Glitz and Glamour surpass expectation

Premiere Modeling Management presented the Glitz and Glamour show to a packed venue - in fact so packed that I actually could not get into the venue for 30 minutes and have had to use photographs from Phillippe chaplin for the parts that I myself missed.
With designers MB-DESIGNS, Mami Jewell of "Styles of edo", Sparkle Skye Designs, ABL Dream Fashions topped off with Alienbears fantastic jewelry and S@SS Shoes it was night not to miss.
Styles of edo unveiled some new designs and have now expanded on their ladies business suits - which of course I love :)
The new Pearl evening dress with its flouncy bustline draws the eye even in a room full of beautiful begowned woman and in black is stunning with its hidden layers and pearlised colours running through it.

A couple of weeks ago I said that I thought the fashion world was becoming samey - all the designs were so similar and becoming more and more realistic - I guess some of the designers heard me or of course I just hadn't seen some of the amazing creations appearing tonight! WOW these were an amazing collection of defintely NOT POSSIBLE IN REAL LIFE designs.
I have shown a few that really stood out that night:
Moanasyrene Boucher of MB Designs outfits stunned me with their pure impossibility and Sparkle Skye outdid herself the gowns were not just visually stunning but perfectly designed down to the last detail.
I was so impressed with many of the designers creations there is no way i can describe them all it was an expertly handled event with the models coping admirably with the lag and showing the designs with a poise and grace that would be hard to beat.
Well done ladies for another delightful event.
Dana

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

Styling your Secondlife with Firehorse

This week I styled a male av for L$500 from www.SLexchange.com.
Now the process of signing up is basically similar to last weeks signing up at www.onrez.com, go to the website, fill in the details, go to the email address you registered with to get your activation code, find a terminal in world (easier because the site has a massive list of terminals for you to tp to), activate your account and pay the terminal – now the money you deposited is available for use on the SLexchange site.
Personally I didn’t find SLexchange particularly easy to use, the search doesn’t seem very refined, and the site feel didn’t suit me. In the past I have had problems with SLexchange – or to be accurate, the people who sell on there – because of the ability to sell second hand goods I have seen freebies being sold for quite large amounts of money and I have, in the past been ripped off – the item I’ve bought being nothing like the description. To be fair this can happen even in world or on any other out of world shopping site and there are thousands of users who use SLexchange who have never had a problem. My other small niggle is that for some reason SLexchange doesn’t allow you to gift freebies. Right – on to the styling.

The first purchase was a Redford skin from Sane Krasins for L$40. Now this was a most pleasant surprise – this is actually a good skin, it has good facial detail and on the whole good body detail – the back of the skin looks a little odd and the hands lace any refinement. But having said that my guinea pig commented that this skin was at least as good if not better than the skin he regularly wears.
The next thing was the JPC Animation Overrider for men, sold by Jhary Priestly for L$49. If I were kind I’d say nothing – after all – you can’t have high expectations of an L$49 AO – but I am not kind and seeing how many wonderful cheap (and free) AO’s are available for women I had hoped that this would at least be an improvement on the duck walk. It wasn’t – not unless you want to look like a Thunder Birds puppet. It was so bad that my guinea pig was reluctant to put it on even to show me – he’d tried it at home and caused an outbreak of rather unkind laughter.
The next item was hair – and searching for cheap mens hair on SLexchange made my eyes bleed – I was a dozen pages in before I got past the various free demos – but for you dear reader, I persisted. As a fashion addict I know how much bad hair there is out there, as a mens stylist I know how rare good mens hair can seem so imagine my delight when low expectations were more then surpassed. I bought Cabelo Renegade from Lasher Oh for L$39. This is a lovely hair, well textured, well coloured and with a refreshing, young, devil-may-care feel. A bargain indeed – I have seen much, much worse mens hair for a lot more money – my only caveat is that it may need resizing to fit you properly – if this hair came in a choice of sized it would be perfect.
On to the clothes, and if clothes maketh the man, then we might be struggling but – hey – I love a challenge.
My first purchase was “man belted pants in brown” For L$100 from Patoula Yao.
They have some nice details, they aren’t outstanding but they are reasonable and for everyday wear they fit the bill.
Next was the Empire Dark Collar Shirt from Arron Dreadlow for L$30. This shirt is a bit of a must have for the price. The only flaw is it is too short if it isn’t changed so you walk around with a bare belly button – not wonderful.
My next purchase was a pair of Urban Shoes from Slworld Boa for L$10 – these are unlaced. Very well made, very well textured and a real bargain if the style suits you (the mother in me wanted to shout at my poor guinea pig to do his laces up and put his shoes on properly – I am just not hip and trendy!).
The next purchase was the *Karizma* Black Tuxedo, by Karmen Harris for L$125. This was a disappointment. The front of the jacket is beautifully detailed, but the back has an unfinished look and the trousers have no detail.
To go with the tuxedo I bought a pair of **MQ sculpted Men shoe black by Mira Questi for L$51. These were a reasonable attempt, sculpted shoes aren’t easy to make and although a brave attempt I couldn’t recommend these.
Next I ventured into swimwear. I bought a pair of FD Swim Trunks from Frisco Laguna for L$30. These were great – a good design that most men would be more than happy to wear on the beach – an unqualified success.
To finish the look I opted for a pair of sunglasses with a black frame from Zoltan Beck for L$10. These are well made and my only gripe is the lens are clear but never the less quite fetching, if a little bookish.
To conclude, this experiment was not a total success and I couldn’t, in good faith recommend anyone tries this for themselves. If you know what you want, or want to get ideas to shop for in world then SLexchange is a great tool, and I dare say we would have been more successful if we’d been doing the same experiment for a female avatar, but good menswear is hard to find at the best of times, and SLexchange (or any off world shopping site) probably isn’t the best place to try to get your look together.
Much thanks to Mr Neuron Bandit, my guinea pig for this article who was a good sport and didn’t object to anything I made him wear (except the AO).

Second Life’s first fully automated face transplant service

Neuron Bandit investigates this pioneering project into avatar customisation
Cyberextruder's 'AutoFace service' is a fully automated sl /website based service, allowing the customer to upload a facial image for transplant onto their avatar.
This digital cosmetic service does exactly what is advertised. It stamps the features from your photo on to your avatar and cleverly positions the eyes, mouth and nose to the correct facial geometry. This process requires some image preparation which is described in detail at their store and webpage (accessed from vendor link only – I believe).
These image specifications must be met as closely as possible; otherwise your appearance will be dramatically distorted and if you are really careless, horrific to look at.
A summary of the photo criteria are, to use a passport style photo (Close up, looking straight ahead, eyes open, well lit and without shadows on face). Your hair must be away from your face, glasses should be removed.
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KEY NOTE:The key to understanding this preparation is to remember anything shown in the photograph on or close around the face will be transferred awkwardly to the face map, like a tattoo.The idea is to capture a clean image of the facial features only, without expression. Glasses and hair can be added afterwards using sl accessories.
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Refraining from expression is required to maintain the shape of your face in a relaxed format, which works best for this service. For example, grinning with teeth sparkling will result in the exposed teeth to become mapped around the opening of the mouth. Keeping your mouth closed in this situation is a must ;)
Criteria met.
Then you are ready to generate a relaxed and natural looking texture map. Next step is very simple; just select your avatar gender, then browse and upload your picture to the website.
It is quickly processed and a preview of your face map is displayed on an avatar viewer which can be rotated, zoomed upon and scrutinised.
Looking at the preview straight on, the results are quite impressive. However when using the interface to rotate your preview, the limitations of this service are revealed. The features of the face appear stamped onto and the face and the remaining photograph is then blurred away leaving just the facial details.
For a fully automated service, which correctly positions texture to geometry, matches avatar skin tone to face map and removes the excess from the image, it is an impressive system.
A side effect of this processing often causes the eyebrows, corners of eyes and the chin to bleed around the sides of the face.
Producing a distorted blur and streaking (see photo example for these phenomenon)
(I used an image of a well known face to test this system, not my own face)
Also the qualities of the face are in sharp detail, which contrasts significantly to the obvious blurring on the sides of the face.
This is not a real problem though because AutoFace, kindly supplies your texture in .jpg format, which you can load into an image editing application and tidy up.
When you are happy with the overall appearance of your map select continue, here you will be asked for your email address where your new texture will be delivered. I didn’t proceed any further during my research; however I presume having paid the kiosk $L2700 back at the sl store that your purchase will be delivered via email.
This presumption is made because it is advertised that your texture will be supplied in an editable .jpg format, which can then be cleaned up.
My experience of trying to use this service (using try for free option), was that it was not easy to end up with a good looking avatar face in the preview display. I’m by no means an expert in this field of study and tried my very best to get a nice looking texture preview all correctly aligned, but unfortunately I failed to do so. However you sl gurus won’t be fazed by this new glimpse into the future of avatar makeovers,
I’m sure you will get better results than I achieved and if not then you may have a laugh ;)
Neuron Bandit

A Newbie in Paradise

I just had the most amazing opportunity ; someone was needed to cover “A New World Order”, the Exxess Designs Fashion Show by Avenue Models. Did I want to do it? Me, a heterosexual full-blooded male, up-close to Avenue Models’ amazing women, all wearing Layja Vidor’s incredibly arousing and sensational creations? Do some people in SL dress up as furry bears? Did a kid ever turn down an offer to run free in a candy store? Of course I jumped at the chance!
Grabbing my shiny new “Freelance writer for SL Newspaper” badge, I waited patiently for the TP to a secret rendezvous that was going to happen in what seemed to be an enormous black hanger hidden in the darkness of the night sky.
When the rezz cleared, I found myself inside. Metal blackness, lit by walls of fire, cordoned-off with heavy chains. The most amazing décor, something like an opera stage for Dante’s Inferno. Zasa Rossini of La Belle Vie furniture had built the stuff that dreams are made of.
Adjusting to the light, I looked around. Here were my new found peers, the SL media crew, the fashion writers. And then I looked again. Were these the media hacks, or had the show begun, and I was seeing the very latest walking fashion statements? They were indeed journalists, but the fashion, the quintessence of style everywhere I looked, was truly amazing. I knew I was going to enjoy the evening. The devil wears Prims.
Thank heavens for Avenue Models’ PR people! To my very great surprise, the appeal to remove scripted objects actually worked! Can you imagine the guys in a brewery turning off the beer? Or women fashion writers taking off their shoes? Yes, their shoes? Well, they did! And then I reminded myself, this is SL, the place where the impossible can and does happen.
The lag under control, the show began. Rusch Raymaker, Avenue Models’ CEO, presented her amazing models showing the very latest Exxess Designs collection. Did I already mention that I felt like a kid running wild in a candy store? Those models, those clothes, and me, front row, next to them? Yes, I sure was enjoying the evening.
Layja Vidor’s collection, “A New World Order”, is sublime. These are not clothes you’re going to wear when you have dinner with your parents. They’re probably not clothes to wear for the short distance between the exit of your apartment building and the taxi across the sidewalk. But this is a collection that’s made to kill once you arrive at the party, believe me.
Textures that I have seen nowhere else (where did she get them? Did she make a deal with a gentleman with horns and a red cape and sign it in blood?). Spikes, claws, chains, bracelets that just seem to float, you name it, you desire it, you have deep fantasies about it; you can have it! Layja makes it work, and she avoids any kind of vulgarity or perversion in the process. Just pure style, pure fashion, and, dare I say the word? Pure beauty!
Rusch Raymaker said she was very pleased with the way the show had gone off and to expect a new era in modelling from Avenue.
Fashion in SL had always seemed to me like a glorified “ Barbie’s New Haute-couture Fashion Set”. I told her I live in Paris, at the very center of the RL fashion world. And I said how I had always been convinced that pixels for avis in SL are all very fine, but for true creativity, you need to visit our Avenue Montaigne I found myself saying that the show had been a true revelation for me, and that today, the real creators, the best designers and stylists, are right here in SL. I even went as far as saying that RL designers should come into SL and learn what can really be achieved.
Now that’s something, isn’t it! Think about it folks.

By Hamlet Kornbluth

Styling your Secondlife with Firehorse

This week we are going to explore something a little different. We are going to make a female avatar, with skin, AO and wardrobe, for L$500. But to make life a little more interesting we are going to get everything we need from www.onrez.com – just to see if it can be done.
First you will need to register, so go to the site and follow the sign up instructions, then hop inworld, go to onrez island and touch one of their boards so it knows who you are, here you will be give an onrez wallet which you put your lindens into – those lindens are now only available to you for use on the onrez site.
Now shopping this way has obvious advantages, not least of which being some designers sell of special items and clearance items either very cheaply or free. You can also get things which aren’t available inworld.
BUT – and here are the downsides, it can be very hard to tell exactly what you are buying, not every designer bothers putting a picture up and as we all know, with the aid of photoshop, the camera can lie.
First I started with the skin, it was tempting to go for the pixels spa skins that are on special offer – L$50 for a two option skin pack with a beautifully detailed face and skin tone, has got to be good, even if the body detail is a little lacking, but I felt this would be almost cheating, I know what I’d be getting, I have some pixel spa skins – so – I reluctantly passed those by and kept browsing. In the end I went for a Frick retro skin – a bargain for only L$10!
Next for the AO, this was slightly more difficult, because lets face it, a new walk is great but we spend a lot of time standing around and it’s nice to have a ladylike standing pose. The AO choices for L$100 or less was somewhat limited and I decided that really, a submissive AO isn’t for me, no matter how cheap it is so I opted for a *SHJL* AO for L$100.
Next hair..now hair is not something I would usually risk buying without demoing first, at least not without knowing the designer, and it has to be said on onrez there is a collection of ETD hair for under L$100 which are lovely and reliable, but this is an exercise in risk taking so, I jumped in blind and bought a fancy bun in blood red from Mae Best, it was L$10 so not a huge risk.
Now the body is sorted, and yes, I didn’t buy a shape, because my own shape is based on a readily available freebie that has had a certain amount of tweaking, yes I had a friend to help with that (great fun – standing naked with her shouting “Up a bit, no too far, down a bit”) but if I can do it anyone can.
Time for the fun stuff, I decided that a lady should have one casual out fit and one formal and of course SHOES! Have I mentioned I am a bit of a shoe addict??
No shortage of choice, in fact choice is a bit overwhelming but in the end I opted for an evening gown called 39 Goddess by Lovely Ackman for L$20 and GsBB system dress February by Gumi Yao (this series of outfits is designed to be mixed with each other) for L$75.
Shoe wise I played relatively safe – for most of this article I’ve tried to go for lesser known names but after over 100 pages of shoes which looked to be of very varying quality I opted for the simply sexy heels by Simone! L$150 with and without walk.
Now for the results, the Frick skin is excellent, one heavy-ish make up (unfortunately for me this was the only option with freckles) and one more elegant make up – body detail is acceptable – but that depends on how important it is to you – if you want to look stunning naked this may not be the skin for you but it is perfectly acceptable for a low cut dress and the skin has an almost china doll like translucence . Added bonus with the skin, which I didn’t realise when I bought it, it comes with a shape – so bouquets all around for the Frick skin.
The hair was slightly disappointing but for the price it is more than acceptable and the basic design is good.
The AO is fine , I have paid a lot more money for worse AO’s and this has some nice poses.
The formal evening dress has lovely textures (and gained me compliments when I wore it out and about). It also comes with earrings and armbands – the only thing I didn’t like was the scarf which looked big and bulky on the neck.
The GsBB dress is lovely – not only is it already a new favourite for me but I will be investing in the others in the series, it’s well made and sits well on the body.
The shoes are, of course, lovely, very classy and surprisingly high quality for the price.
So for a total spend of L$365 you can be all set to venture into SL – and lets face it a good week collecting from the money trees for the newbies or a good week camping or earning tips for the rest of us and you are all set . With the added advantage you can do it all without having to tp across the grid, worrying about being Ruthed or losing landmarks.

A NEW WORLD ORDER

an EXXESS Designs Fashion Show by AVENUE Models

Come Friday July 19 at 10am, witness AVENUE Model's much anticipated relaunch fashion show in collaboration with EXXESS Designs. This will be a synergy of two powerhouses AVENUE Models and EXXESS Design that are sure not to disappoint those in attendance. You are invited to the first fashion show for AVENUE Models since its amazing grand reopening in June. The show will feature the fierce fashions of EXXESS Designs. If you have never experienced the look of EXXESS you are definitely not going to want to miss this show.

If you have seen EXXESS we know we will see you there as well because you know what awesome outfits will be featured. EXXESS Designs is a store that when you venture into it, you will not leave out without purchasing some of the "killer" outfits that you will find inside.

EXXESS Designs opened in November of 2007 by the gifted designer Layja Vidor. Layja puts a lot of time into everything she makes. She makes not only some of the hottest clothes you will find in Second Life but also hair and accessories as well. She admits that she does not sit and think about the outfits she just starts working on them and wait to see what it is to become. Therefore, even she has no idea when first working on one of her extraordinary outfits just how extraordinary it will turn out. she has a knack of making some of the sexiest clothing and well fitting clothing that appeals to a wide range of people in Second Life. The show's producer and choreographer will be none other than the unprecedented CEO of AVENUE Models, Rusch Raymaker. Rusch has produced and choreographed fashion shows in Second Life since the opening of AVENUE INC in 2007. She brings with her over 15 years of real life experience and creativity that will set high standards in the fashion world of Second Life making AVENUE Models a tough act to follow.

The combination of the beautiful talented AVENUE Models plus the show stopper clothing from EXXESS is sure to be and epic event that anyone who is a fashionista or a lover of beauty do not want to miss. Rusch Raymaker has teamed up with the proprietress and CEO of the infamous La Belle Vie furniture, Zasa Rossini, who is the builder of the fabulous runway that is set to amaze all those attending the event. The show will feature some of the top models not only of AVENUE but of SL world of modeling. It is sure to be a show stopper to see this bevy of beauties all on one runway together. The show will be RSVP only, therefore, it cannot be stressed enough at the end of the release who you should contact for the teleport into the show location and when. With the models and the designs that will be featured it is sure to fill up quickly so make sure you will be among the lucky ones that get in before the show location has reached its capacity.

For questions regarding EXXESS Designs or an interview please contact Layja Vidor. For all questions and interviews regarding AVENUE Models please contact Rusch Raymaker.

SYNERGY: The BoingO~Elixir Fashion Show

Guests and fashionistas were exposed to a unique fashion showcase, as cutting edge as the synergy created when two of SL's fearless designers united on June 7. Elixir Owner/Creator Khorus Magne and BoingO Owner/Creator Jeela Juran unveiled their Smoke on the Water Fashion Showcase to the delight of all present.

Dream Models, in fixed stations, allowed the guests to wander through the living fashion sculpture garden at their own leisure. Being a model, I know how stressful it is "behind the curtain", but this show was different, no stress, no lag, no falling off the runway. Models posed, danced, laughed and answered questions, next to giant standees of the outfits. Guests were treated to delicious sounds from DJ Aeschylus Shepherd and DJ Kromus Korobase.

The electric Clubware Fashions of BoingO were mixed and matched with the dynamic, sexy Latex Fashions of Elixir for both men and women. I was fortunate to grab the whirlwind masterminds behind the production for a quick interview:

Daniell Breda: What is the Philosophy behind your business?

Jeela Juran: I make clothes to make avatars feel good about themselves. Emotions span experiences. If you look good in a virtual world it has the same positive effect on your feelings as if you look good in RL... and I'd really LOVE people to have a reason to feel good.

Khorus Magne: I bring well designed latex and sci-fi inspired items to the non-fetish crowd.
Katoria Stevenson and Angel Horner, Co-Owners, Dream Models:As a model management company, Dream Models seeks to hire only committed, reliable and versatile individuals, with strong personalities to match their avatar's good looks. We strive to be different, work as a team and provide an excellent service, every time.
DB: What did you think of the BoingO~ Elixir Fashion Showcase?
KM: I came away with my mind already designing the next show! It was a wild thing to see.
Yeti Voom: I think it was a success! So many people came up to me afterwards and said they never had seen or been to anything like it!
DB: Were you pleased with the results?
KM: Oh extremely. I wanted to see how hundreds of avatars experienced something that, apparently is kind of different in SL. I hope people copy us because it worked really well.
KS: Exceptionally! The Fashion Showcase went very well, our models did a great job, got involved and had a lot of fun as well. Khorus, Jeela and Yeti had a very inspired vision for this and I'm pleased for them that after all the hard work that went into the planning, they pulled it off so brilliantly.
DB: How was this Fashion Show different?

JJ: It was a runway without any running. lol... We set 20 models out on a maze-like stage and let the visitors do the walking... the whole thing was the result of asking what sort of show could work really well in the dynamics of SL.
KM: The point of a fashion show is to see the clothes... so we just designed a way that lag couldn't interfere... let the models hold still and the crowd move around them. Some things in RL just really don't translate well to SL.
KS: The show was different from run-of-the-mill catwalk shows. It was certainly one of the best examples I've experienced of a show with live models. There was a definite flow of energy through the sim as people went from stand to stand, checking out the designs, chatting to the models and enjoying the music.
DB: Favorite moment at the show?
KM: Oh, I think I got a kick out of how much the models enjoyed doing something kind of different! They got to dance in their spots to the DJ jams... it was energetic...
JJ: Having to apologize for the sim being full. Yeti and Katoria deserve medals.
YV: Just before the second show the models landed like flies all over the place and started partying! I could just walk around and feel good about it all!
DB: Future Plans?
JJ: BoingO has a growing line of funny gadgets... I think we'll do a Gadget show not too far off. We also pride ourselves on our beautiful skins. We have new line coming out very soon!
KM: Elixir is relatively new... keep expanding the clothing, get machinima makers into my SL Film studio, and I have some sci-fi styled furniture I want to offer SL pretty soon.
KS: From the volume of positive feedback I received after the shows, Dream Models will hopefully be doing more shows like this as an alternative to, and possibly in conjunction with, runway shows.
It was truly an inspiring experience, and fanboy that I am, I snagged a dance with Khorus while wearing my Elixir jammies... and I did buy an outfit at the showcase. So, here I am at home, as the Rockit man!

Submitted by Daniell Breda

Styling your Second Life with Firehorse

This weeks styling your second life has been the most difficult for me to put together, this week I’ve approached the furry side of Second Life. I’ve always admired the many and various furry avs and, generally, I have got on very well with the furries I’ve met, but there is a noticeable separation of human/furry ways. As human you may be tolerated in furry places, but chances are you won’t feel like you quite fit, and as I found out, the same goes when you are wearing fur in places aimed mostly at human avs.
Furry is a lifestyle choice I am not sure I totally understand, but then I don’t quite get the impulse that makes people be dragons, tinies or robots – it’s not a judgement thing, I just don’t get it. I admire the avs, (and now the nerve) that these choices involve but it just isn’t me.
Having said that it is lots of fun and with a bit of searching you can pick up quite a lot of furry stuff for free – it isn’t always as easy to find as the other freebies we’ve looked at but it is there and if you are polite I’ve found the furry community are happy to help. Once people knew I was looking I had several offers of free avs from individuals but if you are shy then there are places to pick them up.
There are free avs at Sarah Nerds NineInchFreebies (see sarah nerds profile picks for the landmark). Here you will find Grendels Childrens Ja Ja Binks “furry” av, amongst other bits and pieces. Also there is a huge box of over seventy free furry avatars at the Northstar Mall (warning this is not a PG mall) as well as a good selection of very cute avatars at Waggytails II.
Once you are snug in your fur vist Luskwood – not only are the people there very friendly and welcoming but the sim is absolutely beautiful – one of the most entrancing places I’ve visited.
I asked what groups are good for people who are new to the furry lifestyle to join and got a few suggestions, the luskwood group, rocket city group and the NorthStar group (again be warned this group is not always PG).
As you can see my kitty was rather lovely ( the first time in my SL I haven’t been a red head) and drew lots of admiring comments.

Going furry feels like a big step if you are usually human on SL but take the chance, it is a wonderful experience – a whole different community to explore and as I say, a very welcoming one. Yes, FurNation can be a bit intimidating for people new to the life style – yes it isn’t PG, but if you can cope with the banter and the leg pulling then you will be quickly made welcome and as I said I can not praise highly enough the good folk at Luskwood, the welcome is warm and before long you will forget your misgivings and be enjoying one of the wonderful alternative lifestyles that Second Life allows us to experience.

“Silhouettes in The Dark” Fashion Show

Jenny Heying of AFS Flexiwear Presents the “Silhouettes in The Dark” Fashion Show
Jenny Heying, owner of the Lavender Corporation and her trendy clothing line produced for AFS Flexiwear will be featured at a fashion extravaganza hosted by Gypsy Wave on Friday, July 18th beginning at 5:00 PM SLT.
Heying will also be literally rolling out the red carpet via the “Red Walkway” at her new sim, Lavender Isle.
“This show represents many inaugural aspects for both the Lavender Isle sim and the AFS Flexiwear clothing line. Most important is that while this is the fifth fashion show featuring AFS Flexiwear, it is the first show since I began concentrating solely on designing for this line. Clothing will demonstrate unusual textures and fabric looks, styled after ‘real life’ fashion I wanted to bring into Second Life.” stated Heying.

The “Silhouettes in the Dark” Fashion Show will feature 24 of her latest creations of elegant formal gowns, provocative mini-skirts and delightful cocktail dresses from her summer collection. Her mastery of Photoshop, in particular her exceptional prim dress creation, has led Ms. Heying to concentrate on designs for AFS Flexiwear.
Her intricate detail and eye for the unconventional translates into unusual and interesting clothing.
“I am personally thrilled that Gypsy Wave modeling agency will be providing us with models and hosting this event. Jojo Cusack modeled for me at my very first show. Her partner Tsunami Rickenbacker will serve as master of ceremonies. Both of these talented individuals from Gypsy Wave bring added dimension,” noted Heying.
Written and submitted by Solange Benoir of Pulse Point Marketing, LLC

Styling your Secondlife with Firehorse

This weeks Styling your Second Life is late (again, I hear you cry), but not because I am a dreadful slacker but because actually free tiny items are relatively rare – I have tried to make it a rule in these articles to write about freebies that are usually available at the locations I give you – no point in writing about a wonderful freebie that may well have been taken down by the time you read about it.
It isn’t true that being tiny is expensive, in fact the opposite is true – with a little care and membership of one or two good groups I am assured that you can have a full tiny avatar, with AO (pretty much a must have I discovered), toys and a wardrobe for a couple of hundred linden – but if you want a taste of the lifestyle, or a tiny av for a one off event you might want to do it on the cheap.
Join a tiny group if you have room, if you really, really don’t have the room, make friends with someone who is experienced in the world of tiny – many of the tiny shops and designers do have limited time special offers and freebies.
In the mean time here are three places you MUST visit if you want the tiny experience. Huggys Coffee House and Hug*Mart. Lots of free tiny stuff - toys for the tiny curious - even poses/animations. The Blackmoon tiny clothes (female) are from here. They also run a very friendly group which I am assured is well worth joining if you are just getting started in the world of tiny.
􀀁MOMO’S Pet 1 There are about a dozen free tiny avs here - all showing as being for sale at $L250 but which are free - see the cute fox I got (yes I know – it really doesn’t suit me – but hey it was fun and gave a lot of my friends a good laugh) - also a selection of cats, wolves and assorted others - although I have to say the monkey av isn't exactly tiny.
The Raglan Shire Wharf and Coastal has many delightful things to see and do as well as free tiny clothes, furniture and posters . Take a wander round and look at this lovely area - perfectly scaled for tinies. Again I have had this area has a group and I am assured that it is a group well worth joining.
Next week I am going furry for free – if any reader can point me in the direction of hidden gems I should publicise (or give me any help at all really) please get in touch.

Passion for Fashion

The “Passion for Fashion” fashion show featuring AZUL, Ce Cubic Effect, Discord, Ottico Glasses and HAYZURIZA footwear.

This show was a real treat for fashion fans of both sexes – daring, sexy designs for both day and night. The over riding themes of this show were, detail, texture and movement. The styles were varied, from young, edgy day wear to classical evening wear, from chunky buckled boots to fine elegant stilettos but the quality was consistent – as high as anything I’ve seen on Second Life.
The ladies day wear tended to involve short(ish), layered skirts with more movement than you can expect from such brief garments, married with delightful little camisole tops or bikini style tops, again the brevity of the clothes was a secondary factor to the texturing, these fabrics look not only real but oh so touchable. Even in the outfits which involved trousers (both mens and womens) not only had wonderful texturing and delightful detail but movement was built in, either in long, scarf like belts or, in the case of the mens outfits “swirling tails married to tiny “coats".
The evening dresses by AZUL are a real feast for the eyes, not only are the shapes wonderful, old time elegant movie star inspired with an added twist of modern, sophisticated sexiness, the texturing and detailing is beyond words. This is a real talent that has bloomed before our eyes. These are dresses that are cut in such a way as to make you very glad you invested in a good skin and with textures so good, that it will make it hard for a lady to keep her eyes on her date rather than the intricate, subtle detailing on her dress. There are a lot of designers making bids for our hard earned Linden Dollars, there aren’t many designers that not only deserve our patronage but win it as certainly as these designers do.
With thanks to Katrina Pintens for the pictures.

PASSION FOR FASHION - the Splendour of Japanese Fashion

Premiere Modeling Management invites you to experience the splendour of Japanese designers!!

You will be awed by the attention to detail given and the unique designs of these very talented creators from Japan, many of them still not as widely known in this part of the SL world. A must show to see for all fashionistas who are on a look out for new hot designers!

July 5th (Sat), 4pm SLT at the Pavillion Events CenterAntero Shores (226, 56, 24)

Hosted by DJ Aeshchylus Shepherd

Sponsored by "Styles of edo", sponsor of Premiere Modeling Management

Featuring:

Mami Jewell of "azul" - Exquisite designs with attention to detail

mirai Jun of "ce cubic effect" - Urban and Knitwear

Orange Meili of "Discord" - Unique and grunge fashion

Hays Uriza of "Haysuriza Footwear"

Youki Rau of "ottico" glasses and sunglasses

Think outside the box?

You know I love secondlife and I really love fashion and great quality clothes, but I do have a question for you -
What has happened to diversity?
Once upon a time the fashions of SL excelled at being different and I know every designer will shout when they read this but as a consumer aren't you finding that most of the big labels in SL are becoming more and more the same? Designs so similar they could almost have come from the same person. Yes I know each is individual, I know every designer is proud of their individuality but designs is SL can be so much more than they are for these names.
But then do we as consumers buy what we feel safe in? Do we end up wearing the same things we would in RL?
I am talking on a general level here and definitely tarring all with the same brush, but look at Secondlife, check some of SL fashion blogs for yourselves even hair styles they are becoming more and more like the real life stores - off the shelf basic fashion.
So where is the diversity? where is the fantastic designs that are POSSIBLE in secondlife as they are not in real life?
Is it possible that Residents are moving towards a copycat world?
There are some designers out there who make sure thier designs are 'not possible in real life' but these are few and far between and I think struggling as people move more towards the big name brands. Also maybe the content theft issue has most consumers scared of buying from unknown designers? How do they know the outfit/hair design they have bought is a genuine resale or a rip from a big name designer? The ordinary resident doesn't, therefore they play safe by sticking to the big names.
Are consumers killing creativity by always buying the same outfits they would wear in RL?
I would value your opinions as this is just mine........................
Dana

Fashion Favourite Finds

Just occasionally I find a new designer that I think is awesome and love to let you know.
Yesterday I took a trip to Tyche to visit Edo Tone and noticed a new shop, so being me, went to have a nose around.
Now there is nothing I like more than an evening gown, i have even been known to make a few, but these designs took my breath away especially the 3 shown here. Above my favourite Siren the high slit at the side is not only extremely sensual but perfectly aligned, the prim just floats along and the detailing on the bodice is beautiful. highlights and shading are exactly right not over done or understated. I could wear this gown and feel a million Lindens!
HARLOW on the left is also stunning with a texture that looks like its pure sequin it again is Divine the light and shade effects fantastic. I love the open back and swish of prim on this design. Its a simple and elegant delight.
The panel dress above comes in 6 colour choices and each has 3 skirt length options from knee length to floor. The scrunched gloves finish it off beautifully as does the large prim bow on the base of the spine.
The designers name is Mami Jewell and for someone who has been in SL for such a short time her designs are inspirational. She also designs daywear and underwear I would recommend anyone to go and see her store on Tyche especially if you are looking for something new and fresh but with a perfect quality.
Azul is QUALITY!

Dana