Hybrids in Fashion - Alexander McQueen - Plato's Atlantis S/S 2010

The opening Fashion Film for Alexander McQueen's 'Plato's Atlantis' S/S 2010 made by Alexander McQueen, Nick Knight and Ruth Hogben starring Raquel Zimmerman.

                         Alexander McQueen's Plato's Atlantis catwalk show S/S 2010

McQueen set the Plato's Atlantis collection was set in a future world describing it as a world "in which the ice cap would melt, the waters would rise and life on Earth would have to evolve in order to live beneath the sea once more or perish. We came from water and now, with the help of the stem cell technology, we must go back to survive"

http://o-ze.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Alexander-McQueen-2010-Womens-Collection-.jpg

 "The body parts I focus on change depending on the inspirations and references for the collection and what silhouettes they demand." - Alexander McQueen

http://marieclaire.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/11116/000086b24/4e10_orh1000w646/alexander-mcqueen-savage-beauty-rexfeatures-4519998d.jpg

In April I was lucky enough to go to the V&A at my home in London to see the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibition, I spent over an hour in the most amazing exhibition I believe I will ever see and I had to come back to this particular collection I got to see in the flesh for this unit as it is all about the sea, fish, scales and underwater life which is important to my project as I am creating a mermaid for my hybrid creature. This collection was inspired by McQueen's memories of being a child and swimming at his local pool.

 The make-up looks at this show reminded me off prosthetic looks I would use to create a fish/mermaid look as the prosthetic pieces imitated gills and shapes that you would see under water. 

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/slideshow/beauty#4

 Here are some of the images found on the Vogue website that inspired me most from the collection. These were the images that inspired my design most due to the ocean and sea life references each piece contained where it be referencing water and the way the sea moves itself, to the scales found on fish and under water creatures, shapes and structures inspired by coral reefs, underwater plants, rocks, shells etc. 

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/slideshow/details#95

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/slideshow/details#96

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/slideshow/details#98

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/slideshow/details#131

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/slideshow/details#153

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/slideshow/details#151

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/slideshow/details#150

References:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4YjnhesYUM
http://showstudio.com/project/platos_atlantis/fashion_film
http://showstudio.com/project/platos_atlantis
http://showstudio.com/project/platos_atlantis/catwalk_film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_2bBiAZgXk
http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2010-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOUTqNWsFOc
Book : Alexander McQueen Fashion Visionary by Judith Watt, p.260-265

Animal hybrids

 

A Grolar bear:

The combination of a male grizzly bear and female polar bear. If reversed and it was to be the combination of a female grizzly bear and a male polar bear the outcome would be a Pizzly bear.

A Leopon:

The result of a combination between a male leopard and a female lion. The head of a leopon appears to be very similar to a lion while the body looks more like it belongs to a leopard.

A zonkey:

A zonkey occurs when the cross-breeding takes place between two separate species of the horse family, the zonkey is a mixture between a zebra and a donkey. 

A Zony:

The zony, like the zonkey occurs when the cross-breeding of two different species belonging to the same genetic family (the horse family) takes place. A zony is the mix between a male zebra and female pony.

A Liger:

The liger is made when a male lion mates with a female tiger, two different species belonging to the cat family. The opposite way around is the Tigion.

A Tigion:

The Tigion is the opposite to a Liger, when a female lion breeds with a male Tiger.

 

A Savannah cat:

A cross between an African Serval and a domestic cat. Savannah cats are known for their tall and slender bodies with large ears and spotted print.

References:
http://heavy.com/social/2013/06/15-animal-hybrids-you-didnt-know-about-grolar-bears-yakalos-wholphins/2/
http://www.rantpets.com/2015/06/03/15-strangest-hybrid-animal-breeds-you-didnt-know-existed/
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/11-amazing-hybrid-animals/mixing-things-up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHBI7ggw53o

Introduction to The Human Hybrid

Now we are done with our wound assessment, we are on to the bigger and more scary section..The Human Hybrid!
Kat gave us our task, we will be using the concept of physical transformation as inspiration and we are going to design a creature character for our theme 'The Brave New World'. Our aim is to create a new understanding of beauty, one that is derived from creating a human hybrid that is a link between nature and the body. 

I am going to do a lot of research on hybrids for this unit before deciding on what I am going to do, I am going to look at hybrids in film created using special effects make-up, costume and computer effects, hybrids in Disney animated films and real life animal hybrids as well to give me inspiration on what kind of creature I can design. I am also going to look into fashion as inspiration to see what designers create collections with animals, natures and hybrid creatures as inspiration. I am very nervous about this uni as I have the feeling a lot of expected from us and I don't really know where to begin with the word 'hybrid'! I am also worried that my technical skill won't be up to scratch with certain designs so I want to make sure I design something that I will realistically be able to create when it comes to our assessment.

The definition of a hybrid is something made by combining two or more different elements, the could be a plant or an animal for example.  There are a large number of different types of hybrids as listed below:

• Single cross hybrids - The result of two true breeding organisms. This creates an F1 hybrid, this means Filial 1 which means first offspring.
• Double cross hybrids -  The result of the breeding off two different F1 hybrids.
• Three-way cross hybrids - The result of a F1 hybrid and one from an inbred line.
• Triple cross hybrids - The result of the crossing off two different three-way cross hybrids.
• Population hybrids -  The crossing of plants or animals in a population with another population, for example crosses between different breeds.
• Hybrid species - a hybrid population evolving reproductive barriers against their own parent species   

The term hybrid is derived from Latin 'hybrida' meaning the "offspring of a tame sow and a wild boar" and "child of a freeman and slave".

Some examples of hybrids most people are familiar with already:

• Mule - A female horse crossed with a male donkey
• Zorse - A zebra bred with a horse
• Liger - A cross between a lion and a tiger
• Bengal cat - A result of a domestic cat bred with a Asian leopard cat

 Over my next few posts I am going to begin my research by looking further into real animal hybrids and what some of the most interesting combinations have been. 

A mule - http://a-z-animals.com/media/animals/images/470x370/mule4.jpg

A Zorse - http://www.theequinest.com/images/funky-zorse1.jpg

A liger - http://www.liger-hercules.com/liger-hercules-rajani-ferrante/rajani-ferrante-riding-liger-hercules.jpg

A Bengal cat - http://www.koppiekatz.com/images/rio_IMG_6826_web.JPG

Information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_%28biology%29

 

Health & Safety

Here are some very important health and safety rules and procedures  that must be completed and followed when creating and applying special effects and prosthetics make-up.

•  Keep hair tied up at all times.

•  Always use latex gloves and make sure to take them off, throw them away and put on a clean pair when changing products.
• When spraying aerosol cans (fixing spray and petrolease) make sure you do it by an open window so there is fresh air flowing through as these are harmful if breathed in.
• Mark wooden sticks 'A' and 'B' and only use sticks marked 'A' for silicone A, and vice versa.
• Silicone A & B must never be contaminated before mixing as they will set together and the product will become unusable (silicones expencive!).
•  SFX make-up is very messy so wear clothes you don't mind getting ruined, buy clothes specially to be worn when applying make-up. Black is most professional.
• No Jewellery.
• Keep a clean, tidy and organised kit. This will help to ensure no products get contaminated, it is also very unprofessional to have a dirty kit! Tidy kit, tidy mind.
• With SFX products in particular it can be hard to keep tidy, make sure you always double check lids are on tightly, you keep everything up right and store in a dry and cool place. Due to leaky silicone tubs I took to wrapping mine tightly in cling film individually after use to stop them leaking and ruining the rest of my kit.
• Aloe vera products don't react well with our SFX kit.

Wound assessment evaluation

I found the first few weeks of this unit really useful as we learnt how to use clay to sculpt in order to be able to make a basic mould for any prosthetic piece that we needed to create, this is unlike anything I have ever done before. I didn't realise how scientific prosthetic make-up could be! I have only ever used wax and liquid latex when creating special effects make-up before so this is a very specific skill that I would never have learnt otherwise. It was also very challenging as it was so intricate and important to mak sure we used the most accurate amount of all ingredients in order for the pieces to set properly. I enjoyed researching about my specific wound as I wanted it to be as accurate for my character and story as it could be, I really had to look into guns and gunshot wounds to find out how the bullet would damage and puncture the victims skin in order  to make it believable.
When I removed my bullet wound from the mould I was very worried as the baldies layer was beginning to tear very closely to the silicone piece which was going to make it harder to blend onto the skin, I realised this was because my actual wound was quite thick so I should have made sure to apply an extra layer of baldies in order to make it more sturdy and resilient, from now on I am always going to make sure I pay extra attention when I reach the stage of applying layers of baldies and take into consideration the size and thickness my actual prosthetic piece will be.
When I first applied it to the skin I was a little disappointed with the application as I feel like it didn't blend very well onto the skin, I think the weak baldies layer was a big reason why this didn't blend, but also as it was my first time applying a prosthetic piece to the skin so my technique of dissolving the edges with alcohol wasn't as successful as it will be next time.

Once I began colouring the wound, immitating soot, gunpowder tattooing, bruising etc. it disguised the fact that the edges were not as seamless as they could have been and really gave the wound some depth and pulled it together. I was really pleased with the way I recreated the appearance of powder tattooing and soot as thought it looked really similar to some of the wounds I saw in the book I used for my research.

In the final images I was also really pleased with the final look, I think the pale make-up and darkened eyes made my model look really lifeless and as if she was really dead. I asked my model to close her eyes in the image as well to make her appear as if these images were taken hours after her death.

Overall I really enjoyed this assessment and found the whole process from research, learning to create the moulds and prosthetic pieces to the actual creating really interesting and enjoyable and was pleased with the end result, especially as it was my first attempt at anything like this before.

 

Wound assessment images - final photographs

Wound assessment images - application

Application images: