Jouissance : An Orgasmic Fashion Installation in Five Parts

Sponsored by Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, Napoleon Perdis, De Costi Seafood, Bloch Dancewear & Brent Street Dance Company

Insight

In 2006, the cultural undercurrents of female empowerment and physical celebration were emerging as significant movements that would reverberate through fashion, politics, pop culture and art in major ways in the next decade.

We saw an opportunity to bring fashion designers, performing artists and brands together to create a visceral, sensory installation event that merged these worlds and moved the audience to consider the next wave of female empowerment and aesthetic storytelling that was to come.

Idea

Jouissance
Fr. noun meaning: physical or intellectual pleasure, delight, or ecstasy

We developed a performance narrative that explored the stages of pleasure or orgasm through dance and movement, live music and projected visuals set on a white custom-made petal-shaped stage.

6 performers, costumed in couture fashion pieces inspired by skin and sensuality, represented the 5 stages of pleasure:

Tantalise: The dancer, costume in a crystal encrusted gown and make-up, turned slowly on a rotating disc built into the stage. As music box inspired live music played, spotlights caused her whole look to sparkle and dazzle as she moved her arms and head in a doll like manner.

Breathe: The second dancer wore an organza gown made of expanding sections that, as a live sound scape of breaths and voices were created by the vocalist and violinist, 'breathed' expanding and contracting with each movement.

Emanate: The next dancer wore a dress made from hundreds of small balls of light grey jersey, filled with talcum powder. As a textured soundscape emerged in the space made-up of layered drum beats and percussion, the dancer pounded her dress causing a cloud of powder to emanate around her and filling the air with the scent of a woman.

Release: The fourth movement saw two ballet dancers - one in a black leotard and slippers with black facial crystal features and the other wearing a skin-toned leotard and slippers, encased inside of a hand-woven textile cocoon. As the music built in power and presence, the black dancer slowly unravelled the textile cocoon via a gold hoop in the ceiling, unveiling the 'light' character inside.

Ecstasy: The fifth and final performer represented the crescendo of the heart in the process of pleasure. She wore an organza and gold leather gown that was hand-stretched over a lightweight metal frame, that when lit from underneath, revealed her slender physical underneath. A projected human heart emerged onto her body and her red leather gloves were a dramatic visual cue connected to blood, beauty and passion.

Impact

The 500 person sold out event event, held in a secret Surry Hills location, generated rich visual content and a story that the brands then leveraged through their networks and positioned them as authentically associated with the avant-garde.

My role on this project encompassed:

• Conceptual Development
• Creative Direction
• Experiential Design
• Producer

Project credits:
Creative Director: Robyn Wilson
Producer: Robyn Wilson
Music Director: Kusum Normoyle
Musicians: Kusum Normoyle (vocals), Anthony Garvin (percussion), Alison Cachia (violin)
Lead Performers: Misty Cole, Lucy Smith, Leilani Zhang, Carrie Gavin, Nicole Zu, Christie Hall, Tanya Dramm
Ballerinas: Brent Street Dance Company
Fashion designers: Sara Algers, Tiffany Chan, Kim Dieters, Robyn Wilson
Hair & Make-Up: Napoleon Perdis team
Photographer: Elton Stewart
Catering & Service: Nic Schroor + Stedmans team
Venue Manager: Michael Fantus