You are here: Home / Archives for Tim Burton

Melbourne visit part 2 – Tim Burton exhibition, Sambal Kampung

July 1, 2010 by
So, the Tim Burton exhibition….a bit of drama getting there

We flew into Melbourne airport at 2.15 and were booked to enter the exhibition at 4.30. All we had to do was get to our hotel from the bus station, get changed, perhaps grab a snack, and wander down to the ACMI. Not a terribly tight schedule, except…

Just as we arrived at the Southern Cross bus station, the heavens opened up and it poured. This left the taxis in the position to be cuntish nazis to those of us waiting at the rank, and after THREE failed to take us because a) we were too close, b) it wasn’t on their way or c) they were finishing shift, we started walking.

This meant there was no time to change before the Tim Burton exhibition. Lucky I was wearing a suitably spooky dress and stripy tights anyway. Dom and I DID make it just on time (phew!) and here we are in front of the famous Batman car.

I’m wearing a Banana Fish dress and stripy tights, Cue jacket, Peace Now mini-bowler on headband, Yosuke boots and DestroyX skeleton necklace.
The beautiful car
For some great pics and a write-up of the opening night and Masterclass Tim held, see Sea of Ghosts, and Super Kawaii Mama.

I found the drawings and little figurines (called “maquettes”) absolutely enchanting, and it inspired me to get my drawing pencils out again! Anyone who is creative will love this, and especially those with dark sensibilities.

I appreciated his quirky sense of humour, and chuckled even at the bad puns.

Of course, seeing the visuals and movie clips brought back all the good memories from times past when the movies were first watched, and we promised ourselves we’d see this or that movie again soon.
One of the highlights for me was seeing the costumes by Colleen Atwood and the hats. Just breathtaking, the amount of work and attention to detail there was. I stared at the Mad Hatter’s top hat for ages, and saw to my surprise that it was not brocade but leather!

All the little designs, the swirly paisley shapes and lace effects, were tiny holes punched into the leather, and gold thread was sewn over the top in places, making it look like worn brocade. Stunning.

There’s a funny clip on Threadbanger right before their Mad Hatter costume how-to; it’s well worth a watch! (But that isn’t how the real hat was made).

Afterwards, we went to Sambal Kampung for dinner – yep, it’s Malaysian. At 234 Bourke Street in Chinatown, it was right near our Mercure Hotel.

I failed to get pics of the teh tarik and roti canai, but they were lovely. We had beef rendang with the roti, and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Here is the laksa and sambal veges (eggplant, okra and snowpeas). The laksa was very tasty and had all the fishballs, prawns, chicken, tofu, broccoli, egg, crispy onion etc you could wish for, but I’d have liked it sweeter. The sambal was delicious, but a little oily. You can see I’m not a food blogger 🙂

 

After a rest it was out to the Blue Velvet Room i
n Collingwood for goth club Heresy – I’d been to this venue last year, for the Circa Nocturna after party. That time it was packed; this time not that many people attended, possibly because Cabaret Nocturne had been on the week before. We did manage to see some bands, have beers and laughs and chat with a few people. 

And when we got home, we devoured the rest of the laksa we’d kept in the fridge. Boy did I sleep well after that!

Filed Under: Blog entry Tagged With: , ,

Disney goes goth? Almost Alice…and other Alice related merch

February 25, 2010 by

Are we all good and excited about Alice in Wonderland, kiddies?  YES, WE ARE!!!!

We await with baited breath pics and video footage of the world premiere today in London.

There have been trailers and clips leaked to tease us, then fashion stories in magazines and shop windows, then the soundtrack, and now…

Companion to the Soundtrack!!

Yes, amongst 4 pages of other Alice-related merchandise, Hot Topic offers the “Almost Alice” CD.

There are also t-shirts, hair slides, compacts, perfumes, hoodies, necklaces, keychains, rings….and the list goes on.  I have to confess that, being a huge fan of diamonds and argyle patterns, I’m a bit tempted by items such as this:

Meanwhile, in the world of Disney, not only are there tees, bags and the CDs, but some jewellery that’s rather nice, including this exquisite Tom Binns charm bracelet. Sure, it’s over 100 bucks, but it’s gold plated. There are more Binns pieces, and some Swarovski collaborations as well; see them all here.

And there’s a contact in Victoria for Tom Binns for Disney Couture jewellery too – ph: 03 9412 3540.

At the higher end of the spectrum, Stella McCartney will offer Alice jewelry in her boutiques, more Tom Binns items (including a $1000 “Smashing Time” tea party necklace) will be available in Macys stores (and Selfridges in the UK), and Sue Wong Victorian-style frocks (up to $600) will be offered in Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and other department stores.

But WAIT!! There’s more! Some fab Alice-inspired jewellery available in the UK is here on Shinystyle; and Selfridges/Miss Selfridge and Claire’s are onboard the merch brigade too.

There is a veritable army of merch behind the brand (if you’ll pardon my pictorial pun).

But back to the album. Disney lists the artists on the Almost Alice CD.  Tracks Include:

  • Alice performed by Avril Lavigne
  • The Poison performed by The All-American Rejects
  • The Technicolor Phase performed by Owl City
  • Her Name is Alice performed by Shinedown
  • Painting Flowers performed by All Time Low
  • Where’s My Angel performed by Metro Station
  • Strange performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli
  • Follow Me Down performed by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch
  • Very Good Advice performed by Robert Smith
  • In Transit performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz
  • Welcome to Mystery performed by Plain White T?s
  • Tea Party performed by Kerli
  • The Lobster Quadrille performed by Franz Ferdinand
  • Always Running Out of Time performed by Motion City Soundtrack
  • Fell Down a Hole performed by Wolfmother
  • White Rabbit performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

The Wall Street Journal reported on Feb 19th:

In the run-up to the March 5 opening of director Tim Burton’s movie “Alice in Wonderland,” Walt Disney Co.’s consumer-products division is aiming its marketing firepower at young women and teenage girls, particularly those who gravitate to darkly romantic entertainment like the “Twilight” series.

And this apparently has some people up in arms – as in, how dare Disney dabble in the dark side? (Try saying that three times fast!) Hey, Disney is a company, not a charity. Of course it’s going to try to make money any way it can.

For my part, I’m well and truly sick of the Mickey Mouse ears from the Disney/Dolce & Gabbana collaboration of last year…will everyone be wearing Cheshire Cat ears this year? *Shudder* (But top hats will always be ok in my book). As for the CD…I’m definitely interested.

You can pre-order from Disney here.
Australians can order Almost Alice in CD or mp3 format here.

In Tokyo, La Foret and Marui One are already full of Alice in Wonderland imagery and items; I can only imagine the goth stores will be awash with it when I arrive.

Are you tempted to buy any of the merch or the music? Will you celebrate by having a tea party in full Wonderland regalia of some sort? Or are you “over it” already?

Filed Under: Blog entry Tagged With: ,

Tim Burton

October 9, 2009 by

Most of us in the alternative/goth community LOVE Tim Burton, as do a helluva lot of other people. We love the fantasy element that isn’t sickly sweet but dark and ominous, which reminds us that humans are a complex and twisted bunch. Or as the Doors, and Echo & the Bunnymen put it, “People Are Strange”.

If you’re new to Tim Burton, you could do worse than head here

or to the Tim Burton Collective here

Exciting news for people in the US is the Tim Burton exhibition at MOMA . (Old news, I know, but I want to keep my TB links all here in one place 🙂 From November 22 to April 26, a major Tim Burton career retrospective is happening – and it’s certainly made me think seriously about jumping on a plane to go see it!

And now US Harpers Bazaar has done a stunning fashion tribute to the man and his work:


Just one amazing image from the shoot.

Tonight I’m heading off to a performance of “The Surgical Sideshow“, which is a theatrical piece inspired by Tim Burton, and featuring creatures called “Skellingtons”.

And I’m already planning my TB inspired outfit – there will be stripes, there will be PVC, and there may even be those thigh-high Pleaser boots I’ve had in the wardrobe these past 4 or 5 years. They’re in fashion now, and I can wear them out without looking like a streetwalker – YAAAYY!! (Well, I may still look like a lady of the night, but I can justify it by saying “I’m ON TREND darling!!”)

Filed Under: Blog entry Tagged With: , , , , ,