Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion
In the past two weeks, I've covered the Pacific Crisis Fundraiser and Help Japan (which are both still open, if you haven't had the chance to visit yet!) but this week I'm covering an event that has a bit of history behind it -- Another Fundraiser II.
The first Another Fundraiser raised over a million L$ for UNICEF through the sale of skins made from Eloh Eliot's open source skin textures. Three years later, a Japanese designer named Mina Jun released her skin files as well, on the condition that they only be used to raise money for earthquake and tsunami relief. Though she herself is not a victim, this is a pretty significant gesture in the world of SL fashion... and potentially a big gamble, with no way to guarantee the skins would only be sold in that context. Hoping to help Mina Jun's skins have the effect she intended, the original organizers of Another Fundraiser revived the event. (Full disclosure: I participated in Another Fundraiser I, and leaped at the chance to be part of the team organizing Another Fundraiser II.) The biggest change to the event is the inclusion of new tattoo layer makeups, in addition to full skins designed with textures released by Mina Jun, Eloh Eliot, and Sezmra Svarog. Everything is L$50, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Red Cross. If the idea of skins that cheap going to a great cause isn't enough to send you there immediately, then nothing is. Just be sure to get there before it ends on April 3rd!
Here are my personal picks from the fundraiser:
Idiosyncrasy's Geisha Skin (Pictured above)
Geisha skins have been one of the most common things to find at the recent charity sales, so every designer has to do something to make theirs stand out. Idiosyncrasy's Geisha skin is far from textbook accuracy -- instead, it pushes towards more mainstream wearability, creating a geisha-inspired glam makeup that would make a real statement with a black evening gown. I could even imagine this looking gorgeous in a Rococo-inspired gothic aristocrat ensemble. My one complaint is that the edges of the eyeliner aren't as hard or sharp as I would normally like, but it's a small price to pay (especially given how gorgeously glossy those lips are!)
Keep reading for more favorites from Another Fundraiser II!
Fishy Strawberry's Kokeshi Skin
Kokeshi is an absolute must-have for most mainstream fashionistas. Including the lipstick pack sold next to it, it's a nice, simple skin that definitely uses the best elements of the skins it's based on. It's a versatile go-to skin for everyday looks, and considering the L$50 price tag I might have to bring a few newbies by to grab it too.
Newdoll's Liner and Glitter Eyemakeup
The real beauty of both this and the original Another Fundraiser is that people who otherwise wouldn't even try skin or makeup creation have incentive and support to take their first steps with it. Bloggers (who often get attacked for critiquing designs without being designers themselves) have contributed significantly to both events, in in some cases made some of the more popular items. Well, meet Newdoll Nikolaidis, a blogger with dangerous curves and a potentially NSFW blog, and her gorgeous eyeliner makeups. A good cat-eye makeup layer is known to make me completely weak in the knees, so this perfectly flared liner is already among my absolute favorites since it doesn't seem to suffer from a lot of the awful distortions that can happen around the eye-area of the avatar mesh.
(Speaking of us "do-nothing" bloggers actually doing something, if you're wondering what my contribution to this event is, take a second look at the picture of Newdoll's liners. That skin is part of the Another Gyaru set, available alongside a revamp of the Another Geisha skins that I released at the first event in 2008. I hope you'll forgive me for mentioning my own items, but it's for charity!)
As always there's more to come, and if you haven't already be sure to check out this excellent summary of the situation by Catero Revolution for more ways to help Japan and the other affected nations!
Iris Ophelia (Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.
You look so wonderful in all of the items...some people did use their own skin bases or merged some details of the three with their own. However they did it, they are all so appreciated.
xoxSasyxox
Posted by: Sasy Scarborough | Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 10:05 AM
you look gorgeous in all the pics - there are some real treats at Another Fundraiser - some unbelieveable for only 50L! Thank for the mention! Am so glad you like it :D
You did of course forget to mention your own Geisha skins which are also just as gorgeous as the original ones you made
*watch this space*
<3333
Newdoll
Posted by: Newdoll | Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 04:20 PM