Kambriel‘s importance to gothic fashion and to Gothic Beauty Magazine cannot be overstated. Kambriel was Designer of the Year in the Gothic Beauty Awards. Kambriel (designer, multi-talented human, and design atelier) has been covered many times in Gothic Beauty Magazine, including Gothic Beauty Magazine 11, 15, 18, 25, 27, 28, 37, and probably some more I’m not thinking of right away. She wrote about her Salem home for Gothic Beauty Magazine and occasionally contributed photography. We love her originality, her use of heavy flowing fabrics, and the elegance and couture quality of her designs, and the way she melds historical influences and modern subculture. We love that she “believes in finding magic where it is and creating it where it lacks.” Kambriel has made gorgeous stage looks for musicians from Monica Richards to Information Society. Kambriel has been the go-to for awards show outfits for the darkly-inclined, from Margaret Cho to Neil Gaiman. She creates custom wedding apparel, including for goth models like Jola and for Acid PopTart, one of Gothic Beauty’s most important contributors over the years. She has modeled for Gothic Beauty frequently and dressed so many who appeared in Gothic Beauty’s pages, including Curse, Damion, Batty, Jillian Ann, Lindsay, Wednesday Mourning, Kynt Kaliber, and more. Gothic Beauty has published her collaborations with so many amazing alternative fashion photographers, including Kyle Cassidy, Porcelain Poet, Visioluxus, Dividing Me, Sevila, Curse, Winterwolf, Arielle Smous, Nadya Lev, Rachel Kleinman, and Tina Louise. We are thinking of including one of her photos created with Tina Louise in the retrospective calendar currently funding on Kickstarter. If you pledge the Gothic Beauty Kickstarter project, you can help curate which images we publish. I am very excited about getting to interview such icons of our community. Excerpts of this interview series will be included in the Gothic Beauty 25 Year Reunion of Original Artists – Calendar Project, but I wanted to share the full-length interviews as well.
BTS: How did this particular shoot for Gothic Beauty Magazine 28 (and exhibition) come together and what was the shoot day like? Anything you’d like to share about the location (Did it really look so Wuthering Heights or was that photo magic?), how the collaboration went, what it was like working with your collaborators, anything extra you had to do to make the shoot happen? What was the process like of putting this outfit (dress, gloves, parasol, crimped hair, all the details) together and has your styling/designing process changed/evolved since then?
This was the first shoot I ever did with Tina, and these were among the very first images taken that day. Sometimes magic is in the air and this was certainly one of those times! The location was indeed as dramatic as it appears ~ a vast overgrown field in shades of amber. One of my strongest memories of that day was the ferocious wind as gusts were consistently around 60 mph. It’s a minor miracle my antique parasol with its delicate layers of ethereal black lace and sheer silk chiffon held together, and at times my moiré Midnight Bustle ensemble, along with the one of a kind sculptural veiled headdress I’d made, were practically blowing sideways. It’s a treasure we captured that moment in time as last I checked, the area which was once so expansive & timeless, was since developed & built upon. So now the location as it was exists solely in a kind of dream realm ~ a place where possibly we even left a few ghosts behind. Perhaps someday long into the future, Nature shall reclaim this space for winds to howl through long tendrils of wheat growing wild once more ~ a wind that drifts upon the air like the sombre song of a black-clad ghost…
Given that your work helped define the 2000’s gothic aesthetic, what are your thoughts on the ways the culture and its art/fashion/look have evolved?
Thank you truly for the compliment. It’s artistically humbling how many looks I created decades ago that are still holding strong and even seen as foundations for the various gothic & witchy aesthetics of today. “Finding beauty in the darkness” is something I came up with to describe the inspiration behind my premiere collection in 1994 and it is practically used as a definition of modern Gothic now. Ethereal elegance, fantastical designs, the darkly romantic, veiled visions & wicked whimsy… I’ve always described my work as “Fantastical Designs Betwixt Today & Timelessness”, and I love how one can now truly say with the passage of time these designs have indeed proven timeless!
One way I’ve seen things evolve (possibly devolved depending on one’s point of view), is how commodified some looks have become. Large manufacturers with no direct connection to the inspiration & roots behind the aesthetic churn out oft-derivative pieces for 3rd party sellers. The easier it gets to find such pieces, the less tangible sense of energy… that feeling of ~magic~, they seem to contain. Ironically something meant to be unique becomes standardized, which is deeply at odds with those who revel in being true to themselves and unafraid of standing out. Originally when only a few of us were creating these pieces to offer for others, most (including myself) tended towards a Do-It-Yourself ethos which lead to more personal expression, as well as developing skills & admiration for the artistry & craft of making, embellishing & altering things by hand. Of course not everyone’s up to creating an entire ensemble from scratch, so of course(!) enjoy seeking out & supporting creatives whose aesthetic resonates with your own, but ~also~ figure out ways to add your own creative twist. Never feel beholden to fit another’s mold. Part of the beauty of being gothic is embracing a personal indulgence in the feelings, words, sights, scents, and sounds that resonate within *you*. Gather in your mind what connects, then personalize it. Is there a colour (beyond black ;)) that you adore? Is formal your thing, or do you prefer to feel more cozy ~ maybe a combination of the two? It can be done! What do you want to shine some (moon)light on & what would you prefer to keep softly hidden in shadow? As things become widely available, never forget to revel in your own preferences & differences. I especially love focusing my creative energy on the one of a kind pieces & other forms of my personal art these days. With the vastness of tech-presence in our everyday lives, it’s meaningful to remember we can also connect by disconnecting – and give ourselves the gift of customizing & making things with our own hands & from our own imagination.
Something I adore about the evolution of the gothic aesthetic over time, is how even though it will incorporate new & different aspects, or there are things like video tutorials that weren’t a thing “back in the day”, there are plenty of very strong common threads which maintain their undeniable link through the years. It’s much like how I’ve designed my own creations ~ there is a gradual evolution, a progression, but never a tossing out of what’s come before. I believe there is at its root, a deeply held sentimentality of common ground that flows as a connecting thread throughout the years, throughout the scene. There’s always been a strong desire to embrace the darkness while transforming it into something strangely beautiful. Gothic embraces its ghosts, while continuing to push the realms of possibility.
www.kambriel.com
Bluesky: @kambriel.com
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/kambriel
The Gothic Beauty reunion retrospective Project is on Kickstarter until December 11.
