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Drag in Fashion #005:  Noel Oganyan

William Dill-Russell's Fatale Collection

Designer William Dill-Russell

Photography Alessandro Merlo

Styling Daniel Gray

Make-Up Gareth Harris using Kryolan

Hair Billie McKenzie

Whats your career path/ what do you do for a living? 

 I want to one day become a successful fashion photographer and stylist and own my own magazine to document my work and other creatives work as well.

I'd be mainly involved in visual art and image making but would like to do set design and use the art world as a platform when I feel its necessary. 

 

Do you think that gender fluidity is shown through out fashion? 

I think that recently its became a subject which has been more spoken about but i do feel like its a marketing strategy for brands at the moment. 

 

Do you agree that women have more of a choice when it comes to gender fluidity compared to men in terms of clothing availability and acceptance? 

Yeah of course like women have so mu h more freedom and choice when it comes to clothing where as men are stuck with the same few cuts in the same few fabrics and the same few colours…..Its annoying

 

Favourite Drag Queen/LGBT Icon?

 Favourite drag queen is probably GaGa or Cher. Im mostly inspired by my friends to be honest, like people who can get on a tube by themselves at night with a full face of makeup and 7-inch heels, they’re my idols. 

 

What is your favourite movie?

I have loads, anything tim burton cos I'm a goth queen, anything girly comedy and shit like She’s the Man, Mean Girls or Easy A, I like Mysterious Skin its about gay prostitutes & aliens and i like campy horror like Rocky Horror & Death Becomes Her.

In Your Own Words

"My practice often explores identity through the means of gender,

sexuality and beauty."

One's identity can never be stable, it is constantly changing and I find it fascinating to follow personal development.

My recent work documents the evolution of my own identity and aesthetic, My practice helps me to accept myself for who I am as I challenge myself to find beauty in the body that I have always hated and rejected as a queer transgender person.

In my life and practice there was always the presence of some invisible deity I was looking for, and I myself became the result of this long search; the one whose appearance I foretold. 

 

Favourite designer? 

   Gareth Pugh, McQueen, Thom Browne, Iris Van Herpen, 

                 Richard Quinn is a new fave, loads more.

 

If you could be in any fashion campaign what

brand would it be for For this season?

                 The Marc Jacobs AW16 collection cos of them

                                    boots to be honest. 

 

How do you refer to your self in terms of gender?

(Male, female,transgender or genderless.) 

I wouldn’t consider myself genderless because I think I sit amongst everything and just do what i want.

Those who know me who I can wear jeans and a cap and jumper one day & the next a face of makeup and gems and heels on.

I don’t think I’ve considered my gender status too much. 

 

"My practice often explores identity through the means of gender, sexuality and beauty. One's identity can never be stable, it is constantly changing and I find it fascinating to follow personal development."

"With Love"

My recent work documents the evolution of my own identity and aesthetic. My practice helps me to accept myself for who I am as I challenge myself to find beauty in the body that I have always hated and rejected as a queer transgender person. In my life and practice there was always the presence of some invisible deity I was looking for. And I myself became the result of this long search, the one whose appearance I foretold. 

The 'Poirot' film creates the identity for a fictional character and provides clues to their personality through little details  without showing their appearance. I find the lo-fi film aesthetic and the 'investigation' narrative curious as it allows for imagination and personal interpretation, which is one of the basic attributes of fiction. Curiosity turns into interest, interest into affection, affection into love.

 However, it is not about romance, although everything that is about Poirot is to some extent about romance. 

I have initially created 'The Foil Radio Station' as a series of podcasts elevated to the fictional world's power with its own characters, news, shows, weather, etc. I have then developed it into a live internet radio with its own studio, where anyone is welcome to join the voices of the radio. I ask "tell me all the secrets that you have never told anyone" and they usually tell, I find this border between hyper-private and hyper-public in radio very curious. Another purpose of this project is to explore the relationship between a novel and sound as two different mediums. The fictional narrative of the Foil Radio is beyond physical and eternal and, therefore, turns this radio station into an alternative universe only broadcasted sonically. 

What I like about the untidy mess of communications produced by the new technologies is that nothing is prescribed, nothing is complete and, above all, there is no pretence. Everything is wild, experimental, precarious. The 'Loading Your Time' project visualises the passing of time. It is absolutely useless, however, the aim of this online site is to provoke thoughts and realisation of how time can be wasted or even stolen (in this case, by me). It is ironic and usually leaves people feeling confused, annoyed or amused. It also explores the semiotics of the modern technology-led culture, in which after a loading bar something is expected. Moreover, it questions the values of a modern person and the amount of  time that a person is ready to 'risk' in order to satisfy their curiosity, as nothing at all is said or promised on the home page. 

A wooden box with a lens viewfinder was created inspired by the Victorian optical experimentations. The box is essentially a very small cinema, with its personal interior and screen.

The 'Loading Your Time' webpage was then placed on a disc with a poster booklet. Due to the fact that whatever gets published on the internet becomes no ones and everyones, no marks of authorship were made.

The first look of the 'Fluid' project is a reflection and a visual exploration of trans masculine identity. Chest binding is a casual ritual for transgender men and genital reconstruction surgery requires the skin transplanted from one of the arms. 

'With Love' is a personal project which reflects on my difficult relationship with my mother. My traditional Russian family has rejected my identity as trans, gay and queer. The disapproving thoughts from my family always sit at the back of my mind. My dream has always been to be able to talk closely to my parents and share my emotions. These postcards are all addressed to my mum, yet were never sent. I would only have sent them to her knowing that they would be destroyed. When I am writing, it feels like I am praying, but my mum, like a vicar, only absolves the sins she picks and chooses. With this project, I challenge myself to own my identity, which is the only reason I can continue to endure the contempt from the closest people. The hero of Günther Grass's novel called the books the "coffins of words". I think postcards are the same story, with the only difference being that it is exclusively cremation."

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