A Tomorrow That Never Was

Check out this cool David LaChappelle photoshoot - which is inspired by that great deco film METROPOLIS, a 1927 silent German expressionism science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and Thea von Harbou. 


I have a real thing about Raygun Gothic visuals and Metropolis, just like the films Dark City, Brazil and countless other cinematic treats  convey that style so perfectly.
 

Raygun Gothic is a catchall term for a visual style that incorporates various aspects of the Googie, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architectural styles when applied to retro-futuristic science fiction environments. Academic Lance Olsen has characterised Raygun Gothic as "a tomorrow that never was". The style has also been associated with architectural indulgence, and situated in the context of the golden age of modern design due to its use of features such as "single-support beams, acute angles, brightly colored paneling" as well as "shapes and cutouts showing motion."

The shots of Gaga feature in the super deluxe limited edition of her new album The Fame Monster which not only contains all the original tracks from her debut CD The Fame, plus eight new ones, but also features a booklet and a lock of her hair. Now thats what I call customer service.

London Girl Guest Stars Hit the Headlines

 

so much to say-so little time

It has been too long since I have updated the blog. A big thank you to all the readers who have dropped me an email to encourage me to post something.  Now that I am on holiday, I promise to write something at least once a day.

I was in Brussels for some meetings and then had a wild cocktail party at my house on Saturday – from which I am only just recovering from. In between all of these things, I have tried new beauty products from Thalgo, had a root canal done by my cute surfer dentist, almost got into a physical  fight with a  spanish tourist  who wanted to nick my cab, bumped into the women who did not give me that job, attended a conference under Chatham House rules, and bought some seaweed soap from lush.

Butt first (intentional typo for a change), let’s start with my two most featured London Girl guest stars:  Diana Mcllelan,  who’s pen was - and still is trust me – mightier than that pretzel George W(anker) Bush almost chocked on and Gypsy Wood, antipodean  burlesque babe with a  heart made of tassles and  rhinestones.

Both of these lovely ladies have hit the headlines recently with their antics across opposite time zones . Both ladies gave good soundbites during their press interviews.

THE TOPIARY TOPPER STRIKES AGAIN 

Not long ago, I wrote about Diana’s mission to cover up those hideous wheelie bins people like to accord prime retail position to by devising a cover-up mechanism which has left NASA’s greatest scratching their balls – I mean – heads. It is none other than the Topiary Trash-Can Topper, also affectionatly known as the Wheelie Wig in certain circles,  which is a form of plastic surgery for bins which allows them to blend into a pre-determined ideal of what constitues natural beauty. Diana's invention  was recently featured in a long article in the Washington Post. Hurrah. You saw  it here first though - back in September, when Diana gave me the scoop.

PHOTO CAPTION:Diana demonstrating her famed two finger-lift to the establishment  

Diana McLellan has seen a lot of ugly things in her life -- after all, she spent her career as a journalist, including a sublime decade when she was known as the "Ear," peddling gossip in, sequentially, each of D.C.'s daily newspapers: the Star, The Post, the Times.

But that doesn't mean she enjoys looking at ugly things, and as I sat in her Capitol Hill townhouse sipping tea and eating smoked salmon on crustless bread (the salmon was on crustless bread; I wasn't), Diana described her crusade to blot out at least a little of the world's hideousness. It's an invention she calls the Topiary Trash-Can Topper.

To continue reading the rest of the article in the Washinghton Post, please click HERE

GYPSY WOOD STIRS UP THE LIZARD SCENE

And our resident burlesque star Gypsy has been hitting the headlines in Australia because she performed a striptease as John Howard at Bob Hawke's birthday party. For the purposes of context - Hawke was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia and longest serving Australian Labour Party Prime Minister.

According to reports, Hawke's wife Blanche d'Alpuget (sounds like a stripper's name) spent weeks planning for Gypsy to jump out of a birthday cake dressed as John Howard and do a strip tease, as a surprise at Hawke's 80th birthday bash . There is something about that lizard gene which makes politicians live for ever it seems. For this not familiar with the relation between Lizards and Politicians, please consult David Icke - you won't be disapointed.

Back to Hawke's Bash - Gypsy told me that the birthday boy got a total kick out of it. Well what do  ya say! Who would have thought that politicians, from all people, would enjoy a bit of good old-fashioned Bump'n'Grind, hey.

Here are some of Gypsy’s fabulous quotes:

“When I performed as John Howard I came out to God Save the Queen because John wasn't really a fan of a republic and gushed over the Queen every chance he got.”

"Then I performed and danced around  to Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word by Elton John” – this is super humorous move from Gypsy, as John Howard was notorious for not wanting to say SORRY to the Aborigines, an issue which remains a thorn in Australian politics.

"Then I did a strip tease which is my take on how politicians are very similar to strippers. I think strip tease and politics go together like icing on a cake."

Now you can’t say that we don’t feature quality dames here at London Girl, can you now.

Dita going out for lunch

Sweet and Sour Lingerie

How cute is this set - it is an original 1940's American sweetheart lingerie piece. Very cute. It was made to lift the moral of women who's husbands were at war. A true Lingerie museum piece. 

At the back, it reads:

Keep Your Pants On Honey: Until I Come Home. Off Limits

How to become a Showgirl for the BladeRunner Age

image: Louise Whelan

It is with great pleasure that I present to you the one, the only ..
GYPSY WOOD: Burlesque Star and special emissary from the order of the Golden Show Girl

Yes, busy Gypsy has made time from her busy schedule ---which includes performing at the Edinburgh Festival and leading the neo-burlesque revival in Australia --- to sit on a virtual leopard print couch to have a chat about such things as vintage lingerie, how to break into the pin-up/burlesque scene and what it was like to share the stage and champagne with Dita.

Like Gypsy Rose Lee, our Gypsy combines brains and lady-like charm with her beauty to keep her audiences enthralled and begging for more.
London Girl investigates the secrets behind her charm.....

GYSPY WOOD i/v for London Girl
Hello Gypsy, thank you for agreeing to this i/v. I hear your performing at the Edinburgh Festival at the moment?

I’m currently performing in Ali McGregors’s Late-nite Variety-Nite Night at the Supper Room, Assembly Rooms For the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s an amazing show I am very happy to be working with so many incredible performers. I’m doing spots in other comedy and cabaret nights too. The festival is the largest fringe in the world so it’s impossible not to get swept up in the madness and desire of performance.

Its week 3 and I’m so tired but it’s important to have these times at festivals. It’s a time to be inspired and to confront your own work as an artist. Also to be seen and meet so many brilliant performers doing their thing.

Is it your first performance at the festival?

No last year I was in a show called Feasting on Flesh produced by the Australian company Strut n’ Fret. It was a great show about Food and Sex. John Cleese came to see the show and the cast got to drink champagne with him after in the bar. It was a great way to meet him and he was really funny and lovely.

It’s quite rare for Burlesque performers to use their real name - how come you were endowed a birth with a stage name like Gypsy Wood?

My parents were performers too and they were very bohemian with their ideas about life and I guess my name represents that. I love it when Burlesque performers have original names that you wont forget.

I hear that you have a great lingerie collection – what do you look for when you are sourcing your latest addition? Is there a particular style you are really into?

Well I’m very lucky in that my mother and now my youngest sister are in the vintage clothing industry. So I mostly get my gems through them. They can be found at From Her to Eternity.

Do you have favourite Lingerie brand?
I also love secrets in lace they are the best for retro style lingerie.

Where do you shop for your vintage pieces?
Mostly Vintage fairs but I’m always on the hunt everywhere I go. Shops, markets, eBay, even friend’s garage sales. There is treasure under every corner.
What’s your preferred stocking type and heel?

The 1950’s classic black seemed French heel.

Your a fantastic retro pin-up model. What inspired you to get in front of the camera and strike a pose when you first started?

Growing up in a vintage clothing store with 2 younger sisters dressing up and taking photos was just apart of our family life of fun. Beautiful vintage things always surrounded me and I guess my love just kept growing, as did my collection. It takes a few years to really build up a good collection of vintage clothes. And I’m still learning about the styles of different eras. Next I’m hoping to learn to sew so I can fix and mend things better.

Do you have a favourite photograph of yourself?

I love my photo by Hal Horowitz -- Because I was so happy to be in New York and we had such a fun day running around causing trouble.

What’s the secret to producing a good photograph - Is there a combination which you find works really well for you?

It’s a creative relationship between the photographer and the model. It really is about communication and vision. It is really hard work to get a good shoot and I’m amazed at who many hours go into a shoot. The best photographers know what to tell their models but they also try remaining open to understanding the models own unique style. It’s a balance.

What tips would you have for any aspiring retro pin-up models that are trying to break into the scene?

Just make your own style but always know whom your inspiration is? Do research on the icons you admire. For me I’m inspired by David Lynch, Elisabeth Taylor and the Film the Ballet of the Red Shoes.

Now, you’re the darling of the international Burlesque circuit and even supported Dita Von Teese in one of her acts. Do you remember the first time you went on stage to perform? What was it like?

I was performing at a party body painted as Marie Antoinette with some other burlesque performers where Dita did her bath tube act. She was so amazing and lived up to her name as the queen of Burlesque for sure! And I have to say at the end of the night she came in to our part of the dressing room and gave us the rest of her magnum of dom perignon champagne. She was very charming and talked with us for a while. I think she is a very real genuine person. I know showgirls in Australia who cant even smile at you in the dressing room cause the believe they are big stars.

Are there any Burlesque superstitions out there? For example, women who produce Haute Couture garments have a whole set of superstitions around scissor’s falling, pricked fingers ect ...

It’s bad luck to pick your costumes up off the stage after you have performed. But sometimes it’s just necessary because hell you don’t want them stolen. I send my boyfriend to get everything now. He loves running after people who might have thought they have scored a stocking of mine!

Do you have a good luck ritual before you go on stage?

I try and stretch but mostly this ends in having a drink.

Have you ever locked eyes with a fanciable male or female during your performance? Is it possible to find love in the audience?

Yes it is! my boyfriend used to come to my shows and yell out “Putt some sugar in my bowl” It made me laugh and now we are in love.

Do you have any tips for aspiring Burlesque performers on how they can get themselves regular bookings?

I guess start seeing shows and getting to know people who are producing the good nights. If they wont have you on - put your own night on!

Thank you Gypsy for capitalising the B in Burlesque – you gorgeous gorgeous creature you.

You can catch Gypsy live on stage performing at Ali McGregors’s Late-nite Variety-Nite Night at the Supper Room, Assembly Rooms For the Edinburgh Fringe.