IMAGE: chrisryanphoto.com
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which is why WW went hunting for the most outrageous outfit we could find this week in honor of batshit-crazy performance juggernaut and fashion iconoclast Lady Gaga’s Portland appearance. We found it in the trash—Portland’s Junk to Funk Trashion Collective, which hosts an annual contest and fashion show that shows off intricate couture made from recycled materials (our model’s wearing one of the top designs from the 2009 show, made completely from discarded bike-tire tubes). We chatted with Junk to Funk’s Lindsey Newkirk about trashion, Gaga style and which Portland designer she ought to make her new pal.
WW: So what’s your opinion on Lady Gaga’s style?
Lindsey Newkirk: The outrageous sense she has is an inspiration for designers—how can you take everyday items and turn them into fantastical garments?
What’s a recent outfit of hers you really liked?
She was actually shaking hands with the Queen of England while wearing an enormous red latex ball gown. Also, I get excited by how much leather and plastic she wears—I thought, [Kristin Olson-Huddle’s] bike-tire tube garments are so similar to that!
Which local trashion designer would be a good match for Gaga?
Hair stylist, puppeteer and “avant-garde designer” Jen LaMastra, who made the big tire-tube wig with the pigtails (pictured) and a [dress made out of] mini blinds. She uses rigid, hard materials, but she cuts them into shapes that can fit a human. Very imaginative.
Dress: Kristin Olson-Huddle
Wig: Jen LaMastra
Jewelry: Taylor Stevenson
All designs are created out of discarded bike-tire tubes.
MORE: Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour takes over the Rose Quarter, 300 N Winning Way, 8 pm Thursday, Aug. 19. Tickets $49.50-$175, see rosequarter.com. To learn more about the Junk to Funk Trashion Collective, its upcoming events or how you can participate as a trashion designer to create your own Lady Gaga-esque trashion garments, check out junkttofunk.org.
Headout Picks
WEDNESDAY AUG. 18
[STAGE] THRASHIN’
The irrepressible duo behind Hot Gun and Chariots of Rubber is back with a stage adaptation of the 1986 skater flick producer Jedediah Aaker describes as “basically West Side Story with skateboards.” The show features a live band, video projections, two halfpipes and “a killer joust scene where the two lead actors put their cock and balls in glass peanut butter jars and battle till one breaks.” Dante’s, 1 SW 3rd Ave., 226-6630. 10 pm Wednesday and Saturday, 8 pm Sunday. $10.
[VIS ARTS] MONICA LUNDY
In Obscure Histories, Bay Area artist Monica Lundy has created a sculpture/painting hybrid that conjures our worst Nurse Ratched nightmares, inspired by the 1930s-era staff of the Stockton, Calif., state mental hospital. Ogle Gallery, 310 NW Broadway, 227-4333. Show closes Sept. 30.
THURSDAY AUG. 19
[STAGE] FISHING FOR MY FATHER
Excellent local actor Chris Harder premieres a solo show about an outdoorsman “struggl[ing] to discover the meaning of fatherhood.” If Harder’s last project, a surrealist piece about the inner life of a political prisoner, is any indication, this isn’t likely to be Prairie Home Companion fare. Hand2Mouth Theatre’s Jonathan Walters directs. The CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 205-0715. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Aug. 29. $10-$20.
[COMEDY] BILL BURR
Bill was on Chapelle’s Show, then Letterman and HBO. He’s pretty funny. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., 888-643-8669. 8 pm Thursday, 8 and 10:30 pm Friday-Saturday. $27.50-$32.50.
FRIDAY AUG. 20
[MUSIC] THE RAINY STATES
One of Portland’s most underrated bands, the lovely and chiming guitar-rock quartet the Rainy States, releases its new record, The Push and the Pull. Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. 8 pm. $5. All ages.
[SCREEN] FLICKS ON THE BRICKS: JAWS
Forget about a bigger boat: On the 35th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s shark attack, the movie gets screened in the largest possible theater. Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th Ave. Dusk. Free.
SATURDAY AUG. 21
[MUSIC] GENTLEMAN JESSE AND HIS MEN
Power pop doesn’t get much catchier than Gentleman Jesse and His Men, the only recent band that comes close to matching the Exploding Hearts’ exuberant melodies and punky bubblegum rhythms. Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th Ave., 223-0099. 9 pm. $6. 21+.
