In a world where we really can wear anything, I said recently that I still generally stick to items that I feel I would wear offline, even if the opportunities were few and far between. The point is, much of my SL (and offline) wardrobe is “wearable” in a fairly broad sense.

However, among the SL designers I have come to follow and respect, there are those who have pushed fashion into places where the result is more abstract or interpretive - not to mention, completely unexpected. It’s not as easy as “click to wear,” which I think might be the point. Marni Grut - a RL fashion student - is one of those designers, with her brand Royal Blue.

Marni wearing Draconic Kiss skin, Hair from Zsa Zsa’s House of Beauty, Lico Lico crown, Fleur gloves and Royal Blue Frills top

I first met Marni sometime last year and was a fan of her style and her completely unapologetic use of shapes to create items far off the beaten path. Her earlier releases were original but still wearable. I definitely remember thinking, “Oh, interesting…” but it wasn’t, “Wait, what???” In fact, Marni’s very first design was crafted on only her second day in SL - a Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis inspired suit, not surprisingly.

Moving along though, many of her releases became more abstract and in some cases, left me thinking - I might not be “getting” this. It’s the same with other kinds of art, I think. There are painters you understand and those who leave you thinking, “how am I supposed to see this?” or this case, wear.

So when Marni began releasing items like her Eternal Universe dress and Poof Poof skirts, I found myself wondering if I could pull them off. At the same time, when you see someone bringing something truly unique to the mix, you have to respect it, if not embrace it.

I sat down with Marni to talk about her designs, look at what’s new and get a sneak peak at what’s next…it turns out the only requirement is a sense of humor.

Our discussion and her designs after the cut…

Marni wearing Les Cages Aux Folles, her own favorite creation

I asked her to tell me what inspires her designs (edited some for clarity and an hour of superfluous conversation ).

Marni Grut: I generally see an image I like. It can be anything, sometimes even just words. I’m dyslexic so I kinda have a love/hate with strange words. I often misread them and get the wrong end…Blurry images give me ideas too. I see something that’s blurred and my mind fills in the rest and I seem to come up with something very different. I know that’s not a particularly typical process.

We talked about whether she strives to have her designs worn more broadly, or what kind of customer she caters to.

MG: I don’t really have an audience. I’ve always said as long as I break even I’m happy, although my stuff is light hearted and it doesn’t have [pretentious] meanings. I don’t think I’ll ever make anything such as casual wear.

Marni wearing her still to be released Roman Empire dress

We talked about “couture” in Second Life and I asked how she would label herself.

MG: I wouldn’t like to label myself as anything like that. I mean the formal version of the word is a brand the French government likes enough to call it “haute.” I guess I touch on avant garde if I’m lucky.

I agreed, and also that “light hearted” was a good descriptor. It turns out the only requirement of her customers is that they have a sense of humor.

I also learned that Marni loves children’s books and derives much inspiration from those. She has been thinking about a project with some friends to illustrate her designs into a fairytale style book. I hope they follow through, because if you dig into Marni’s Flickr stream, you can see some of those ideas in the pixels.

Of course, I had to ask her about the newly released birdcage skirt shown above (her original sketch appears at the beginning of the post) and her “Eternal Universe” dress.

MG: I like old antiques and bird cages, so I guess I wanted one of them [in SL]. I always wear it with a suit jacket or something that looks old and nasty.

The Eternal Universe dress was named after Steven Hawkins ‘A Theory of Time’ although the actual design was inspired by a Hussein Chalayan dress featuring transparent spheres.

Marni wears the Eternal Universe dress and I’m wearing the Poof Poof skirt in purple and one of her newly recolored Frills tops. We’re both wearing the Elton John Gas Masks, which might actually be my favorite accessory. I always wanted to wear a gas mask, but you know I can’t pull off the “serious” ones :p

We talked for a very long time about everything from her own designs - to those she admires elsewhere on the grid.

MG: I’m starting to get a lot into the Japanese designers. EMA is a fab little shop. I also love Kyoot. It has such a dark elegance. G.L.A.M., that’s like best mix n match stuff. I’m also obsessed with menswear. I own about 20 suits. Shai’s mens suits! But hair and skins are my weakness. For skins, it’s TaP [Fleur]. Hair I’m torn on. I want EVERYTHING in the ETD nickel! But I wear a lot of men’s hair too actually. Truth’s hair is great. I also mod Aden’s hair to be silver. My favorite hair and skin are from Draconic Kiss and go together.

Wearing Marni’s Frills shirt in pink, Poof Poof in pink, Truth Bridgette hair and Elton John Gas Mask in pink

Wearing Marni’s Pink Curtains dress and Flamingo bag, Diamonde’s Slave necklace, Maitreya’s ChiChi heels and PXL skin

Finally, Marni has recently started a Flickr Group to showcase her customers and how they wear her creations. Check it out, join up and see what you can come up with.

If you’re still with me, I can honestly say that I “get it” now, even if I can’t always pull it off. Marni is one of the most original people I have met in SL, and someone who clearly sticks to what inspires her.

Visit Royal Blue

Tags: Abstract Fashion, Fashion, Marni Grut, Royal Blue, Second Life