image source www.akumuink.com

Alice, oh Alice, I do so never get tired of all the incarnations of Alice. And why would I when there are amazing designers like Akumu Ink out there? Yes, that’s Akumu Ink (A-coo-moo Ink). Aldora and Joey have been creating some epic shirts for boys and girls since 2008, and deserve all the attention they garner. Focused on T-shirts, hoodies, and original artwork, Joey does the art for each shirt and Aldora keeps the business running strong. From a bedroom in Montreal, Canada these two have grown so you can find them in stores worldwide. Plus they have some super seriously wicked designs for all!

The Akumu Ink Alice T-Shirt is available online for $25.99 at www.akumuink.com.

- Tasha Farrington

image source heavyred.com

Halloween is fast approaching, so we’ll be sure to find you some of the great costume ideas out there. This year Heavy Red’s Alice in Wonderland costume, Alice en Splendeur Dément, is definitely catching our fancy. All dark and dreary, wonderfully tormented, and painstakingly detailed. Heavy Red is no stranger to Alice, releasing an Alice in Wonderland Halloween costume every year, but this year they take the story even further with this new version of the classic tale. The basic package comes with three key items. First the statement blue dress, in a blue that is dark and deep with sadness. Then there is the charming corset; gold and black brocade with a broken heart. Finally the straight jacket; in a creamy white. It can be worn with the straps or without; you are either down the rabbit hole or still just thinking about it. But if you put this on and wrap its soft comforting straps around you, you’ll be inviting the peace of a lost mind. Heavy Red has even done the extra work for you with an accessory package that includes stockings, gloves, a necklace, and that oh so dreamy blood-red tea hat. If you are into the demented and horrifying tale of a girl who’s gone down into the depths of insanity and back again, this outfit is must. Mind you I’d get it for the straight jacket alone. That’s hot.

The Alice en Splendeur Dément Cosutme package is available online for $195 and the costume plus accessory package are available online for $345, both at www.heavyred.com.

- Tasha Farrington

Heavy Red’s Alice en déshabillé – Noir Alice In Wonderland Costume and Corset

image source heavyred.com

Heavy Red has been chasing the White Rabbit again with the Alice en déshabillé – Noir Alice In Wonderland Costume and Corset for Halloween 2011. Treat (or trick!) yourself to this limited edition costume that can be worn all year-long which includes a cream-colored Alice dress, dark blue faux leather corset, and harlequin stocking set. Take advantage of pre-ordering this beautiful costume from Heavy Red as they start shipping on October 1, 2011!

The  Alice en déshabillé – Noir Alice In Wonderland Costume and Corset is available online at www.heavyred.com.

- Meagan

Another year, another underwhelming Oscar ceremony. Sure thing The King’s Speech cleaned up, as expected, winning four of the Big Five. Inception did well with the tech awards, but as it is a genre picture (and thereby considered only slightly above pornographic movies in the eyes of the Academy), it was otherwise snubbed.  Here’s a breakdown of the awards that I had particular gripes about, or was wholeheartedly behind. (WARNING : Enormous shitstorm about Inception’s poor performance ahead.  Proceed at your own risk.)

Best Art Direction : Alice in Wonderland
If you read my piece on this film (in the April/May 2010 Issue), you know how I feel it film and anyone involved in its creation. If you haven’t, here’s the short of it: Motherfuck all of you. But speaking about the art direction in particular, this was easily the most visually underwhelming and outright godawful looking of Burton’s films. You know, the director who made his name crafting visually striking films? I dunno if I blame the art department or Burton for putting them on a leash; either way, this was far from award-worthy.

Best Cinematography : Inception
Absolutely no complaints here. Goddamn beautifully shot film.

Best Supporting Actress : The Fighter (Melissa Leo)
Complete upset for me. I felt sure that Hailee Steinfeld had this one in the bag. No slight against Ms. Leo; she delivered a great performance, but Steinfeld stole the show right out from under Bridges and Dammon in True Grit, and for a fourteen-year old newcommer, that’s quite the accomplishment. Regardless of this loss, I expect nothing but good things from this little lady in the future, and look forward to seeing her grow as an actress (there was absolutely no way to say that without unintentionally sounding like ten tons of pedo-creepy, believe me, I tried).

Best Screenplay : The King’s Speech
And so the bitching commences. Lemmie get things straight before I proceed. I didn’t hate The King’s Speech. I felt it was an all-around well made movie. It just did nothing for me. It was just too safe. Too, at the risk of sounding immature and uncultured, boring. That said, David Seidler did an adequate job with the script. It’s just that neither the script, nor anything else about the film seemed all that remarkable. More to come on that later. My hopeful was of course Nolan, but it was clear long before the actually ceremony that there simply wasn’t a chance in hell of that going down.

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Toronto ON, November 6 – I recently attended IMATS in Toronto for Auxiliary Magazine. For those of you who are unfamiliar, IMATS is a makeup trade show for makeup artists, models, and photographers. I’ve been to IMATS before and I have to say that 2010 has been the best! This year was very organized, a lot of exhibitors, and not to mention, a great Alice In Wonderland themed runway show. I was very impressed with the number of exhibitors and deals that were available! Some companies in attendance were Yaby, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Naked Cosmetics, Crown Brush, Kryolan, and Make Up For Ever, just to name a few.

I only attended on Saturday. I got there around 11:30am and already the place was jam packed full of eager artists ready to learn, buy, and see this wonderful trade show. It was very exciting to see some of the speakers and educators who attended, such as Tom Savini, Kandee Johnson, Eve Pearl, and EnKore Makeup’s Koren Zander. I spent a lot of time at the OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) booth, and in my opinion, they were one of the best exhibitors there. I got a lot of their wonderful Lip Tars (check out Purple Reign featuring OCC’s Lip Tar in the Oct/Nov 2010 Issue) some nail polish, and a few loose color concentrates. They are just amazing and I couldn’t thank them enough for the samples they gave us! I really appreciate it! I also spent a lot of time at the Yaby, Kryolan, Make Up For Ever, and Temptu exhibits.

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Heavy Red’s Tragic Alice in Wonderland Costume

image source heavyred.com

I implore you to think outside of the “sexy” bagged Halloween costume this year and take a look at what Heavy Red has been cooking up in terms of costuming. The Tragic Alice in Wonderland costume ensemble really caught my attention because there are three separate pieces that you can wear together for the Halloween season and then can be incorporated into your regular wardrobe. When you purchase the costume you receive the Tragic Alice dress in muted teal, a steel boned waist cincher in antique white with red stripes, and the full length harlequin tights. I think that’s an excellent value and I’m impressed they even included the tights! Another nice option about this ensemble is that the sizing is not one-size-fit-all, you can choose your dress size and choose the corset size, which takes the guessing game out of ordering costumes online and wondering if they are going to fit. If you fell in love the Tragic Alice in Wonderful by Heavy Red, I would get your pre-order in as Halloween is quickly approaching!

The Tragic Alice in Wonderland Costume is available online at www.heavyred.com.

- Meagan

The runway shows at FAT, Toronto’s alternative fashion week.

Fashion Whore

The collection Fashion Whore showed at FAT this year was a surprising departure, the entire collection was pvc instead of the cotton print fabrics normally used.  Fashion Whore is known for fun and playful dresses and this entire collection was just that, a group of bright, monotone, pvc dresses clearly inspired by the story of Alice in Wonderland.  I am getting a bit tired of all the Alice out there due to the recent movie release, but as I watched this show I began to think I was tired by the other cases, as it fits perfectly for Fashion Whore.  Opting for pvc was a good choice for a stand out, conceptual runway show, but if I were looking to buy any of the dresses shown I would opt for the pattern to be made in one of their signature cotton prints.  It was refreshing to see curvy and full figured models, Fashion Whore makes awesome dresses for all women to confidently strut down the runway (or down the street) in.

image source flickr.com/photos/alternativeartsandfashionweek

- Jennifer

After the ultimately disappointing version of Alice by Tim Burton, and the near unanimous panning it received amongst the Auxiliary staff, perhaps it would be best if we recommended an alternative. The British Malice in Wonderland, out now on DVD if you can track down a copy and playing as of this weekend in some US theaters, is an energetic and dark romp through a twisted a unique underworld that is part dark fantasy and part British gangster film. Unique takes and reinterpretations of several of the classic characters of Alice in Wonderland abound here, packaged in that sort of grimy/cool wrapping that fans of early Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn crime flicks can easily relate too. Perhaps what we needed wasn’t an over commercialized pastiche laden film, but a total re-imagining of the source material to breath new life into the Lewis Carol fix that some of us need.

- Luke