Eiko Ishioka, celebrated costume designer for film and theatre, passed away two weeks ago at the age of 73. Her success as a costume designer came toward the end of a long career including stints in graphic design and advertising. Ishioka won an Oscar for her costumes in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and became a frequent collaborator with film director Tarsem, designing for all four of his films: The Cell, The Fall, Immortals, and the upcoming Mirror Mirror.
Her surreal and elaborate designs added immeasurably to the look of the films she worked on, often taking place in fantasy worlds or the subconscious. She could create the stuff of nightmares or provide the perfect outfit for a daydream.
Her Oscar-winning work for Bram Stoker’s Dracula was also the only time she was nominated. Who can forget Gary Oldman’s double-bun? Continue reading →
From the mid-1990s to early 2000s, there was a sort of moral panic associated with “hackers” and this crazy newfangled thing called the Internet. Movies like Hackers and The Matrix treated their characters like lawless individuals in a new Wild West—no rules, no moral compasses, just a bunch of hooligans speaking a lot of gibberish. And how did they use clothing to let people know they were scary? LEATHER. All leather, all the time. Pale skin from all that time indoors, facial piercings because they weren’t concerned with getting a good job, smudged eyeliner because they just didn’t give a fuck. Paired with some ridiculous sunglasses, outlandish hair, and huge jeans, they were dressed like every parent’s worst nightmare. Of course they all looked amazing.
Today, the stereotypical image of a person who works with computers is more likely to be a young female blogger or a clean shaven man in his mid-30s. But the American version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, released today, is set in 2002, and Lisbeth Salander is still intended to look as scary as possible. I’m personally finding her look unbelievably cool. Of course her tattoos are amazing, but I’m equally inspired by her bleached eyebrows, severely cut hair, and clothes that aren’t so much “disheveled” as “so torn up that they are actually hanging on by a thread.” I want to look just like her, but I’d probably cross the street if I saw her coming.
The difference today is that I think Lisbeth is supposed to look aspirational—H&M is even selling a line of clothes based on her costumes from the film. In retrospect, I think all the women look pretty amazing: Angelina’s motorcycle jacket from Hackers, Trinity in her head-to-toe skintight leather, even Ms. Calendar (R.I.P.) in her leather jacket. Maybe when we all get sick of the 1990s grunge look we can move on to 90s hackers?
It’s been almost a month since our issue 13 launch party, and the photos are still trickling in. (Couldn’t make it? You can buy the issue online here.)
Does anyone look good in a moustache? A survey (consisting entirely of myself) says: no. I can’t think of any specific reasons why I don’t like moustaches—I just never have. I especially don’t like them on my boyfriend, Daniel Wornette.
For one whole month, Daniel and thousands of other men grow mouth eyebrows in support of Movember, an initiative that began in Australia to support prostate cancer research. “Mo Bros,” as they are called, raise money and awareness by growing a lip caterpillar. Since 2003, $174-million has been raised worldwide. I actually offered to donate $500 to Movember Canada if he shaved it off but, alas, the soup strainer remained.
In all seriousness, one mildly annoyed girlfriend is nothing compared to all the good work that Movember does. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, there were 25,500 cases of prostate cancer in 2011. As you can see on the official Movember website, examples of Movember-funded research programs include “mapping out the genes that lead to prostate cancer, investigating the effect of combining drug and dietary elements on the progression and prevention of prostate cancer, and understanding the survival mechanisms of prostate cancer,” among others. So now I must say to myself: suck it up! For the last thirty days, moustaches were saving lives.
If you’re in Toronto, the Ground Level Cafe is hosting a Movember Fundraiser December 2nd (that’s tomorrow night) at 8 p.m. People with lip ticklers get in for free, and it’s a $5 donation for those without moustaches.
