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Claudia, Collection 8
Photos; Kimberley Gordon
Makeup Leah Darcy
Hair by Ashlee Rose
Set Design by Kimberley Gordon with Meredith Leyerzaph
DROP ONE, AVAILABLE NOW
To discuss Vampires in 2020 is certainly different then conversations had of the early days of vampire myth. Today they hold a certain romanticism due to a plethora of modern pop culture. For me, the romanticism of the Vampire came from my first time viewing the adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, I was only 12 and seeing Kirsten Dunst, a 90s nostalgic millennial movie queen, her blonde hair tightly curled and tiny piercing teeth poking out from little lips. Elder millennials were identical in age with young Dunst, and after the movie was released rumours of Kirsten's first kiss being Brad Pitt (so wrong!) sealed a romantic mythical connection to the vampire. The most philosophical question we probably pondered at this young age was, "Why do we have to die?" I obsessed over this and relative questions desperately as a child, grappling with the news that one day, we too, shall cease to exist.
The appearance of young Claudia brought freedom from mortality, and a conveniently sexy myth to cling to. It was a relief.
Of course later came Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV series, a remake of the twisted/hilarious hot, 80's movie, and although Buffy herself was no vampire we again were asked to connect sex appeal and superhero with our blood sucking mythical creature. Of course you can't discuss Vampires without Twighlight- Kristen and Rob sulking and "smizing" (Thank you Tyra) kissing and making PG love in a story so clearly beneath their skill level, but arguably the most popular and erotic millennial fiction of the vampire. Then followed the brilliant True Blood, the dreamy Let the Right One In, and the pandering Vampire Diaries. Of course there are also many others that I haven't even mentioned ("Hello!?" Say the Underworld fans)
"The continuing popularity of the vampire theme has been ascribed to a combination of two factors: the representation of sexuality and the perennial dread of mortality." -Wikipedia
The original Vampire myth was far from sexy, in fact not fictional at all, you can read the disturbing history here
"Over time, some attributes now regarded as integral became incorporated into the vampire's profile: fangs and vulnerability to sunlight appeared over the course of the 19th century, with Varney the Vampire and Count Dracula both bearing protruding teeth, and Murnau'sNosferatu (1922) fearing daylight. The cloak appeared in stage productions of the 1920s, with a high collar introduced by playwright Hamilton Deane to help Dracula 'vanish' on stage. Lord Ruthven and Varney were able to be healed by moonlight, although no account of this is known in traditional folklore. Implied though not often explicitly documented in folklore, immortality is one attribute which features heavily in vampire film and literature. Much is made of the price of eternal life, namely the incessant need for blood of former equals."
Telling the fall collection story through this nostalgic creature is very cathartic for two reasons, I experience quite a striking fear of death, and to express that fear through art almost feels like a way of controlling that fear, and that this myth, for all reasons listed above, strikes a very nostalgic chord, as it has since childhood Halloweens.
My Selkie rendition of Anne Rice's Claudia is a pop culture picture frame, and freezes her in time at an older age and with her sister- for companionship. I always hated thinking of Claudia never experiencing any sort of adulthood or female friendship especially as I began to surpass her frozen age and enter my late teens. In my fantasy she would be happy, living in a gothic home, prancing through fields of the French Countryside, experimenting with different blood recipes. The sunlight thing... well, I don't think the sunlight would truly roast this myth alive. That's way too easy!
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