Interview: Oswego Zombie Fashion Show

 

To celebrate all things zombie especially during Zombie Awareness month, we here at Brain Bites thought it would be an awesome idea to spread the word of the efforts being made by people all over the world organising zombie related events. We are all familiar with zombie assault runs and the gatherings of hordes for zombie walks through cities but there seems to be another trend occuring that puts the spotlight and emphasis on walking corpses. Think glitz, think glamour... think zombie???!!!

With this in mind please give a huge grumbling moan of welcome to  event organiser, John Grouber!  A little worm told me that John is  organising a gathering of elite undead fashionistas for an evening of gore and glamour this October in the form of a zombie fashion show! 

Hi John, would you mind telling us everything about your event and what your vision of a zombie fashion show entails?

Well, Mash, the Zombie Fashion Show is a culmination of different ideas that have been running around my mind - The simplest way to describe The Zombie Fashion Show is; George Romero meets Fashion Week meets the City of Oswego, NY. It is designed to welcome the fall and Halloween season in a unique way. I absolutely love the costumes and pageantry of Halloween so in some selfish instances I am just extending the Halloween season for myself. 

This is a community event where I invite all of the area’s finest makeup artists, costume designers, cosplay fanatics, “zombie-philes”,  and Halloween enthusiasts to register and walk the runway in their finest “rot couture” – sort of rhymes with haute couture. Registration is free, this year, and is open to all ages, 5 and up. 

Additionally, the venue I have chosen this year is Curtis Manor, a large wedding and event center that will have food available for purchase, and a full bar, and I plan on having some Zombie Fashion Show merchandise available on site as well.

Have you done any other kind of zombie related event before and what made you decide to put on a zombie fashion show?

I have a very complicated relationship with zombies. They absolutely frighten me! I might have to blame that on the movies. I mean, in movies; mummies are bric-a-brac collecting dust, vampires are romantic, witches are great cooks, serial killers are predictable, but zombie movies have the ability to be some of the most creative. A zombie can limp along, or run, or crawl while missing half of its body. 

I even love the saying “braaaiiins” because when was the last time you have seen a zombie eating brains? Most movies show the victims having limbs and entrails being ripped and devoured. It’s just gross! And I love to watch! But before I get off topic, I would like to think that zombies can be fashionable accessorized by a Gucci bag or showing of some Jimmy Choo’s– would he be “Jimmy Chew” at The Zombie Fashion Show?

What categories are there in the show and what prizes have you got that will tempt the undead to the stage?

There are three main categories for the stage. Youth, ages 5-15. Adult, ages 15+, and Group, all ages with 3-10 participants. On the website, oswegozombiefashionshow.com you will see that the youth and adult can have up to two participants. Any more than two will be considered a group. All three categories are judged by creativity, originality, effort, authenticity. Each category will have prizes for first, second, and third place. I collected prizes from many of the local shops, and events around town, in addition I am working on a “Best in Show” prize that is a cash prize. The amount is not yet determined but I can say it’s worth the time and effort to be the best of the best. 

What is it about zombies that made you think they’d be suited to the catwalk?

I feel zombies are perfect for the catwalk because they are the antithesis of what the beauty industry has become. I might be poking fun at some of the celebrities, fashion models, and social media influencers. These judges are not going to be looking for the best smile, or the most expensive gown, or the smoothest skin. I kind of feel sorry for the judges because they will have to look beyond skin deep especially if the skin is rotted away.

What do you think a zombie would consider to be the height of fashion these days? 

I would think a zombie would hope that the last thing they wore was the height of fashion because they seem to be stuck wearing that for the rest of their existence. 

In the world of fashion and celebrity who do you think would make a good zombie model?

Cher! Isn’t she already expected to outlast the rest of us anyways? I can also imagine Naomi Campbell being perfect for the role as zombie model mostly because I haven’t seen her do anything BUT model… so she would be a great undead model.

This sounds like a great thing to get involved with if your into SFX and make-up. Do you have any artists on site to make people up or is it something you encourage all the participants to do themselves?

Of course, I also have a make-up artist that is already taking appointments for those that don’t want to do their own make-up. Melody, The Face Paint Lady, is an award-winning make-up artist that is absolutely stoked to help any zombies in need of a partial skin tear or a full face of gore. However, I do also encourage any participant that wants to do their own make-up to do it, there is a world full of creative people, and I am here to support that!

How can people get involved with the show?

I’m still looking for volunteers and open to sponsors for the show. My biggest ask for the show is to come see the show, and then be a zombie next year. I can almost guarantee that zombies will sign up for 2024 right after the 2023 Zombie Fashion Show.

Finally, If you could have any zombie from a movie as a model who would it be and why?

Follow me on this one, this actor portrayed a zombie in a zombie film but was not actually a zombie. Bill Murray in Zombieland. Now, I can only imagine that he would portray the best zombie and win an award at The Zombie Fashion Show.

I really appreciate you taking the time out to tell us about this awesome event. I wish you all the best with the zombie fashion show and if it's ok we will check back with you for the results!

Thank you, Mash, for taking the time to spotlight my little event during Zombie Awareness month. It’s a pleasure to be doing this interview for Brain Bites.

If you want to get involved  visit  https://m.facebook.com/people/Oswego-Zombie-Fashion-Show/100090570511493/  or  you can contact John via oswegozombiefashionshow@gmail.com.