TATIANISTA

While the late, great John Hughes profoundly influenced my taste in music and attitude growing up, I hold Tim Burton entirely responsible for the humble beginnings of my goth-before-I-knew-what-goth-was wardrobe which to this day (though not specifically “goth” anymore) remains predominantly black and freak-friendly. Growing up in the Connecticut ‘burbs in the days before Hot Topic and Marilyn Manson, I was just “that one pale, skinny, weird girl” who liked Oscar Wilde, wore Doc Martens with vintage dresses and decided, on a whim, to dye her hair black one day when everyone else was getting tans and going blonde.

Flash-forward nearly twenty years and I’m working in the world of high-end designer fashion, much of which is mainstream, or at the very least marketable (even when the clothing is from a more avant-garde” collection). It is ultimately up to the savvy fashionista or stylist to individualize what comes off the rack (or out of one’s own closet, for that matter) and turn it into a signature style. Your style tells a story that speaks to the world of who you are and what you’re about. Like it or not, people do judge a book by its cover. At least they do until they’re willing to take the time and interest to find out what’s on the inside (and it should go without saying but I’ll say it anyway: it’s what’s on the inside of course that matters most. Duh). Someone who takes risks and willingly chooses to stand apart from the masses is likely the person whose story you’ll remember most…sometimes it doesn’t really make a difference if you like the subject matter.

I might not have had a definitive style yet as an adolescent, but the first time I saw Beetlejuice I painfully coveted Lydia’s closet (black lace, ghosts and all) and felt reassured that I could be both creepy and cute at the same time. In contrast, Burton’s Catwoman made me secretly long for the day when I’d be both grown up and confident enough to sport stilettos, latex and red lips (and I am happy to report, ladies and gents, that the day indeed did come ;)). Not surprisingly, the movie that affected me most at the time was Edward Scissorhands. It was sweet despite its dark undertones, tragic but hopeful and profoundly imaginative. Need I mention that it featured a young, ethereally handsome, literally untouchable Johnny Depp with a mass of Robert Smith hair, bound in layers of leather and bits of metal? In other words, just about the closest thing to the perfect boy (umm, okay…minus the scissors) for a strange little girl. I’ve eagerly awaited every Burton film since then. I’ll be the first to admit that part of this has to do with the frequent inclusion of a certain undeniably exquisite actor in many of his films. Yet, more significantly, it is because he is a master of mixing the unexpectedly beautiful with the inescapably macabre on film. That duality is something I’ve grown to love in art, music, fashion and friends. I know I’ve retained some of this contrast in both personal style and personality myself, although it’s considerably more subtle now than in my “Lydia” days. In any case, the next time you see me out in and about in a veiled hat, a latex corset, tattered lace dresses and combat boots, you’ll understand why.

Burton’s cinematic style speaks to my often strange sense of aesthetics (and twisted sense of humor). More importantly though, he is genius when it comes to creating characters who are genuinely love-able weirdos, eccentrics and misfits. Is it any wonder that I had a total fan-girl moment when I discovered Tim Burton’s “Magical Fashion” in the October ‘09 Issue of Harper’s Bazaar. He teamed up with photographer Tim Walker to reinvent Fall Fashion with his own unique vision, combining characters and imagery from his collective imagination with a gorgeous array of designer garments and goodies from the likes of Gaultier, McQueen, Givenchy, Tao and Rodarte, to name a few. The photoshoot is by far one of my favorite fashion layouts in years. It comes in anticipation of the upcoming multi-media exhibit at New York’s MoMa, featuring a major retrospective of his nearly thirty year career. This undoubtedly means I’ll be taking a trip to NYC soon (as if I needed a good excuse). In the mean time, I might just have to revisit that now nearly-vintage Edward Scissorhands poster I still have hidden in my closet, buried somewhere in-between all those lace edwardian dresses, layers of black, skeletons and memories.

*All photos from the October 2009 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. More can be found here.

The Tim Burton exhibit will be running from November 22, 2009 - April 26, 2010 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Burton’s next film, his much anticipated adaption of Alice In Wonderland, is due to be released in the U.S. on March 5, 2010.