Feisty, radical and rich with culture: Eshi Otawara's upcoming Collection

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

If Akira Kurosawa were alive today, I do believe he'd hire Eshi Otawara to costume his next film. I am also quite certain that Yves Saint Laurent would have swooned at the sight of her next Collection. At least Lagerfeld is still around but he'd better hurry up or maybe Galanos will snatch her up.

One year ago, Eshi’s much celebrated fishhook dress caused such a prodigious pandemonium on the grid that a cult following sprung from it. Seven months later, that same dress - in a black Limited Edition - sold at auction for $460,000L.

This Saturday at 1pm SLT, Eshi will present her Winter/Spring Collection, featuring the first Limited Edition dress under her new Eshi Otawara label, but like everything that has to do with Eshi, that’s not half of the story. It just seems to me that everything she does… even the most mundane things, are standouts.

Allow me to illustrate what I mean… Early last month, I TP’ed Eshi into the shop of a well-known and successful clothing designer to show her a hat I’d been chatting about in IM. We were both quite surprised to find ourselves alone in the mega emporium, which is usually swarming with shoppers.

Right then and there and much to my utter thrill and horror, Eshi donned the KABUKI dress she’d been working on... This is THE dress that will have a limited release: five copies only and each will be sold for $50,000L.

Well, she could have knocked me over with a feather; I’d have thrown a sheet over her if it had been physically possible. I was simply horrified with the possibility that someone might teleport in and see it before its proper unveiling. I was thrilled because the dress was unlike anything I’d ever seen in my real or virtual life, and it was so very appealing. I mean, it can be done in Real Life, but I don’t think it has. And the accessories! It is the sort of garment you’d expect of one of the fashion greats: super inventive and beautifully realized… and smart! And sensual.

Of course, I did the only thing any reasonable woman would do under similar circumstances. I promptly begged her to allow me to be a model at the show where this thing of beauty would be released in the wild.

Lucky for me and unfortunately for her, she accepted, so there I’ll be this Saturday, most assuredly making a fool of myself, but the reward will be as rich as a chocolate mousse, hehe. Wild horses will not be able to tear her Collection from my avatar body.

Oh… Eshi did give me a photograph of this dress, but I’ve elected not to publish it. It’s a great pic, but it still doesn’t do the outfit justice. You’ll simply have to be there to see this and the other extraordinary fashions – even for Eshi! - for yourself. I'll give you a couple of hints though. Think Japanese. Think punk.

BOSL Theatre - Saturday, December 13, 2008; 1pm SLT
Teleport to the East Entrance from here; teleport to the West Entrance from here.

...and the most expensive dress on the grid is... NPIRL - RFL reaps the rewards

Sometimes you are just in_the_news. Such is the case of Eshi Otawara this month, as she keeps knocking our socks off with her one hour builds , and the creation of CodeBastard Redgrave's new sim "Rouge..." but nothing could have prepared me for her latest.

Remember this dress?



We went wild in December when Eshi introduced us to this divine, very Not Possible in Real Life frock, which she created using fish hooks. Within days, she issued a limited edition in black, and it became an instant hit.

Fast forward! We are in the final days of this year's brilliantly successful in-world Relay for Life fundraiser, and Eshi wanted to do her part, so this afternoon she offered the very last of the black fishook dresses up for auction at an event hosted by Designers in Seclusion and organized by Alaska Metropolitan and Tigerlilly Koi.

I'm told that the bidding began and, per Eshi, "When the dress reached $150K, I got really excited... at $200K, I got nervous... and at $300K, I quit breathing. Finally, I cried!"

Two women got into a bidding war, but decided to join forces and put up all the money they had to get it: $460,000L!

The winners are Kay Fairey and Clarabelle Cazalet, two models for Premiere Modeling Management. When I asked if they were clothing designers, too, Clarabelle responded, "We're just really good clothes hangers and know how to accessorize!" Kay added, "We are getting ready to make our own fashion publication on the net."


Kay Fairey, Eshi Otawara and Clarabelle Cazalet

Of course, I had to ask what in the world Clarabelle and Kay were going to do with a no-trans dress. Was Eshi going to give it to them transferable? "Yes, because they put up so much to get it, but under the condition that they can only transfer it to a third person if it is for another RFL auction next year," she replied.

8:52pm Update: Eshi has just learned that Kay Fairey won the auction outright, but decided that she will share it with her good friend Clara, knowing that Clara had wanted the dress for a long time. Such a happy ending!