winter wonderland...

Have you seen Gareth Pugh's new collection? It brings to mind the tragic beauty of Japanese Ghost Stories. The Obake (spirit or ghost) is often the main character in the bizarre, avant-garde Japanese dance-dramas, called Kabuki, as well as folklore inspired art and literature, like manga and anime. There are different types of Obake, for example Yōkai are a class of supernatural beings ranging from demons to supernatural creatures that possess part animal and part human features. Yōkai generally have a sort of spiritual or supernatural powers like shapeshifting. Another kind of Obake is the Yūrei, the soul of someone who has died in violent manner such as a tragic sudden death, murder or suicide, they are influenced by powerful emotions such as a desire for revenge, love, jealousy, hatred or sorrow. If the proper rites and rituals have not been performed, or the emotional conflict is left unresolved, the Yūrei will persist in haunting a particular person or place until their purpose is fulfilled, and they can move on to the afterlife...
Next we have John Galliano. He also worked with the grey palette for his Winter collection, but the results are rich! It conjures images of Ice Caves, Snow Queens and even Theda Bara's provacative costumes in Cleopatra! The rest of his collection is gorgeous as well and reminds me of Russian fairytales and Balkan Gypsies!