Recently, Lissa Maertens of Cattiva e Cattivo announced that she would be joining her brand to the Simone label and sent me a big happy folder full of samples. I decided it had been a while since we’d had a Friday interview, so it seemed a good a reason as any. Oh. And I also played dress up in her stuff.
***How did you stumble into the world of SL Fashion?***
Lissa: The first time I logged in, I set about adjusting the system clothing on my avatar and I said to myself: “Oh, HELL, no — this is NOT going to work!”
***What led you to pick your brand name?***
Lissa: I’m an 80’s girl; I’ve always said “wicked” and “stoked.” Stoked didn’t work so well for clothing, so *Wicked* stuck and at the time I was heavily into Italian. I think I was watching the Sopranos a lot.
***What is your favorite type of virtual clothing to design?***
Lissa: Anything diaphanous. I love lingerie.
Simone: Wearing panties on your head in your spare time isn’t what they’re talking about.
Lissa: LOL, shaddap, you.
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When I hear the name Tesla, I think of Nikola Tesla, 80’s rock concerts, and now, thanks to Tesla Miles, sculpty shoes.
LL: How did you get started designing and how did you name your business?
Tesla Miles: I started SL as a sandbox addict and built many miscellaneous objects out of regular prims. Then one day, in May 2007, sculpted prims came to SL and I thought I’d give them a go. I was amazed at the kind of shapes I could bring into the world, and my first successful sculptie was a UFO - lol - yeah, I know simple, but the shape reminded me of hats, so I decided to experiment with hats… I made five hats to begin with and decided to make them available to the public. As luck would have it, some intrepid fashionistas stumbled upon my tiny store and raved about the sculpted prim hats in their blogs; they discovered me, a complete unknown! And then slowly more and more people came to my store, while it inspired me to continue making more things.
I named my business Tesla, as in my own SL name - hehe. Tesla, by the way, was inspired by the name of real life scientific genius, Nikola Tesla, whose ideas were ahead of his time. I’m quite glad that I picked that name for the store, because in a way, it keeps his name alive through fashion!! Hopefully, people do become curious and read his fascinating biography.
Photo Credits: Le Cubic Effect - tiered Skirt . Push Buttons Industries - the fishnet top . Tesla - Shiny Natasha black . Tesla - Solaris sunglasses black . Battered Boudoir - pantyhose . Naughty Designs - Maya II hair
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When Salome asked me to cover the Nuclear Boutique fashion show for LL, I right off hoped my schedule would permit it. Nuclear Boutique is one of those stores that I have visited to purchase from and yet somehow never got around to doing a thorough revisit. Also NB is one of those stores that doesn’t seem to get much press, so I was eager to see how they handled a press event.
The show took place on a Saturday, which is always a good SL day for me, and I arrived early as per the “get there early so stuff will rezz” protocol. Once at the store, I decided to visit the show location before poking around. This ended up a lucky choice because they were having a pre-show rehearsal allowing me to snap some fully-rezzed pictures, and chat with NB owner/designer Arikinui Adria.
I also met up with Avenue Agency owner, Rusch Raymaker, and their PR person, Annette Wilder. Everyone at the show was quite helpful to the press that showed up and I was delighted by the friendly, professional atmosphere.
The first outfit I saw was this black and white corset dress named Subtle, worn here by model Juliane Beaumont It made me wish for Salome’s “tackle av and steal outfit” button, but absent that, I merely settled for screaming, “I NEED that!” I used my inner voice. Honest. There is a certain sex appeal that dresses like Subtle posses that remains classy; I think of them as smouldering conference room ensembles.
Next to catch my eye were these Destiny pantsuits, which have a sort of high-society-meets-biker-girl appeal. Stylish and designed with an eye on quality, but somehow a little gritty and naughty around the edges. The blue used on these strongly reminded me of the “Union Blue” shade you see depicted from US Civil War films, but this might be simply because the suits were so obviously inspired by military uniforms. Which reminds me — anyone know where I can get me a Harley in SL?
Read more about the Nuclear Boutique Grand Re-Opening after the cut…
(Read More | Where to Buy)
Yes, there is an interview this week, with camilla Yosuke of Insolence.
LL: How did you get started designing and how did you name your business?
cY: I discovered SL totally by chance. After a few days wandering around, I understood how it perfectly fits with my previous experience in 3D and graphism. Actually I started with really few cash, and comparing my poor freebie feet with the shoes girls had all around me, and with what I could see in stores, I didn’t wait any more and started with making a shoe pair for me. About the name ? Well, I spent hours finding something untaken, and that could sound good and great…I hate finding names ^^
LL: What were the early days of your business like? What have you learned since then?
cY: When I had these first shoes made for me, I rented a tiny shop in a friendly mall, and everything started. I still have this tiny shop, and will never let it *** sigh *** My first lingerie items slowly allowed me to rent a bigger one, then another, until the day I had the awesome luck to be blogged by a famous designer — Hi there !Smoochies !! — She really opened me the door to something serious and I’ll never tell her enough my gratitude ! I learnt tons and tons !! If I should pick two important things, I’d say I discovered how to adapt usual 3D techniques to SL, which in so many ways is…odd … and how the fashion world turns here. I don’t pretend mastering it, just I have a much better glance at it now.
LL: What are your favourite items in your store at the moment?
cY: Definitely, the Louise ensemble is my little baby. I spent hours with pleasure on it, everything is hand painted, I embroidered the lace parts day after day. A very nice moment, like quietly knitting besides the fire. Very good to empty one’s brain.
LL: How much of what you do is driven by what you personally want to create vs what you think the market is interested in buying?
cY: Well. About lingerie, I really make what I’d love to have for me first. Of course I always try to keep in mind what people would like, what would really seduce girls, but basically its my taste first. About skins…well I’m a stubborn girl. I’ve been creating these only listening to me first. But I kept having feedback on various aspects, every single day someone told me about something they’d love to see different. I’ve been sulking in my corner, thinking hey, I love these this way, until a good old friend recently kicked me in the ass, locked me in the workshop until I changed things to answer everyone’s request. A big kiss to her.
LL: Where do you enjoy shopping in SL and what other designers’ clothing do you wear?
cY: Oh I still wonder why I only discovered Nyte’n'Day this month. I truly love this kind of clothing, very everyday like, but absolutely delicate and fresh. This is really my kind of stuff. I’d kill for a RL Nyte’n'Day !! I also love DE designs and Naughty . Both have truly sharp, high quality casual wear. I’m really amazed at many other’s work, but I guess I feel better in jeans and shirt !
LL: Is Second Life a full-time job, a part-time job, or a hobby for you?
cY: Someone recently told me ” You know you should do like these guys in the Space Station, 1 hour muscles and cardio training daily, or you’ll run into severe problems…. ” SL is a FUUUUUUUUUUULL-Time job ^^ The good part is that I truly love it. What could I expect more ? It sustains my life, and I’m having real fun everyday ! —-a voice from the opened door “will you leave this and come swim ?!? ” —-”yeah sure wait I finish this interview and I—-ACK !! no ! stop ! don’t bite ! ok ok I come”
Photo Credits: Hair is Meghan Ash Burnt by ETD, the top, bra and pants are Cocoa Brown by Nyte’n'Day, the boots are LC Liah Ony by Lyra Muse.
Where to buy : INSOLENCE Mainstore, Venom 94,133,28
Slurl : http://slurl.com/secondlife/Venom/140/194/28.
