Saturday, July 26, 2008

Discovering Versace style in Avenue Models


I’m a lucky man. People have been telling me that getting a job on this paper is almost as difficult as convincing the person you’re talking to that you’re not also dealing with 10 other IMs at the same time, i.e. it’s tough, almost impossible, and you’ve got to be the most convincing person on the block. But, I wrote a piece, they liked it, and now it seems I’m getting a shiny nameplate to put on the door of my very own SLN office.
Before I actually screw the nameplate onto the door, my conscience tells me that I really ought to write another article just to make sure this isn’t just a virtual dream (but isn’t SL just that anyway? OK, let’s not go there!)
Your cub reporter gave himself a very quick avi relook to appear something like Clark Kent, the Superman hormones hidden beneath a neat suit. And those famous Clark Kent glasses?…nah, best not to over-do this for now. And I set off on the reporters’ trail.
I wanted to discover fashion on SL. What makes it happen, and how does it work? A good starting point might be to go back to the people involved in the show I covered last week and really get to know what makes them tick. And maybe some thoughts of my own too, if my editor lets me get away with it.
So I began with a very smart and determined lady. You want style? You want precision and ambition? You could do no better than to call Rusch Raymaker, head of Avenue Models.
This is one very impressive lady.
The first thing that strikes you when you meet Rusch is the uncanny resemblance between how she looks in RL, and her avi. When I asked her how she'd managed that, she said that she'd just kind of projected herself onto her avi, what she was in RL was intrinsically what who was in SL too. Now I know there is a new service which can actually project your photo into your avi (read about it in Neuron Bandit's article this week on avatar customisation), but I'm sure it wasn't that. It's just that there are some people who seem to get things just right, all the time, and without even trying.
Annoying for the rest of us!
Rusch set up Avenue a while back, and then left to do whatever it is that people seem to do in some weird place referred to as RL, and has now returned, with a vengeance, a woman with a mission.
Avenue’s building is almost intimidating, it’s so….fashion. Think Versace, and think of those beautiful Italian palazzo around Lake Maggiore, and you’ll get the general feel of the place.
Rusch led me off to start our tour of the premises. We began with the Models gallery, where clients can get to see the pictures of the models on Avenue’s books.
Your eager reporter was more than delighted to see some of the most amazing looking women in SL, and started wondering whether and when he’s actually get to meet the models. I may get back to that later, but I promise you, meeting the models wasn’t my main motivation for the interview.
There are over 30 models in the Agency; and Rusch, who probably knows the contents of her web site by heart, told me that they “celebrate beauty in its diverse varieties from glamour pusses to naughty nekos to even goth and vampirellas”. Actually, her web site also mentions “walking on the wild side on a tight leash in latex or leather”, but maybe sensing my growing interest in the photos I was seeing, Rusch probably decided to leave that bit out. Wisely, maybe.

We passed through a flowery area that was meant for people to “chill around” in. Do people really just “chill? I have no idea. But the area was really soft and flowing, femme even. A total contrast to the dark black metal and fire of the show I’d been at a couple of days before.
We went on to the runway pool. Avenue hold shows there, where the models walk on runways surrounded by water. I couldn’t help thinking that with their long legs, and those amazing strides, wasn’t there a risk of falling into the pool? Rusch smiled, no, the models were all very experienced, and that never happened.
Seemed like Superman the rescuer would have to stay hidden beneath his Clark Kent suit.
And then we got to the Spa Lounge, where models and friends can hang out. The most wonderful place, with luxuriant couches and spas. Did I mention Versace? Just visit this area and you’ll understand. Your reporter couldn’t help noticing the different pose-balls in the area. “Cuddle”? And then he got back to thinking about the 30 models. Would it be possible to sneak back under cover of night? Lost in thought, while Rusch was already really far, waiting for me to catch up with her.
We went on to the Photo Studio, a huge place, with ceiling to floor, wall to wall panels, radiating light. The neat trick is that all the panels are programmable, letting you put any texture you want in there. Amazing possibilities for photo shoots. There is a team of 8 photographers in Avenue Studio and they cover models’ portfolios, events such as weddings and commercial work too.
I asked Rusch what was the most outrageous shoot they’d done to date in the studio, not at all thinking about those walking on the wild side aspects that she’d forgotten to tell me about before.
Rusch Raymaker: lol hmmmm a model on a horse?
A model on a horse! Hiding my disappointment (the Queen of England regularly goes and reviews her mounted guard whilst sitting on a horse, it’s no big deal, really), we moved on to check out the runway in the sky, built on floating clouds. It’s for shows, and the academy classes are held there too.
So we finally got on to subject of Rusch’s famous modelling school, the Academy, the place where beautiful women go to discover how to transform themselves into glamour goddesses.
I was going to have a lot of questions about that, and I also wanted to get a very clear picture about what the people like Rusch are doing for fashion in general in SL. This was the time to get comfy in Rusch’s spacious office and begin a serious discussion.
But I’ve run out of space for this week, so I’ll be back next time with what I learned about the SL fashion business.
And if you’re reading this article, it means not only I managed to get it past my editor’s watchful eye, but also that I did finally screw that nameplate onto my office door.
Like I said, I’m a lucky guy.
Hamlet Kornbluth

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