From Second Life to Victoria's Secret: How Angela Jarman's Wings Wound Up on the World's Most Watched Runway

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

Angela Jarman (Violaine Villota in SL) is a veteran Second Life designer whose work transcends worlds -- as does her brand. Fancy Fairy wings have graced the backs of metaverse models for years, and if you tuned in to CBS this past Tuesday you would have seen them similarly gracing models walking the runway for Victoria's Secret.

Victoria's Secret's fashion shows are recognized for their regular use of spectacular costume wings, so it shouldn't be too surprising that they found Jarman's real-world wing designs appealing. But how does someone get started making something as particular as fairy wings, and even bringing that hobby with her into the virtual world? After the jump, Jarman shares how she found her way into SL, the virtual design techniques she's carried into her real-world creations and, most fascinating of all, how she builds her signature wings.

NWN: I read that you were creating wings well before joining SL, since you were working as a professional fairy and didn't like what was available. Why did you begin creating them in Second Life as well?

Angela Jarman: A RL friend of mine, who is Gypsy Tripsa in SL, told me one night about this cool virtual world she got involved in, and that we could all be virtual fairies if we want to. When she added that we could make our own wings and clothing as well, that's all I needed to hear.

I hadn't been able to spend much time doing 2 dimensional art and SL got me to enjoy that again in the form of painting textures. The bonus was that I got to see my art being used and could interact with it almost instantly. No time spent waiting for materials to arrive or extra money spent on fabric, I could literally make any sort of wing or outfit I wanted without being restricted by either lack of sewing skills, gravity or any natural laws. Although it would have been easier in some instances to just use photos or scans I have a sort of compulsion to digitally paint the textures myself, although a lot of the time I will use a photo as a reference so I can get the texture just right. Crushed silk velvet was probably one of the hardest. 

NWN: Did making wings in SL inspire or influence your real life approach to the craft at all?

AJ: SL wing making pushed me to try to make even more realistic wings in RL. Especially when it comes to color! I really love playing with color. I could spend hours just trying out different hues and color blending modes to see what happens, and some of my favorite color palettes were done in that way. I figured out a way to use digital painting to apply to the RL wings as well. There are times I just paint right onto the film with inks, but it's really difficult to work with and the chemicals in it require ventilation and a respirator, so I don't use it for everything even though the materials cost is lower that way.

NWN: How would you compare your wing creation process in Second Life and reality?

AJ: A lot of the time I can use the same vector files for my RL wing templates for my SL wing veins, and since I'm able to use the digital painting in RL wings now too, the process for both goes hand-in-hand. One thing that holds me back in RL is size -- I can make them gigantic in SL without having to worry about cost or practicality, while in RL it can be a big issue. I can also make them move and flap in SL, which is fun, and although something I hope to have happen in the future with the RL wings it's not something I currently know how to do.

Sometimes I will just make a design for SL that I don't necessarily intend for RL, and therefore can make the veining as intricate as I want and might even draw the veins freehand rather than make them in vectors. The Aphrodite wings started out that way, but I eventually did turn them into RL wings. Many others haven't, but it's always possible I'll find a way to make them real.

NWN: Can you share any details about how your RL wings are made?

AJ: My RL wings are created first with the veins in vector format as I was mentioning earlier. The frame or veins are then cut from a huge piece of aluminum sheet. I have someone else with a very big machine do this for me, as I have neither the room (I'm working in a space pretty much the size of a bedroom at the moment) or the courage to work with something that can cut cleanly through granite. I'm far too clumsy. And they are crazy expensive, so there's that.

Once they are cut, they need to be sanded to remove the burs from the edges. I then get them powder coated. Once those steps are done they are ready to be 'skinned', and the iridescent film and vinyl are applied to the frame. If they are painted wings, that is done before this step. Even if I use the digital method, I still use a Wacom to paint the design by hand, even if it's a replica of something existing in nature such as the blue Morpho wings or the dragonfly wings that [VS model] Devon Windsor wore. The veining, oh gawd the veining on those. it was tough on my eyes but the result was worth it.

Once the film is applied it is heated, and then cut out. The two halves are put together with the back brace and they are now wearable wings.

NWN: How did you become a wingmaker for Victoria's Secret? Did they come across your work and reach out with an order, or was the process a bit more elaborate?

AJ: The commission from Victoria's Secret came out of the blue! It was honestly something I've had a little fantasy about in my head. When I was asked to participate in the RAW SF fashion show I was imagining what it would be like to have my wings worn on a runway of that caliber and notoriety, but it was one of those fantasies that I thought would be too good to come true, something out of my reach. 

I just happened to get an email from one of the chief wardrobe assistants asking if the Dragonfly wings I had listed on Etsy could be rushed in time for the creative director to review them, because they had a segment called Fairy Tale that they thought my wings would work well for. I almost wondered for a second if it was someone pulling my leg! Things like this just don't usually happen to me. But no, it was legit.

I wasn't sure when I'd know if they would be used for the fashion show, and it seemed like I would have to wait forever, so when I got a phone call sooner than expected with a request for 4 more sets I was pretty ecstatic! It was a tight deadline and the middle of Halloween season, but thankfully I had some part time help and got them out just in time. Since they were designs I had done before, just in different sizes or colors it was do-able.

The giant Kira wings that [VS model] Eniko Mihalik wore were some of the largest I had made, and even packaging them turned out to be more intense than I had planned. The biggest thing I could find was an expanding giant screen TV box, which had to be reinforced with more cardboard to make sure it didn't fall apart or allow the wings inside to knock around and get damaged. I literally used two full rolls of packing tape. It didn't fit in my Sentra so I had to call Brandy, who helps me out part time, to drive over with her car and it just barely fit. But it did, and we made it to Fedex in time. I still was anxious about them arriving safely until I got word that they got them unharmed. After that, there was the concern that last minute changes would be made and my wings would get cut, or that something would happen on the way to London or they would break, but once I saw photos from the show I could finally breath a sigh of relief. I did ask how they found me, and I was told it was just through a Google search.

NWN: You mentioned in a comment on our previous post about your work that you were on hiatus from SL for technical reasons. What might a comeback from Fancy Fairy SL look like? 

AJ: I'm honestly not sure yet what my comeback will look like. It's just a little intimidating, having been out of the loop for so long! I haven't really learned mesh yet, and am curious about the pros and cons of it when it comes to wings. I might start off with more flexi scripted wings just to get my new designs out there before people think I've died. I am very curious about mesh though, I just have to figure out if it is worth the time it will take to learn it, or if people still appreciate the flexi style enough to make it a non-issue for me if all I want to create are wings and clothing.

Be sure to check out the Fancy Fairy website to see more of Angela Jarman's work in both SL and RL.

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Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart on Twitter, Iris Ophelia in Second Life) has been writing about virtual worlds and video games for nearly a decade, and has had her work featured on Paste, Kotaku, Jezebel and The Mary Sue.

Comments

[Damien Fate]

Love this story, congratulations on your success!

[Toni-is]

Fascinating story. We have come a long way since the Candie Apple wings we all had. I love her work and her explanation of how she did it.

[Toni-is]

Oh, I forgot my account is Toni-is, it is me............ Pituca FairChang.

[Softpaw]

I am so thrilled for you!

[Kirsten Corleone]

I recreated the runway and put together my own fairy lingerie look in SL! http://kirstentacular.blogspot.com/2014/12/seconds-angel.html I thought this was soooo cool and wanted to do something in world to mark this occasion where SL designs were seen in RL!