Posts from ‘Costumes’
I love making costumes. They are challenging, but they are a fun distraction from production and administration. These are some pics from a costume I made about 6 months ago for Valerie Laplante-Bilodeau, also known as Inertie. She is one of the worlds top Cyr Wheel performers and she was looking for a new version of her classic costume. She had been performing in a whitish-grey flowy pant and halter top combo. We decided to stay with the grey, but add blues and golds and lots of hand sewn svarovski crystals.
These were my materials before I started:
I wanted to use really fancy materials for this one, so I chose some actual designer materials to start off: Dolce Gabbana and Dior and Gucci textiles. Ostrich feathers and Svarovski crystals.
My goal was to make her something sexy, comfortable, textured and fabulous! I also made the headpiece with handsewn petals, lace and feathers.
Getting dressed up for the holidays is another way to get yourself in a festive mood. I love having a Christmas dress that I wear only once a year. I know it’s an extravagance but it makes the day feel extra special for me. Every two or three years I buy a new dress for my daughter to wear at holiday time too. It starts our special holiday day off with the ritual of dressing in our special dresses. Here is a fun way to finish off your special look for when you are ready to join your friends and families.
Your life is your most powerful art. See you at the boutique.
erin
The flowers remind me of Frieda’s infamous hairdo that she defiantly wore to to represent the traditions of her people.
The Day of the dead is a traditional Mexican holiday to remember and celebrate our ancestors.
These are more pictures from the Jean Paul Gaultier show at the MMFA.
This dress struck me because it contains no animal skin at all. It is a masterpiece of beadwork. The claws are rhinestones. So awesome.
This is the art of Nicole Dextras.
It is from a group of work called Weedrobes:
“New addition to the Weedrobes Collection: The Maple Flapper Dress symbolizes hope and prosperity for the new immigrant. The 1920′s was an era of liberation for women and here she is seen as a young entrepreneur fresh off the boat, with her old-world good luck charms of plants and animals.”
I think she is incredible and hugely inspiring.
This is one of my favourite costumes from last year’s Smirkus production. We stitched all the veins of each leaf mixing silk leaves that we made in the studio with fake maple leaves that i found. It took a few days of appliquee work.
One that note, the Fall collection is starting to arrive in the store. Come take a look!
I know it was months ago and I haven’t been posting a lot lately, but here are my pictures from the opening night of the Jean Paul Gaultier show in Montreal. It is the all time best show ever!
Go see it!
Don’t miss it!
I was very inspired and have been back to see it again since the opening night. It was so crazy that night, that invited guests had to line up for hours just to get into the Museum.
The first series of photos below were taken while Krin and I took were in the line up to get into the Museum.
Me wearing a turquoise silk bustier ($158-258) and Russian Bracelet ($12-16) and Silk chiffon scarf ($22-32).
My muse and circus super star Karin Maren Haglund wearing the Purple Bella dress ($278)
This Rosebud necklace is all gypsy and all modern ($248)
The slim fit crinoline in multi reds ($140) available in 12 different colors at Boutique Katrin Leblond 4647 blvd. St-Laurent
The Museum of Fine arts in Montreal decked out in JPG sailor stripes.
Just before we went in to see the show I bumped into Rosie Godbout. Her atelier is upstairs from mine and she is an incredible textile artist who specializes in felting and makes the most amazing winter coats.
Here we are inside the show admiring and stealing pictures on the down low.
My fave dress above and Krin’s fave below.
the famous Can Can dress was on a catwalk of moving mannekins. The installation of the show is superb and very fresh.
I leave you with this picture of the most incredible shoe collage: heels inside wedge sandals! WOW!
This is the last of my Artforms in Nature posts. I have really paid a tribute to artist and naturalist Ernst Haeckel. I leave you with a beautiful series of full colour plates showcasing larger lifeforms. Some might not seem so beautiful at first (the frogs!!!), but I insist, there is inspiration there for someone.
The orchids are just incredible. I made a series of dresses once for the Cirque du Soleil based on orchids. Below are two dresses by Michelle Ferranti that served as my inspiration for that project.
Here are the frogs!! Ha ha! They are so hideous and yet i have nothing against frogs. Actually, I think frogs are pretty important and I own a pair of little gold frog stud earrings that are quite delightful. We all loved Kermit the frog. Below I have added the image of a dress by John Galliano that seems kind of froggy to me.
This plate is classic Faberge egg inspiration. It is just so perferct. Look at he symmetry and ornament and texture.
You don’t need to be a genius to be an artist. You just need to take the time to do it. A lot of the work that I do is detail oriented and time consuming. Other designers look at my work and think I’m crazy to be cutting out shapes, making stencils and drawing with thread. But to me, it’s just what I do. Come see the new Spring 2011 collection at the boutique. I have been adding new styles every week.
Kat
How many of you have sea shells in your bathroom? I know I do. I even have starfish spray painted silver and driftwood that I lugged home from vacation. This post explores the connection between Nature, as illustrated by the drawings of Ernst Haeckel, and our desire to surround ourselves with objects from the ocean.
Below are some amazing contemporary furniture designs by a company called ARKTURA. I am totally smitten with the lines and shadows that these pieces cast. I am also a fan of the colour options they provide…what not just black and chrome?, but also plum, red and aqua…how do I choose?
a little bit of the real thing in pink and purple and red ( may favourite colours)…
…and a little bit of happy homemaker throwing an ocean themed dinner party!
photo by Jeffrey N Jeffords
Below are the sqid pages. mmm, yum!
We have this pin in the store. It is by an American artist called MamasLittleBabies.
Now this tops it all for me. Michelle McCoskey has crochet this squid scarf. I can’t say that I would wear it, but i was thrilled when I found theses images online and I hope you enjoy the ridiculousness and effort that went into making this masterpiece of crafty kitsch!
This is now in my top two favourite costumes of all times. It was comissioned for hoola hoop artist Danièle Béchard. She was a delight to design for and I was very inspired when I was making this little number. She wanted a skirt that she could roll her hoops up over without getting caught in it. She needed it to be washable, durable and yet still look luxurious and sexy. The initial challenge was convincing her to add a contrast colour outside of the red/black colour palette that we had decided upon. I knew that we would need blues and cools to make the red pop (pink was not an option for Daniele…she hates it) and so all of the stitching and embellishments are done with turquoise, blue, lavender and white for highlights. There is a lace up in the back that we cannot see in these pictures.
More bibis!
I have many pairs of WAWA tickets for you ladies.
The show is February 26th, 8pm
Here’s what you do to enter the draw:
1. Leave a comment below this post with your e-mail and phone number
2. Subscribe to this blog
3. Become a friend of Katrin Leblond Design on Facebook
Here is my take-two on the analyses of how artists are influenced by Nature. Sometimes we really stretch the truth, but sometimes the source of our inspiration is very close indeed. I have included two other artists in this series: Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) and Karl Blossfeldt (June 13, 1865 – December 9, 1932). McQueen, who died last year, was one of the best headpiece designers of all time. Below, I have included photos that seem to be directly influenced by the shapes and forms in Haeckels prints.
This is from McQueens SS 2008 collection.
I mean, really? Is this not totally crazy awesome to see how closely linked all creativity is! We are all drinking from the same creative well!
Also SS2008 McQueen
These three images really need to all be looked at together. Above we have shapes that look to me like armour, shields and Samurai headpieces. Below we have another McQueen headpiece from his last collection FW 2011. Then below that, I have inserted three photos from early nature photographer Karl Blossfeldt. The references are stunning!
German photographer Karl Blossfeldt (June 13, 1865 – December 9, 1932) worked in Berlin and is best known for his close-up photographs of plants. It is documented that he was influenced by the the illustrations of Ernst Haeckel as a scientist and artist.
This is the fabulous Karin Maren Haglund: circus performer, fashion show artistic director, wife, mother and great friend.
I love that I get to make her costumes. I feel honoured that she chooses me time and time again as her costume designer. This was our newest collaboration. It ‘s for her wheel act.
It highlights her fantastically toned sexy-mama body and swooshes when she moves. The body suit is a one piece with gaucho wing legs. The back and straps are a-symmetrical with crisscrossing lines, ruffles and an amazing beaded collar piece that I saved from one of my grandmothers old Parisian haute-couture dresses. I am very proud of this creation.
Here are some casual pictures that she took backstage posing and looking adorable. Room #6.
Krin on tour with her little munchkin circus child Ole.
Not only does she blow me away with her talent and showmanship, her amazing ability to entertain, but she is a great role model for how to have a kid and still be yourself.
Love of love to all the circus families that just do it! -Kat
Here she is: the Lady!
Nowadays women don’t get to be a queen or a princess or a duchess or a lady anymore. Well, Lady Gaga says Bah! to that idea.
Whether you love her or not, she is awesomely bold and honours couture by wearing the runway pieces that no-one else dares to wear.
The origami dresses are incredible and she wore three of them ( so she must really like it). They are by designer Thierry Mugler.
And here we have the bubble dress by designer Hussein Chalayan. It seems there is debate whether or not she is sporting a real or a knock off of this dress. Either way, she is not sitting down.
This is the best of all. It is by Armani and it reminds me of the good witch in the Wizard of Oz, just in the future. She looks incredible! Not to mention, she is carrying a starburst accessory that is not a wand, not a purse, not really anything …and she is pulling it off. Her hair is barbie fabulous. Her shoes, oh my goddess, her shoes become her tights which go all the way up her leg in a thin line of sparkles.
Rocking Alexander McQueen! Here we get a glimpse of the lady that she is. She is not the kermit the frog wearing pop star. She is not wearing the meat dress. She is all woman. She is a lady.
I say this to YOU now: Wear it. Dare to buy and wear the couture pieces that designers create. When that occasion pops up and you need to get media coverage, what you wear will make a difference!
Katrin
My friend Rebekah used to dance in the tits and glitz shows of Montreal past. They wore pasties and sparkles and entertained at the casinos and cabarets. These images are not from Montreal, however, they are all vintage costume post cards from shows in Paris. I don’t know when these images date from, but am curious if anyone feels like they do.
The star lady. I imagine that headpiece is covered in rows of sequins and beads. I love the commitment to stars everywhere, on her dress and even her shawl is made from pieced star shapes joined at the points.
This lady is also adorned in a star. She wears it as her bikini bottom. She has bug like wings, or leaves at her sides. She is seen again a few images farther down from behind. Her headpieces is very princess Leah and her bikini top reminds me of the points on a circus tent.
Garlands, garlands…apparently that is all one needed to look cute on stage.
The skirt bustle on this lady is just great. More ruffles, more frills and more volume! yeah!
Come play dress up! COME TO MY STORE!
This was the first wedding dress I ever made! And it’s red! It was for the late December wedding of my dear friend Djahane and she wanted to feel like a snow queen. I embroidered fluffy stars swirling around a large white mohair tree. The ivory velvet jacket had red silk roses on the front.
I also made the groom’s tie, seven little boy bow-ties and two red sashes for the flower girls. I love the contrast between the blue shirts and the red ties!
Below is the fabulous Ali Luminescent. She is a multi-skilled performance artist and circus performer. She is wearing the blue Jolly top from Spring 2010 in this shot. I think the whole composition of the shot is great!
Recently, I got a call from two Sirkus Smirkus graduates who were looking for some new costumes. They are a young and ambitious duo consisting of: Lindsay Culbert-Olds and Kia-Melinda Eastman. Though I am in design mode for Spring 2011, I felt like this would be a fun little interruption. The girls got a corporate gig in Hong Kong doing an aerial number at a mall. Well, why not?
Here is the sketch I proposed for their Jester costumes. I coloured them according to the circus colours: purple, green and silver. They were made at my studio by myself and my design team’s most talented Katharina!
Here are the girls at their first fitting: posing and looking cute! Imagine them with white face paint and black diamonds over their eyes and purple rhinestones.
the most artistically challenging part of this gig was adding the mall’s logo. It was not part of my original design. Below You can see the logo printout next to the textile logo I made for the girls’ costumes.
This photo I got from Kia. I think they are happy with their costumes.
just added these pics from the show in Hong Kong. Looking good!
I was very excited last month when I got a preliminary phone call inviting me a to be apart of this years WAWA (an acronym for: We Are Women Artists). I got to dress the femme fatale herself…drumroll please…Amanda Mabro! The contact was made when Krin, my fashion show artistic director and circus star in her own right, was invited to hostess the event. We did the press photos at the store and tickets will be available at boutique Katrin Leblond soon.
This is one of my all time favouritqe costumes. I made this for Krin’s wheel act and it is made with entirely designer silks including 10cm of Dior.
Here are the digs on WAWA:
Amanda Mabro, The WAWA Show
February 26, 8 p.m., $25, Gesù — Centre de créativité
Fresh off the heels of her outstanding performances at the 2008 and 2010 Montreal Jazz Festival and OSHEAGA music festival, musical visionary & vocalist Amanda Mabro brings you “The WAWA Show!” An acronym for “We Are Women Artists”, Mabro’s main inspiration for the event is fostering community among female artists internationally. Now in its 6th edition, WAWA is pleased to be part of the MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE festival delighting the ears, eyes, hearts and minds of festival goers; witness the powerful pipes and soul-pop sounds of Amanda Mabro herself, the soaring gypsy voice of Cirque de Soleil singer Mirjana Milovanovic, the achingly beautiful harmonies of 2010 Juno winners The Goodlovelies, the colorful and classy couture of Katrin Leblond, the amazing concert photography of Andree Anne Handfield, and the incredibly entertaining hosts & circus artists Krin Haglund and Andreane Leclerc.
How happy do these shoes make me?
I especially love the little garlic bulb reference in the first shoe on the heel. It is wintery and foresty and fit for an elf queen.
And these little numbers below remind me of the totally-blew-my-mind away book called Fairyality in which the artist creates fashion out of leaves and flowers and feathers for an imaginary fashion house called Ellwand. I have inserted the book cover below. We have a copy at the store for you to come and see.
I am always inspired by glitz and glamour and nothing beats vintage pin-up. These are all contemporary performers in the Burlesque Cabaret scene. And what a scene! These gals sing and dance and strip and act and shoot advertisements and make a good living keeping their skin milky white. Their hair is black and set in curls and their lips are always perfectly red. That is the style of pin-up, but these ladies are making it contemporary.
This is Camille o Sullivan, my favourite of the three. I simply adore the black taffta busstle skirt with green silk bow. The pleating and the hips are very modern and the bolero is similar to one currently in my design sketchbook.
The top hat with the voilette in front of her eyes is a very nice touch.
I never tire of sparkly ruby red slippers. One day, I will carry them at my store.
In this photo I am most interested in how the undergarment is separate from the bra. It is totally a suck-in-your-gut garment that has been transformed into a sexy corset high-waisted skirt. Love it!
Here is Dita Von Teese sitting in a large oversized bra. What a great stage prop.
These two images are simply great compositions with amazing lighting. The clothing is secondary to the set. It is the pose on the horsy bike and the big gold stripes that makes this image a total work of art!
And lastly, I present to you the cat-eyes of Immodesty Blaize.
The jewel studded corset with diamond straps is just insane over the top wonderful. One day i want someone to hire me to make a $10,000 corset. … Covered in Svarovsky crystals and solid as a rock.
I leave you with this image of Immodesty fully covered. These ladies always dress to the nines and I could do a whole blog post about what they wear when they are not stripping and titillating. They are artists that are living their professional image all the way. They stay in character wherever they go. It is something I have been trying to explain to musicians and actresses a lot lately. Think about your style after the show…what do you want to be seen wearing in the dressing room.. at the bar..talking to a journalist? What do you want to be seen wearing when you are grocery shopping or signing autographs? Your whole life is your art and there are many subtle ways to promote your craft all the time. Dressing the part is key.
Kat
Long gone are the days where Halloween costumes were sewn from a Simplicity pattern. Now you can buy all the latest characters for $25 at the pharmacy…so sad..so sad! What intrigues me most about these patterns is how our ideas of clown have changed over the years. Really baggy costumes used to be the rage. Now fashion dictates the silhouettes and thus even costumes are fitted and shaped. These Bozo clowns look really dated to the modern eye.
I really love the red and white puffy clown pants. I want to make these for Smirkus one day.
Again the red and white vertical stripes are really kind of cute.
I love that the same pattern can make you a peasant, an angel or a witch. I, of course, would opt for WITCH!
Kat
Written by Krysten Seguin
Photo by Emilie Olson – emilie@emilieolson.com
Ruby slippers take me home,
Ruby slippers I wear to roam.
We traveled through emerald, past sapphire sky,
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.
Large as houses, small as mice,
Crushing evil and helping nice.
In search of knowledge, you need a brain,
Like a needle in a hay stack, you search in vain.
The heart can beat, like rain on tin,
For this, the quest for love begins.
To be brave like a king of the forest green,
A medal of honor is likely seen.
A wizard is the one we seek,
The journey to him is not for the weak.
A click of the slippers, one, two, three,
Wish for it, and home I’ll be.
Awoke with a headache, searched for the cause,
I bumped my head and went to Oz.
Kia Eastman and Lindsay Culbert-Olds
Kat
I made this dress for Annabelle Chvostek, one of my all time favourite Montreal born singer-songwriters. I loved her music when I was 20 and have watched her career grow and blossom and evolve. The tree dress was used for a music video shoot. Here is the original sketch I made for the concept.
My process for this dress was interesting. I wanted to achieve a barky texture with knots and all, so I started by sewing rows and rows of overlock onto the fabric. Only after I had created enough texture, did I cut and sew the dress from my new material. It had a deep V for cleavage and panels that spread out at the bottom onto the ground. She wore it standing on a milk crate so that her trunk-legs looked extra tall.
Here are other images I have collected that I find intriguing, inspiring and great for upcoming Halloween ideas.
All photos in this post by Erin unless other wise mentioned
Fabric. Art, that is then used to make more art, that is then used in the art that is your life. High quality 100% cotton. This is luxurious, high thread count, cotton. We love this print by Kaffe Fassette. Kat’s team made it into a “cerise” dress (that means “cherry” in french), a skirt, bedding and more…. available in the store.
I personally can’t wait for it to come in as throw pillows. I really want one for my bed that is already dressed in various Katrin Leblond bedding mix and matches.
It reminds me of a kaleidoscope, mandalas, Van Gogh’s Starry Night swirls, Klimt, Toller Cranston’s costume details in his paintings of the nutcracker, summer, fall, arts and crafts, the universe, gypsy magic, and the bindis on my daughter’s custom embellished bicycle that she loves and I Love, LOVE, LOOOOOOOOOVE.
Bindis are normally used for ceremonially decorating the faces of women and girls all over south Asia including Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Indian. They are kind of like tattoo stickers. They come in all different shapes, sizes and colours. The ones on Aya’s bicycle are covered in rhinestones.
I have to brag. I thought I was a genius when I came up with the idea of lacquering bindis onto her bike.
I loved fitting the bindis onto the shapes of the bike frame. I loved finding a place for them that seemed like they were always meant to be there.
Try and find the bits of broken disco ball.
Peeka boo! I see you!
Dring! Dring!
The image on the bell is Ganesh the Hindu elephant god of abundance. Success! Good fortune! This cheerful safety accessory for your two wheeled vehicle is made by a local Montreal artist, Glen, that crazy Mile end metal sculpture artist, responsible for the sculpture park near the train tracks. You can get his bells at the used sports equipment store on Bernard between Parc and Saint Urbain.
The seat is covered in swimwear fabric, of course! Kat helped to hand stitch. Swimwear: Stretchy so it fits snug and dries fast when it rains. Cover a bike seat for a small person you know with one of the swim suits they have just out grown. A few whip stitches is all it takes!
We made this bike from a street side reject with a sign on it that said “If you want it, you can have it”. My daughter and a friend cleaned it up and she rode it for a while till she complained about the rust.
What colour would you like it to be? I asked.
“Gold” she said to my surprise.
The end result is covered in bindis, spray painted gold, lacquered with nail polish, sparkles and more spray laquer.
I am very proud of this little art project and Aya and I had a really lot of fun doing it. The basket and handle bar fringe are from Canadian Tire.
Yeah for bikes! Pedal freely forward. Free from gas prices. Free from constant repair costs. Free from the emissions guilt. Float on two wheels. Yeah! Bikes! Don’t forget your helmet!
I bike in my cerise dress on my own bike, along side Aya, all the time.
Kat wears the cerise dress available in store. Photo by Barry Maccleod.
Your life is your most powerful art. See you at the boutique.
Erin.
All photos in this post by Kat
Yes, this is my mother wearing a big pile of scarfettes on her head as a wig.
I think this is absolutely hilarious.
She just turned 70 this year and look at how much fun we still have together.
I will cherish these photos forever.
All posts in this post were found and pulled from the web by Kat
I am a spiritual person. I am a political person.
I believe that I am empowered to make ethical decisions that are beneficial for my community by the money I spend as an entrepreneur . I believe that as an artist, it is my duty to create beauty for my customers to enjoy. I believe that women deserve to be treated like goddesses entering a temple when they come in to my boutique. They are to be served, taken care of, draped in fabric and made to feel beautiful. I believe this from the bottom of my heart.
I have always been politically active and I have always been crafty. There were certain points in my life where I felt guilty and pained because “just making pretty things” was not saving the planet. Now that I am running an ecological and local manufacturing business that serves and adores women, I feel better. I have merged my environmental activist with my feminist and with my local economist in a way that allows me to keep being a creative human being.
And here is Linda Evangelista, our Montreal-born International Fashion Icon, merging her political views that something is wrong in the world and someone should be held accountable with her love of the Madonna. She got to play a living Madonna in a Religious procession. I have traveled to Antigua in Guatemala to see these processions. They walk the streets playing sad brass band music all the while carrying statues and crying for the death of Jesus. They walk for 12-13 hours. My main reason for traveling there was to see the “carpets” that the locals make from coloured saw dust and flowers. The carpets are made in the street prior to the passing of the procession. When the procession passes, the carpet gets trampled. It was incredibly beautiful. (This is reminding me that I should do a post about those carpets.)
I am unusually attracted the the iconography of the Madonna even though I was not raised in any form of Christianity. To me the Madonna is the “mother”, gaia, goddess … and those are all great things. It represents female divinity, something each woman carries within herself.
I love religious art. I love folk art. I love making pretty things.
It can take quite a while in life’s journey to settle into being who you truly are and not who you wish you were.
Rococo, Victorian, Baroque, Elizabethan….if it is elaborate and covered in gold foil, I am loving it. Though I have traditionally been heavily influenced by folklore and rustic crafts, I am finding a new attraction to over-the top Marie-Antoinette style. Here we see what would have happened if Marie-Antoinette had been a Pagan Earth Queen.
I found these images on the internet and have been saving them for you, my dear readers, for quite some time now.
The corset is all assembled with thorns that are pinning together the leaves. The embellishments are all roses and lilacs…just try to imagine the smell.
This lovely lady seems to be sporting a log-cabin skirt? Not sure why, but the overall look is quite successful.
And here we have a costume that reminds me of myself. My favourite holiday is Halloween and I am usually one of two things: A witch or an Forest spirit. I think this woman did a great job combining fabrics. The best part is the juxtaposition of the gold corset and the raw rags skirt.
The fall collection is in the process of being released and designed all at once. I have already put some pieces into the boutique, but there are many more to come. You will see some peasant sleeves on soft knit tops, a wool coat with full skirt, a very Chanel inspired little cardigan suit with pencil skirt. I am growing up and so the collection will inevitably express some classicism while retaining it’s playful funk.
Have a great week-end!
Kat
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