Teacups & Couture A Fashion Blog by Roxanna Bina
When I first heard one of my favorite artists of all-time ,artist extraordinaire Mark Ryden, was going to collaborate with a ballet, I dropped everything and bought tickets before it sold out. I drove 3 and half hours to see the show in Costa Mesa, CA at the Segerstrom Center and boy, it was worth it!
The show was called “Whipped Cream” and is a story about a boy on his first communion partaking in copious amounts of sweets and, namely whipped cream, at a confectioner’s shop. Quickly, he is whisked into a deluge of whipped cream fantasies and ‘sweet’ dreams that stir up visions of dancing marzipan archers, sugar plums, and gingerbread men vying for the attention of the delicate Princess Tea Flower. Did I mention there was a creepy doctor with a HUGE head? Also, there were SNOW YAKS in big furry costumes and humungous blinking eyes! It was the right amount of the bizarre and the beautiful straight from the quirky mind of Mark Ryden.
This particular show ‘Whipped Cream‘ premiered at the Vienna State Opera in 1924 under the name of ‘Schlagobers’. But something tells me, the 2017 version with the American Ballet Theater is something more of a spectacle than the 1924 version. Ballerina Misty Copeland was scheduled to play the part of Princess Praline, but bowed out due to injury and was replaced by Skylar Brandt.
The entire experience was wonderful- from the stunning costumes, the whimsical sets, to the delightfully skilled ballet dancing. The show will travel to NYC’s Metropolitan Opera House from May 23- July 1, 2017. I highly recommend the show and urge you to buy tickets as soon as it goes on sale. Most of the 7 of the Costa Mesa shows and merchandise were sold out within days.
At the event, I wore a vintage 1996 Cheap and Chic Moschino couture wool dress with matching Moschino kitten heels. My fascinator was made by a hat shop in Newport, RI.( I don’t remember the name of the now defunct shop- so sorry !) Cake Ring was bought in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan. The milk carton handbag that sparked lots of ice-breaker conversations at the show was made by non other than Moschino- also vintage. My mom did my hair into a nice, classic braid and I did my own makeup. What a lovely experience!! Hope you, too, can experience this wonderful show this summer! Sweet Dreams!
photos: Hi-Fructose, Mark Ryden and moi and my mom
