La Marquise de Pompadour!

As I mentioned before, Marie and I are in love with french culture of the 1700s. You should see our collection in the attic over here! The colours, the excess, the beauty and the frivolity are all part of the charm of the era. We've been wanting to do a queenly garden set since we met at the Montreal Burlesque Festival about 3 years ago... But it has been done, over and over again by countless photographers such as the amazing David Lachappelle (who's work inspired us), Ewa Cieszkowska, Vogue magazine, Juicy Couture, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Kerli (with a bubblegum gothic twist), David McNeil, and, of course Montreal's Andrea Hausmann (the beauty of her set is unrivalled); that I was worried it was a bit "old" and would probably piss off god know who for whatever reason. My one condition was that we do it (if we had to do it) over the top, busy with candy, cupcakes, colour and texture so that it was clear- even if there were similarities, that we did it CRAZY and more of an homage than an original idea.

After chatting with a few people in Montreal's burlesque community we decided to jump on the Marquise de Pompadour's wagon. Though decidedly similar, she was a woman who indulged regularly and was no stranger to frivolity - after all she was the mistress to the King - She was also a very intelligent, strong and confident woman full of elegance. 

We figured if we were going to do a french garden royalty set, we were going to do it our way; full of kitsch, flowers and..... puppies.

In this set you can choose to go over the top with huge wigs and tons of ribbons and bows - or you can tone it down and not get too lost in the backdrop. The choice is yours. We also offer a retro filter, creating a more dreamy pink look, toning down the explosion of kitsch colour (as seen above, below you'll see the original image).

Here are a few other shots:

Costuming by Isabel HL, Marie-Sophie and myself

Hair and Makeup by Marie-Sophie and Stef Porter

La Marquise de Pompadour, 150$ includes: Hair, Makeup, Set, Costuming, All images taken and 1 Retouched image. Call for bookings Thursday and Friday afternoons (514 273-3218)