Adventures in the land of Otilee

Effort + Balls = Awesome

In a culture obsessed by youth and the beauty-by-default that youth brings. What’s left for those not considered ‘the youth’ anymore? Where do you take your personal style when you can no longer get away with showing a butt-load of flesh (pun intended) – because again, the sartorial default approach for youth (those sans-style at least) seems to be less is best… just because you can. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing – it could be super unflattering or boring as bat shit… but that’s okay, because you’re attractive (by default) because you’re young. Hell, it’s not like I didn’t do it.

But where does that leave you as you step into the realization that you’re no longer a young person? You’re not an old person. You sure as shit don’t want to fall into being a boring middle-age person. What the hell are you?

I’ve always said that the foremost quality I look for in casting models (aside from being appropriate to the brief) is “does she look interesting”. In my book, ‘interesting’ has rated far more highly over ‘pretty’ or ’sexy’. And this is a viewpoint I have for my life also. It’s easy to be pretty or sexy… it takes effort to be interesting. I appreciate people that take that effort. Especially those that do so, well into their twilight years – not succumbing to the expected look of an age group. Having fun with fashion – not being prescribed it. Wearing their hearts on their sleeves and doing so with balls.

So in summary what it all basically boils down to is; Effort + Balls = Awesome.
The main ingredients to being awesome and achieving ageless style after you’re no longer awesome by default.

Below are a few of such fabulous old ducks bringing it home.
WE SALUTE YOU! *sha-wing*

Running through the park – Beatrix Ost

Beatrix Ost For Stylelikeu.com from StyleLikeU on Vimeo.

Being the world’s oldest teenager – Iris Apfel

Freestylin’ – Anna Piaggi

Image credits:  Beatrix Ost 1. Advanced Style 2. Nina Subin  3. Rob Loud/Getty Images. Iris Apfel 1. MAC campaign 2. Martha Camarillo  3. Into the Gloss . Anna Piaggi 1. (no credit – if its yours give me a shout and I’ll whack it on!) 2. Vogue Italia 3. (Again, no credit… if you know let me know).

I’m alive!

Sort of well, somewhat sane and back for the attack Dokken style.  If there was a bad-ass old house I could bust through the wall shredding some sick axe, you know I would. To say that it has been a crazy 5 months would be a ridiculous understatement. I even have my first EVER eye wrinkles to prove it. Its all very proper grown up like.

Well, where do I start? Bambi’s mum in the sunshine before she bites the dust? Toast and delicious sticky conserves? Getting chased into the alps by Nazi’s wearing nothing but the drapes that used to hang in my bedroom? No?  …well I’ll start at the very beginning then.

As of May, shortly after my last post – I started working full time in an art director role at Marketforce – putting down the camera and concentrating on the creative. Which has been so wonderful and the best possible step in the right direction career-wise for me. As I had a full plate of bookings right up until September however and didn’t want to let down my clients I felt I had no choice but to try and do both – that is, I was working full time at Marketforce AND full time for myself for 3 months. Not enough hours in the day to comprehend how that is even possible? Well step into my Twilight Zone – “moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas”… of Otilee going insane shining style (minus the axe wielding thing) treading water like a swan on crack.

As perfect timing would have it though, a long over due holiday I had booked to the states for my birthday came up faster than I realized which did the trick for forcing me to not do any work and to chill the shit out… as well as inspiring me all over again. I had such a great time – LOVED California! Cramming as much as possible into three weeks  – kicking things off in Santa Monica, then to Vegas, Disneyland, Hollywood, driving up the California coast on highway 1 stopping at Malibu, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Big Sur and Santa Cruz, and finishing up in San Fransisco. Certainly taking the sting out of turning the big 3-0 coming home refreshed, inspired and ready to sink my teeth back into work with more energy and a shitload of new awesome visual reference.

I heart America, a lot.

Oh yeah…and I also came home engaged!!

This means that there will most definitely be future blog posts about wedding-y things among other things.  And that brings me back to the point of what’s going to happen that I’ve put down the camera (for the most part). Well, my full time gig is now exclusively art directing ads which means that most of my time, passion and energy will be filtered into that. This means that while I’ll still be producing images, it will be someone else behind the camera. I will now only be available for very select commercial fashion work in my spare time as well as concentrating on some very LONG OVERDUE personal work including a solo exhibition I’m planning for September 2012.

Until next time – “doo doo…… doo. doo. doodoo doo dooooo”

Otz xx

The garden of Eden

I don’t usually blog about plants… and I certainly have never had much of an interest in them. In fact, I’m a plant killer. I have the blackest thumb in house-plant-town, but its not that I don’t try! I just really suck at keeping plants.

I’m compelled to share this latest plant-keeping adventure with you though,  just as I was compelled to attempt to own another one (at its impending peril, I’m sure). Reason being, the TOTALLY bitchen plant pot I just bought from Behind the Monkey in Mt Lawley.

Say hello to Eden!  She is a hand-painted and re-purposed doll head pot made from original antique french dolls by New Mexico artist Dolores Duenez. Awesome!

Now, as I truly suck at keeping plants alive I went and bought a little succulent (can’t really go wrong now there now can I!).
Mmm stripey.

I totally bought extra potting mix and everything. Woo, gardening stuff!

Aww pweettty.

Other sweet decapitated antique dolly head pots can be found at Behind the Monkey (Mt Lawley, Perth for those in WA).

(Yes, I have forks in my coffee table. Don’t ask.)

Down The Rabbit Hole Exhibition – Part II -

Exhibition opening night was an uber success. The clever little bunnies at the Brunswick Street Gallery had arranged to have a couple of shows open that night so all three stories of the gallery were packed to the max.

In preparation for flying over with the goods I got a little too happy with a bundle of  bubble wrap and Brendan (Ninness) had his printed in Melbourne and delivered directly to the hotel – both induced some nail biting action as our flight arrived at 1am on the day of the exhibition with 9 hours before we had to hit the gallery and hang the shit… leaving about 1 hour worth of store opening hours time in the morning if anything went wrong with the printing or my frames got smashed etc. Luckily, after arriving to find Brendan’s canvas prints looking HOT!! and my bubblewrap holding out we counted out lucky stars.

A happy snap with them all lined up on the floor (and intact!) at the hotel after we arrived.

As mentioned in my previous post about the exhibition – the work I exhibited was all older personal work chosen by the curator… so many of you have seen these before. AND, I also want to highlight the fact that it wasn’t her conscious decision to pick three of my self portraits (I have a different hair colour in each and she had absolutely no idea that it was me). As a result I have three framed pictures of my mug hanging in a gallery in Melbourne… quite hilarious!

…9, 10 Never sleep again (2007)
- Self Portrait -

The formaldehyde was JUUUUUSST right! (2008)
- Self Portrait -

Tres Nanatastic (2009)
- Self Portrait -

Lilith (2008)
Produced as part of my thesis work – Art Direction/Styling/Hands/Hair/Photography: Me
Makeup: Cindy Mather
Model: Liza

I was MUCH more excited about Brendan’s work – he produced a new series especially for the exhibition. It pretty much kicks butt and the canvas prints turned out perfecto!

Red Riding Hoods | Brendan Ninness

Beauty and the Beast |  Brendan Ninness

Goldilocks  | Brendan Ninness

Little Mermaid | Brendan Ninness

We really didn’t take much time to take any special behind-the-scenes pics of the space or our work on the walls but below are a couple more I snapped with my iphone on the run. There was a beautiful white gallery kitty which pretty much got copped most of my attention when I wasn’t hanging the prints.

Blame the kitty

Aww mitten in the sun <3

Colour me your colour, baby

Tapping into a sort of SS11 clash and tumble style vibe, the Autumn 11 edition of X-Press Fashion Colour my world, takes your hand and skips you through the house of  *wall* candy, showing you how to wear and where to buy a selection of tasty sartorial treats mixed up and dished up for the upcoming season.

Shot on location at the delectable Wall Candy wallpaper showroom in Mount Lawley, showcasing a range of current wallpaper stock that is down right lick-your-chops lovely.  X-Press Fashion Autumn 11 is awaiting your sticky fingers at an X-Press Magazine stand near you  – TODAY!

Alternatively, you can read it online – HERE (will update the link when it gets put online).

FOLLOW THE BREAD CRUMBS…

CREDITS

Photography + Co-Art Direction | Otilee
Wardrobe Styling + Co-Art Direction | Emma Bergmeier
Makeup | Sam Enticknap

*Above creative’s represented by All of the Above Creative

Hair | Jude McEwen at Toni & Guy, Perth
Models | Erin Britton + Hannah Tatam at Scene Models
Assistant | Candice Van Haltren (+ Jude, she didn’t need to but helped me lug my lights around like a total star!… thanks again Jude)

Location | Wall Candy Wallpaper

Mousey in the eye with diamonds

Taxidermy like its been dipped in awesome and sent trotting down the runway. Taxidermy in the hands of an artist with an innate sense of style.
Presenting the eyegasmic taxidermy art and jewelery of Julia Deville.

This is a brooch! Can I hear a hellll yes?!

Yep, pretty much in love…. to say the least.

More about Julia, her incredible work and where you can get your hands on it can be seen on her website.

[all images | Julia Deville's website]

All that shimmers (+ shuffles + shakes) is sold

Ta ta  summer and the top knot buns and butt-cheeks (hanging out the hem of micro shorts) you brought with you, and hello winter!
You seductive and lush thing, you. Not that I’ve got a problem with micro shorts – its so very Bobbie Cherry Pie Brown  (yeah, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about!) and lets face it – if I had the legs for it I’d probably be rocking them right through winter too teemed with a pair of black tights.

However, I’ve been really feeling for a fur coat in the lead up to winter and have been wondering where the hell I was going to find one – you know, something in a long coat dress style in velvet/teen with the fur lapels and cuffs/hem late 90’s style (think Angelina Jolie / Girl Interrupted). I figured I’d scour some op-shops (totally regretting binning the ones I actually owned in the late 90s!) or try my hack sewing hand at making one but, it seems… I may not need to.

Fur. Love it or loathe it (real or faux) – its made its presence felt right through the Fall11 collections. It seems texture in general is the key word of the upcoming winter season – replacing for the most part, the heavily patterned textile prints that has pretty much defined SS11 (for me at least). Texture. A tactile smorgasbord in one outfit. Opulence, 70’s inspired but like all great innovative re-interpretations – its a remembered (or a perceived memory) nod to the style – colours muted by the personal interpretation through memory or colours altered by the aging of film and photograph and re-lived and re-coloured through new textiles.

-  Fur +  Metallic -
Key colours: Rich cool toned plums, aubergines, teals,  cerulean, muddy olive green as well as cool metal tones in gold / bronze silvers and black.

FALL 11

Alexander McQueen

Christian Dior

Dolce & Gabbana

Emanuel Ungaro

Gucci

Gucci

Haider Ackermann

Moschino

Oscar de la Renta

Prada

Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli

Stella McCartney

Viktor & Rolf

Vivienne Westwood

I’m not usually much of a Gucci fan but the Fall11 colour palette in particular is absolutely divine… I had to hold my self back from posting much more then one image! I’d recommend hunting down pics of the rest of the collection because, quite simply (I think) its one of the Fall11 stand outs. Same with Prada but with texture – amazing… reminds me of how broken coloured glass looks after its been buffed by ocean sands for decades and washes up on the beach or amber glass bottle window panels in late 70’s / early 80’s Australian homes.
Ah childhood nostalgia… I can almost taste the sherbet, thanks Prada

*Runway Image credits | gorunway.com

Wondering where you can get fur in Perth? Below are a couple of local designers whose products I’ve had the pleasure of working with recently.

Australia’s leading boutique furrier, Harmony & Lawson are based right here in Perth but are also stocked in boutiques throughout Australia, online and internationally, producing  jackets and gilets along with fur accessories – all made by hand.

Suzi Homemaker has branched out into clothing and accessories! Now stocking a range of fur stoles to tickle your inner Hussy Hausfraus – they’ve even rocking the coloured variety in ‘Pink Perfection’ (below right) which is screaming to be smack bang on trend for the following Aussie winter.

*Above Harmony & Lawson and Suzi Homemaker Image credits | Otilee

Down The Rabbit Hole Exhibition – Melbourne

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been invited to exhibit as part of the group show ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ at the Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne launching at the beginning of next month. Curated by Jess Perlen, the show “takes it’s inspiration and title from the opening chapter in the classic topsy turvey novel Alice in Wonderland. The Down the Rabbit Hole exhibition explores themes and worlds where everyday things are not what they seem and even the sweetest, most childlike subjects can be dark and twisted”.

Exhibiting alongside other photographers, Daniel Linnet and Ron C. Moss as well as illustrators Brendan Ninness, Cally Bennett, Jane Reynolds, Jodee Taylah and Rhiannon Mowat. The work I’ve been asked to include specifically is older personal work, 3 of which are self portraits (the curator didn’t deliberately do this – I look different in each one so she had no idea!)  – which is wonderful but has also definitely highlighted just how long it has been since I’ve had time to do any personal work!

So, the works I’ll have on show and framed prints for sale are oldies but hopefully goodies too   …and it has most certainly put the fire back in my belly to just MAKE TIME to take all those personal projects off the backburner and execute them.  So, stay tuned for more new personal work very very soon!!

In the meantime – if you’re in Melbourne. Come to the exhibition!  ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’ is showing from 6pm on April 1 at Brunswick Street Gallery on opening night and will continue untill April 14.
Brunswick Street Gallery 322 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3065 Gallery open 7 Days, 10am-10pm www.brunswickstreetgallery.com.au

IMAGE CREDITS

[TOP]  …9, 10 Never Sleep Again | Otilee (Art direction/Photography/Styling/Hair/Makeup/Model/Post-Production).
[ABOVE]  Brunswick Street Gallery | taken from the Brunswick Street Gallery facebook page (please message me if this is your image and I’ll either add your credit or take it down, thanks!).

De Parel Spiegeltent

At the end of last month I had the great pleasure of shooting the Cover and editorial promoting Fringe World for X-Press Magazine in the breathtakingly beautiful De Parel Spiegeltent.

Shipped to old P-town all the way from Lommel, Belgium – this 106 year old traveling dance hall/bar/salon is a delicious piece of antique architecture made out of wood, mirrors, leaded glass and canvas with seating and other detailing in velvet and brocade. Quite simply, it’s so so beautiful and it was such a privilege to have worked in/with it.

Fringe World and the variety cabaret, burlesque, comedy and musical acts performing in the Spiegeltent, run until the end of the month. Check out the Fringe World website for more details!

IMAGE CREDITS

Photography  |  Otilee
Styling | Emma Bergmeier
Make Up | Constance Bowles
Hair | Jody Fiannaca
Model | Rebecca A @ Scene
Featured Performers | Melanie Bruyer from Sugar Blue Burlesque + Damon and Sam from Fuppet + little Axl (the baby poocherooni)

:: Published in X-Press Magazine, Issue 1251.  3/02/11
Fringe World Cover + Editorial pp. 40-41

Boy oh Boy!

I don’t often blog about models but when I saw this dude’s Veronica Lake style white blonde tresses snapped on the runway at Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall11 Menswear show (below) I did a double take and then proceeded to excitedly google the shit out of his name (with a big sleazy smirk on my face) to find out more.

Yes, that’s right… I said his name!

Now many of you may now be quite familiar with my passionate, long time love affair with all things glam metal so it probably wouldn’t come as much of a surprise to you that the aesthetics of Andrej Pejic would catch my eye.  However, clearly I’m not the only one! Having walked the two seasons for Gaultier along with a swagger of international magazines (including Vogue Italia) in the later half of last year alone – this Tuzla-born, Melbourne-raised Chadwicks boy is clearly hot property!

No seriously, he’s burning my retina’s

While I’m at it… here’s some more boy-spiration for your eyegasm with my ultimate glam metal trifecta of hotness  -Seb, Bret + Mike (not necessarily in that order).

I wish there were more male models with long hair…

Local dudes, please grow it!

Honestly, this is what happens when there are no long haired male models in Perth… I have to make them! Well, that is – I asked hairstylist extraordinaire Jody Fianaca to make them (courtesy of some hair extensions) on Scene model Chris de Boer for the STYLE AID student designers campaign last year.

Oh the humanity!

IMAGE CREDITS (top to bottom) | Tush Magazine – Nov 2010, Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 11 – Go-Runway.com, I-D Magazine – Dec 2010, Vogue Italia – Nov 2010, Jean Paul Gaultier – SS11 Ad Campaign, Vogue Turkey – Nov 2010, Google search (Michael Monroe, Sebastian Bach, Bret Michaels), Style Aid 2010 – Otilee.