clothed spectators we were forced to leave.

Because of that disappointing experience we urge you all to no longer participate in a “Burning Man” costume or fashion event unless it’s organized by Burners.  We need to take advantage of those opportunities to spread our fashion philosophy into the default world, however, if what it is that we truly find inspiring is not being presented then it might be better to wait for the next opportunity.

Since there were THREE Burning Man fashion shows in Reno alone this last weekend, we don’t think you’ll be waiting long … pictures of last Saturday’s annual Junkee fashion show will soon follow.

Immediately after our successful Burning Man Costume Swap, we walked across the street to enjoy the 4th annual Compression! Fire and Art Festival put on by Controlled Burn, Reno’s premier fire performance troupe.  There, we spent the early evening being amazed by talented local belly-dancers, circus freaks, drummers, hip hop dancers, and fire performers all while taking multiple breaks to photograph the incredible Reno Burner Fashion that we kept encountering as you’ll see in the video below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLCihVu3Zls

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnTPvixvTWg

We loved every minute and felt like we received a HUGE payoff for the months of effort and planning that went into this landmark event.  Just making our preparations was an incredible adventure in itself as this project grew to include:

• Costuming the entire cast of a Shakespearean Steampunk play (to obtain the venue).
• Teaming up with the troupe hosting the fire & art festival across the street (to obtain initial costumes).
• Gathering support from boutiques, vendors, and Burners throughout the Reno community.
• Discovering a dear ally in fellow blogger Jessica Reeder aka The Hun creator of Love And Trash (her idea).

Want to host a successful costume swap for your community?  After this year’s Burn we will be looking to take this Burning Man Costume Swap show on the road.  The only pre-requisite is that your community have two or more volunteers interested in coordinating with us.

For the lucky Reno Burners we are already planning the 2012 Burning Man Costume SwapS.  If they’re anything like this one was, it’ll be the dawning of new era.

Last weekend in Reno, we hosted a costuming workshop with all proceeds going to the Temple and after raising over $200, we enjoyed an AMAZING time at the Temple of Transition’s UNITY Fundraiser in Reno.  Many in attendance were in full agreement that it was the ”Best Burner party yet” in a community known for incredible Burning Man-centric events.

We were kicking ourselves throughout the night though for not thinking ahead enough to bring our cameras!!!  Everyone was dressed up so beautifully.  It was a profound reminder how uber-fashionable and innovative Burners are.  The pics here were taken by Chris Fuqua and there’s a gallery of additional pics by Reno Metromix on our Facebook Page (More Article Below)

The night was filled with a palpable vibe of liberation.  Participants could do as they pleased in an open urban expanse beneath the bright half moon’s cloudless sky.  DJs were blasting beats from art-cars, fire-spinning jams were breaking out in multiple locations, and there were Burners performing on the official Temple stage (above) throughout the night.  It was a slice of Home in downtown Reno.  (Scroll down for more).

It seemed like everyone came out to enjoy the Salvagery artist collective & Temple Crew’s generous hospitality.  Popcorn Palace gave out fresh popcorn all night, Bohemian Burlesque stripped for our pleasure, Dragonfly Aerials gracefully defied gravity, Boho Hoops & Controlled Burn fire troupe danced amidst the flames, Playa art-installations both old and new were erected, numerous burn-barrels were fired up, and hundreds of local burners turned out to do what they do best: look good while partying hard.  It may not be the case on-Playa, but for at least one night the 2011 Temple of Transition was THE place to get your kicks!

We know it’s been around for a while but we only just heard about it for the first time last week in relation to the latest Reno Bohemian Burlesque show.  The point is, if you haven’t heard of it yet either, here’s an excellent video to warm your wintry heart with some spot-on Playa parody and lovingly stereotypical burner fashions by costumers Deborah Sciales and Oliver Lowe (aka “Owl”).

UPDATE:  There will be a RENO Preview of How to Survive the Apocalypse - A Burning Opera, The Movie featuring live performances by Bohemian Burlesque DJ’s D6 and Brue, a raffle of many playa-life prizes, including 2 tickets to Burning Man.  Saturday, March 19, 6PM at Spread Peace Cafe.  DON’T MISS IT!!!  Facebook Event Link

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v43ZNsT2ihM

As a burner, chances are that you delight in adorning yourself with those vintage fashion bits no one else quite had the gumption to wear.  Items possessed of a little too much flare for the average Jane or Joe.

Often too, the extravagant elaboration of our colourfully kitschy taste is incentivised by how inexpensive such styles become after it’s decided they are among the least salable items in the thrift store.  You can do a lot with dollar belts, ties, kerchiefs, suede jackets, etc.

But here in Reno, one group recently attempted to take advantage of our penchant for contrarian costuming.  At a recent rummage sale we attended there was an area dedicated to “Burning Man Supplies” and profuse signage had been put up to direct burners to a small coral, relative to the rest of the swap meet, with a meager selection of overpriced items  (see picture below).

It was insulting.  Both the prices and the selection were significantly better at a large Salvation Army thrift store located not a block away.  This group of otherwise charitable individuals had targeted burners in an effort to price-gouge them.

While this particular instance outraged us first hand, we are aware that this exploitative business tactic is being employed in a number of “thrift” boutiques.  We are radically innovative in our use of available, often unwanted materials.  But this doesn’t mean we’re a bunch of suckers for gaudy crap no one wants.

We ask that you join with us in our boycott of over-priced “Burning Man Supplies”.  You don’t need to mouth off to every greedy merchant that’s just out to make a buck off of us, but do feel free to loudly make fun of this tactic while in the store.

Morgan (pictured at left with her companion Don in Raven Production’s exquisite photo booth) sports a grand ensemble which takes liberties with historic inspirations creating a scandalously elegant visage of courtly juxtaposed with exotic.  Don meanwhile, would probably have fit right in at a club full of tofts and rakes during the brief era that followed the dawn of the 20th century with his more historically accurate portrayal of an Edwardian gentleman.

Before going on to Mairin and Dusty’s outfits, it must be noted that certain considerations need to be given adequate attention when selecting an outfit for such an affair.  One thing we all failed to account for was how bloody hot the ballroom would get once it was jammed full of hot blooded revelers!

Dusty and Mairin (pictured at right) hand made the more eye catching portions of their characters’ wardrobes.  Both hail from the shadowy, less law-abiding, but certainly still noble corners of Edwardian London.

Mairin’s is a celebration of the patchwork past revised to sensational effect.  Though the color scheme was significantly inspired by the Wandlung mini-hat which tops it all (and which Mairin herself chose and supplied the fabrics for), the hand-made from a Victorian pattern corset, associated over-blouse, and bustle-less skirt sprang from a need for the underworld’s ball-worthiest finery.  She was thankful for the sleeveless top and mostly airy bottoms but was still a bit overly warm.  At least the caged bunny hanging at her side didn’t complain.

Dusty was fortunate enough to purchase his brocade pants and a dress shirt with a collar that could be ironed to give the classic “winged” look from Reno thrift stores.  The remainder of his outfit (which will be gone over in detail in the next post) consists of modified thrift scores and his first ever made from scratch leather gauntlet and spats.

While we would love to lay claim to titles of best dressed in attendance, this was fortunately not the case at all.  In fact, we all had to admit at some point or another that we were probably dressed up and rocking as much flare as the average attendee.  There were certainly many dressed more fabulously than we.

In our opinion, it is more about having a costume that suits and enhances your particular personae for that evening.  We found that for us, if what you are wearing helps you to be the character you want to be then it is likely the subtle details only you and those intimate to you will fully appreciate that your mind will subconsciously orbit as the brighter stars of the evening pass.

In this exciting episode, “Kernul” Killbuck leads his forces to yet another victory in his campaign against your sense of reality. This time he’s once again marauding along the costuming front by enticing all of us with his beautiful custom couture creations (a few of which are pictured here).  With a battle plan of brilliant design, excellent execution, and a willingness to customize to your exact specifications it looks like his victory is assured.

We’ve been amazed with Killbuck’s artistry on innovative Burning Man art projects for a number of years now.  His ability to simulate patina, texture, blaster marks, or just about any other finish on lightweight, mold-able materials is beyond compare outside of Hollywood special effects. Perhaps this is because he grew up in a theater family building sets and designing wardrobes with his father.

Most impressive though is how startlingly original the things his strange mind comes up with are.  He’s a creative genius operating with all the ease of someone who was born to generate in-your-face freakiness.

Offered for sale on his new site are stunningly adorned hats, masks, coats, epaulettes, goggles, spats, and utility belts.  Examples of each are pictured in excellent detail and there’s also a gallery showcasing a number of his other works at the very bottom.  Click here to get there and see for yourself what happens when an already deviant man inhales a bit too much playa dust and starts using his powers for DOOM!