The Lip Service Fashion Show by Auxilliary Magazine: In words and pictures
Monday, June 22nd, 2009 by Vanity Kills
Buffalo…
Land of endless winters, hockey madness and delicious chicken wings.
A desolate wasteland that serves no purpose other than a pitstop for refueling your car and currency exchange on your way from New York City to Toronto.
Hell, I’m from New Jersey and only lived here since 2008, so I’m not going to go out of my way to dispel your preconceived notions of the Queen City. But I am going to let you in on a universal truth: You take hot chicks and put them in fab clothes and magic can happen anywhere. Be it in Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada, Crappo, Maryland or Blue Ball, Pennsylvania*. So yeah, anything is possible. Even in Buffalo, New York.
*(Yes, those are ALL real places)
So what brought hot Lippy action to Western NY State, you ask?
Los Angeles, being the home base of Lip Service boasts more Fashion Freak- centric fun than any other place on the planet. It seems like The City of Angels has a monopoly on all the festivities. West Coasters get to enjoy sample sales, opportunities to model in catalog shoots and the occasional job openings within the company. Given the geographical proximity to LS Headquarters where all the magic happens it makes perfect sense that you Pacific Coast peeps get all the action. So you won’t hear a peep of bitching out of me. No need to call the WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHMBULANCE .
I drew a metric ton of inspiration from the ladies of LiveJournal’s Lippy Addicts. A brainchild of the lovely Evil Kelly Chan, the close knit community is primarily populated by ladies who exhibit an encyclopedic amount of knowledge on all things Lippy. It dawned on me that vintage Lippy must be celebrated and worn with pride alongside 2009’s offerings. And no place other than a runway would do. So I aimed to create a primarily fan based fashion show filled with models who already have a few cherished Lippy pieces of their own. Let’s face it, while we all love our dog eared copies of printed Lippy catalogs, we all wonder how each individual piece would look outside of a fashion shoot setting. Worn by the girls you see patronizing your local goth club, adorning the IRL flesh of familiar user names who post their latest haul to Lippy Addicts on a regular basis or even yourself. “A truly unique fashion experience for the addicts, by the addicts” The concept lingered and festered filed away in the back of my head for months, waiting until the right opportunity presented itself.
Favorable circumstances arose this past winter at an Auxiliary Magazine contributor meeting. Editor-in-chief and friend Jennifer Link seemed to think that my idea would work well in conjunction with an upcoming release party for the June issue of the mag. Jenny and Mike would handle the venue and the music, I’d get the clothes and round up some willing fashion freaks to rip the runway. I ran my master plan by the always helpful and lovely Lippy Webmistress Mich, who put me in touch with the right rep and we got the ball rollin’.
Cue several months of scheming and strategizing.
Once everything was set in motion and all details were finalized announcing a model call was in order. Mich and I spread the word on all the Lippy related networking site pages. I was pleased to discover that ladies and gents from ALL OVER THE US EAST COAST and Canada showed interest. In the initial stages of planning, my heart desired to have a model list composed 100% of Lippy Addicts posters. Alas working within a certain time frame, model cancelations (it happens!) and the fact that us girls are scattered all over the globe injected a need for flexibility into my ambitious vision. In the end we had a lovely mix of Lippy Addicts, friends of Lippy Addicts, spouses of Lippy Addicts and a few local girls thrown in for good measure. Voluntary test subjects…errrrrr models traveled from Virginia, Toronto, Brooklyn and Pennsylvania.
Ultimately Fashion Freaks rallied at Club W on June 6th, 2009.
Pics or it didn’t happen? … Oh I got your pics, alright. I gotcha pictures right here.
First and foremost…
BACKSTAGE SHENANIGANS
Red Bull was seemingly the unofficial sponsor of the evening. You gotta muster up the energy for all those outfit changes, countless rehearsals and pacing around backstage as you wait your turn to strut your stuff on the catwalk.
Not to mention that us organizers are nothing but a bunch of heartless slave drivers who didn’t allow the models any booze before they walked! HARSH!
Our models ogle Spring ‘09’s collection as they’re being held hostage in the downstairs dungeon of Club W.
Clark Dever snapped a few quick shots of our model citizens rockin a mix of Spring 09’s freshest styles and timeless Holy Grails prior to their first walk out.
Kayte Dies makin’ “Trash Talk” hot!
Lynn lookin’ steamy!
Kym and Richard reaching a hazardous level of hotness in their matching Bio Threat I black and silver ensembles.
Jen Lee poses pretty in pinstripes
Preoccupied with ensuring that the show is running smoothly your organizers have no time to stand in place for a proper picture.
Jennifer Link(left) in Devil Dolls and Vanity Kills(right) in Division LS.
Military fetish nurse Vanity Kills performs her MC duties(while cracking many a cheesy one liner) as our first model of the evening, the incomparable Kym takes the stage in Bio Threat I.
Her Haz Mat boy Richard soon follows her lead.
On Kym: “Nuclear Fallout Mini” and “Toxicity Tank Top”. Both in the black/silver colorway.
On Richard: “Mr Chernobyl 1986” pants (in black), “Contaminated” top (black/silver) and “Nuclear Winter Scarf”(black/silver).
Kaye Dies brings a double shot of the “Don’t Fuck With Me” vibe in the “Trash Talk” Tank Dress from Trash & Dagger.
Lynn has what it takes to pull off dignified Victoriana spiced with just the right amount of bad girl chic that Steam Machine embodies.
On Lynn: “Clockwork Heart” long sleeve top and “Steam This, Punk!” pencil skirt both in the black colorway.
Orange dreaded vixen Ellis Seven will kick your ass without mussing up her hair or her kimono.
Ellis Seven rocks the “Couture Tokyo Rose Kimono” from the Looks That Kill line in the white/red colorway.
Jen Lee robs the spotlight in her “Gangsta Pranksta” dress . As seen in the black/white pinstripe colorway.
Machine Sex looks nothing short of picture perfect in Patent Vinyl and Vegi Leather Classic 09’s “Polly Vinyl Senior Prom” dress in the gunmetal colorway.
Don’t you boys wish you prom date was hot like her?
(Yes, that’s a one liner recycled directly from the show)
Dori Bot is simply to die for in her Satin Persuasions “Dream Date” long dress seen here in the black/purple colorway.
Q: What’s black and blue and pretty all over?
A: Sarah Jane in the Black N Blue Ballerina “The Royal Ballet” layered dress. In the titular blue/black colorway, naturally.
And this concludes round one, ladies and gentlemen.
Meanwhile…back at the super secret underground headquarters(a.k.a the dressing room)
Kym, Richard and the back end of Vanity Kills plotted their next plan of attack
While Lynn’s adorable daughter, Molly, joined us for a minute to cheer her Mommy on.
Cheongsam today, Hollywood Geisha tomorrow. We will convert her soon enough.
Kym drove the crowd crazy in the “Zip Front Strap Dress” and “Long Sleeve Jacket” from the Institutionalized Stretch Twill line. Both in the black colorway. And what is Richard wearing you ask?
Time to play: NAME THAT LIPPY!!!
We joined our collective Lippy Addict forces to pin down the elusive line from which Richard’s pants originated. His black colorway “Guys Zip Up Shirt” from Patent Vinyl and Vegi Leather Classics is a sure bet, but what about those mystery trousers? A Patent Vinyl and Vegi Leather Classics redux? 4-Way Gang Bang? Or a blast from the past with Houses of the Holy?
Kayte Dies turns her grand re-entrance to the stage into a retro futuristic affair to remember as she gracefully sashays in “The Underworld” cap sleeve dress from Steam Machine in the black colorway.
Lynn brings a whole lot of sexy back in black as she shows off her Patent Vinyl and Vegi Leather Classics “Sleeping Beauty” corset paired with a perennial favorite Work Detail “Snug Corset Skirt”.
Her show stopping hat, classic fence net hose and dainty black PVC shoes really bring this sultry yet lady like ensemble together. Lynn proves that black vinyl can indeed be the epitome of sheer class.
Android princess Ellis Seven keeps it sleek in silver. The gunmetal colorway “Totally Fettered” high neck top and “Really Fancy Pants” suspender shorts look like they were made just for her.
The combination of fetish inspired cyberwear and massive flame hued dreads looks particularly striking on her, don’t you think?
Jen Lee is beautiful in binary. She effortlessly pulls off a pairing of the “Nano Factory” Ragdoll mini dress and “Cybertronic” cap sleeve hoodie from one of my personal favorite Spring 09 lines, Cybertronic Ragdoll. Breaking code and hearts since 2009.
50% Lady, 50% Tramp, the lovely Machine Sex takes us on a trip down the Lady is a Tramp Fall 2003 Fetish Classics memory lane. Would you like a mop for your drool?
Machine Sex channels her inner danger dame while maintaining an air of Old Hollywood glamour in a “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You” romper and matching “Casting Call Hot Shorts” both in the polka dot colorway. Lady? Tramp? When you look this damn good, nobody cares, because they’re too busy coveting your garb.
We can’t stop starting at the always delightfully flawless Dori Bot looking ever so stylish in the dusty rose/black colorway of the “Best Sunday Dress” from Devil Dolls IV.
If that’s what young ladies wore to church would you actually go?
Sarah Jane takes off in a Flight Stimulator bustier and mini in a rare olive colorway.
Kym and Richard gallantly rescue you from a fashion emergency.
Kym’s style RX showcases the Free Clinic staple “Sister Salvation” cincher as well as a one of a kind medical mini from the Lip Service attic. Both in a matching red/white colorway. She pairs her sexy nurse attire with a Patent Vinyl and Vegi Leather Classics must have, a white “Add Two Cups of Sugar” bra.
Real life army medic Richard raises blood pressure in some new and improved career wear. Lookin’ sharper than a fresh out of the pack hypodermic needle in a Free Clinic “Trauma Ward” shirt in the black/red colorway and a basic black Fast Times Fishnet “Reality Bites” muscle top. You gotta give the boy props for paying attention to fine details. Accessories make the man, boys and girls. Note the ever present medical cross motif on Richard’s surgical mask, goggles and best of all tattoos!
Kym scores Lippy Addict elite brownie points for being the only girl in the world to own this one of a kind medical mini snagged from the Lip Service Attic E-bay store.
From Original Cult celebration to electronic dance extravaganza! A variety of DJs entertained the partygoers after the fashion show. DJ Leah spun industrial and EBM favorites, Darago chilled out with minimal techno, Oracle sped it back up with psytrance and LA’s Dirwood close the night off with a house set.
I sincerely thank all of you that came out from the bottom of my plastic, shallow fashion crazed heart!
Might your fashion posts be frequent and your Holy Grails cheap and plentiful!
Credits:
Photography: Clark Dever and Aaron Kondziela
Models: Kym, Richard, Kayte Dies, Lynn McNew, Ellis Seven, Jen Lee, Machine Sex, Dori Bot , Sarah Jane
Makeup: Jessica Jean
Hair: Erin Moser
Special thanks to Jennifer Link @ Auxiliary Magazine, Mich Fisher and Mickey Finn @ Lip Service.
Be sure to check out the fashion show coverage on Auxiliary Magazine’s blog here:
Auxilliary Magazine blog
Stay tuned for full web and print coverage of the event in the August issue of Auxiliary Magazine.
<3
Vanity Kills
** If you are near LA and dying to see a Lip Service Fashion Show up-close and personal, mark your calendars and come out and play with us at BarSinister on July 4th for the Lip Service Fashion Show with a kick ass set by GlamPunk legends, Jetboy! Details are here in the Events section ~love, the WebMistress **
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