'Matryoshka' Editorial in Beautiful Savage Magazine

Last time I was visiting my loves in NYC I had the pleasure of working on a gorgeous editorial with some of my favorite ladies. The editorial, titled 'Matryoshka', is out now in Beautiful Savage Magazine. I was the stylist for this shoot, and provided pieces from my own collection combined with accessories and knits from some of my other favorite designers.

All credits and full story can be found in the link above. Below are a few of my favorite outtakes from the shoot.

"The name Matryoshka comes from old Russia, where, among peasants, it was a very popular female name. According to scholars, Matryoshka contains the Latin root “mater,” meaning “Mother.” Eventually coming to symbolize the maternal image of a large, healthy peasant family, the Matryoshka inspired Russian wooden nesting dolls—constructed so they may be taken apart to reveal smaller and smaller dolls resting inside."

"The Union" Dark Bridal Editorial

Earlier this Spring the talented Ashley Garner pulled some of my gowns for a dark bridal editorial entitled "The Union". The shots turned out lovely, and shed an eire and unconventional light on the merging of two dark souls, into an eternal union. Have a peak at a few of my favorite images from the shoot below, and view the complete editorial here.

On the note of bridal couture-for those of you who do not know-I have a specialty line of custom heirloom dresses and gowns. I will be posting more on this at some point in the next few weeks or so, but feel free to have a peak at some of my "Trousseau" Collection here.

Photographer: Ashley Garner
Models: Samayah Jaramillo & Marshall Showalter
Wardrobe Designer: Papusza Couture
Millinery Designer: Katie Burley Millinery
Hair/MU: Erika Arce

Sending Love Letters to NYC in Spring | A Fairytale in Photos by Ashley Garner

As many of you know, my love affair with NYC has been going on for about 8 years now, since 2006 when I decided I was going to move to Brooklyn. At the time I was ripe, eager, in my early 20's and as I would have said back in that day; "Ready to take the bull by the balls." After living there for about 5 years I peaced out and moved to Cali... which has mostly been great for me. But I definitely have those days where I miss that beautiful babe of a Big Apple city. I remember when I was living in Brooklyn I once heard someone say, "New York is a drug, and I'm addicted." I 100% concur, and this sentiment has remained with me in the past few years since coming back to the West. I've never stopped loving her and I hope I never do.

Recently my talented muse, fellow creator and friend Ashley Garner moved to NYC-I was stoked to be able to see her and do some work with her while I was there over the winter, she is kicking so much ass already. I mailed Ashley a box of dresses for an editorial last week, including the magical Love Letter Dress. I was so pleased to see her create a fairytale through photos with it in Central Park. Have a look at this magical story below.

Special thanks to Sanaz Gangei for the beautiful script on the textiles of this gown.

"Pleiades" Collection Lookbook by Gemma Fleming

I am pleased to present the complete lookbook for my "Pleiades" Collection. Please email me for price inquiries or to place a custom order inspired by the designs that are part of this collection: papuszacouture@gmail.com.

Big love and thanks to talented Gemma Fleming for capturing all the looks and laying out such a gorgeous lookbook. If you haven't seen her beautiful fashion film, conveying the magic of the collection, please watch it here. 

CREDITS:
Director: Gemma Fleming
Assistant Director: Susanna Patrick
Couture by PapuszaCouture

Couture millinery by Katie Burley Millinery

Models: Ashley Garner and Alaia Baldwin
Hair: Hikaru Hiranu
MU: Tara Lauren

Custom textiles fabricated by Keelan Kelly. 

"Pleiades" Fashion Film by Gemma Fleming

"It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements - the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution - weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way they could get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today.” -Lawrence M. Krauss 

It was both an honor and a delight to work with the brilliant and talented Gemma Fleming, who directed and created a fashion film capturing my most recent couture collection, "Pleiades". The film was opened and shown alongside my collection at See Me Gallery during NYFW last month. Leading up to this production I spent months of long days working on creating this carefully crafted artisan couture... it was truly delightful seeing the vision come to life through Gemma's mad skill, and the talent of our epic team as a whole, for that matter. 

The one thing that I can say about this whole project and collection-from start to finish-is that I never wanted it to end. I wanted to stay in this dreamed up couture world forever, with these beautiful Pleiades and all of the wonderful friends and people that where being makers of their magical world with me. From the making of this fashion film to the beautiful NYFW Presentation of this collection, I didn't want it to end. But all great stories must come to an end. I guess that's the point of it all. To sum it all up I really just like to be able to remember "You couldn't be here if the stars hadn't exploded..."

See some behind the scenes pics, credits for our awesome crew and film below. I couldn't be more delighted with the outcome. 

CREDITS:
Director: Gemma Fleming
Assistant Director: Susanna Patrick
Couture by PapuszaCouture
Couture millinery by Katie Burley Millinery
Models: Ashley Garner and Alaia Baldwin
Hair: Hikaru Hiranu
MU: Tara Lauren
Visual Effects by Victoria Lahti

Featuring art installation details by Rosanna Scimeca and textiles custom made by Keelan Kelly.

"PLEIADES" from Gemma Fleming on Vimeo.

Papusza Couture "Pleiades" Collection at See Me for NYFW

As many of you may already know I recently debuted a new collection of art couture, entitled "Pleiades", at the See Me Exhibition Space for NYFW. I worked long and laborious days for months straight, creating this new collection of work and prepping for the show. The pieces of couture included in this collection are primarily made of metal, plastic and acrylic-with the use of fabric textiles as accents. I used a combination of mediums in producing these pieces of couture-ranging from old world to futuristic techniques-and I was fortunate to collaborate with laser designer Keelan Kelly on custom producing fibers for several of the pieces. My talented milliner friend and collaborator, Katie Burley, created some beautiful millinery to accompany the collection including a couture metal burka, an ice veil and a silvery jeweled turban.

The catch phrase of the collection is "If All the Gold in Egypt Turned to Snow", thus encompassing a sleigh of stunning models and magical performers, all adorned in icy colors and frosty textures formed into strong and dominating silhouettes. The muses and performers conveyed an aire of Egyptian magick meets Nordic surrealism and allure, and the couture was sharp and powerful armor, composed of elements such as sacred geometry and ice. I feel honored to have worked with so many talented people on this show, and hope to have the opportunity to work with all again on future projects.

The couture was shown alongside sculptures and installation of artist Rosanna Scimeca. Stay tuned for the fashion film of the collection, shot and produced by Gemma Fleming, which had it's screening debut at the opening, just before I presented the collection. Other credits for the show are listed below. I was truly and deeply moved by the magic that came out of this show, and am delighted to have had an opportunity to share this work with the world.

Performers:

Playing Milk-Sanaz Gangei
Playing Saw-Kendalle Fiasco
Singing Bjork-Rachel Grivas
Fan Dancing-Christine Geiger

Models:

Ashley Garner, Kate Verb, Gennie Glahn, Eugina Williams.

Hair:

Ariane Garcia and Jeanise Aviles.

Makeup:

Tiffani Argentina and Melissa Grisby.

Special thanks to William Etudni and See Me Gallery for hosting our event. Additional thanks to Dorothy Trojanowski, Kendalle Fiasco, Gemma Fleming, Benjamin Cerf, Rachel Singer and Ryan O'Conner for helping us with this show.

If you did not get to view the collection and would like to it will be on exhibition at the See Me Exhibition Space until the end of the week.

Photos below taken by Ariane Garcia:




Photos below taken by Raymond Haddad

Papusza: Featured Artist at SCOPE International Art Fair Night Event

Siku, Inuit for ice, is an installation exhibiting the idea of beauty, nature and pain being frozen in time. It is a mixed media couture installation made using taxidermy, antique lace, fabric, feathers and bones.

To close 2010 I was given an amazing opportunity to showcase a couture installation at the SCOPE International Art Fair Night Event-in Miami during Basel week-as the featured artist. The event I showcased at was produced by Artists Wanted. The finished piece was exuberantly received, and I couldn't have pulled it off without the help of amazing milliner Katie Burley, who, along with being my right hand woman, designed the beautiful Antler Crown worn by "Siku: The Ice Queen."

My piece was defined by a 7 1/2 foot tall and 6 foot in diameter steel, antique lace, bone and antler 3 hooped crinoline. Within in this contraption amazing model Ashley Garner sat, in character all night, wearing a dove feather and calve bone corset, a steel boned antique lace and dove feather Elizabethan collar piece, and antique lace and steel boned petticoat. Katie Burley's beautiful veiled antler and moss crown, as well as her special antler talons, perfectly complimenting the look. Janice Quijano built a beautiful ice-like wig worn under the crown to complete the look operatically.

See pictures, with corresponding photo credits, below.

I wanna say thanks to the following for making this project possible: Katie Burley, Nicholas Goodwin, Val McKinnon, Ashley Garner, Janice Quijano, Rosanna Scimeca, Tom Ryder, Ryan O'Connor, William Etundi, Evan Collier and of course the Land of the Northern Lights-the realm which dreams are made of.


Photos by Shannon Cahill:




Photo by Tomas Loewy.