Posh goth

>> Why Marilyn Manson and other fanciful freaks are so fond of Jade Devangelis

by RALUCA STATE

“I just want to blow people’s minds away!” says Jade Devangelis. And with her avant-garde designs, the 26 year old has no problem doing just that.
Using leather, sheet metal and a variety of technical processes to achieve a graphic, apocalyptic look, Devangelis has created a fashion dream incorporating the world of haute couture and fetish fantasies. “I really want to create fashion that is more like art, more sculptural, completely non-commercial visual art worn on the person,” Devangelis says as she pores over contact sheets in her Old Montreal loft space. “I think people who wear my clothes immediately feel empowered because they make such a statement.”

The dream started to form years ago when Devangelis, then a classically trained guitar player, started working in one of Ottawa’s more posh boutiques and became immersed in the world of high fashion. After moving to Montreal and studying at the International Academy of Fashion Design, Devangelis’s Sculpt Messyah label was born (Sculpt because the clothes are fitted and resemble sculpture, Messyah because of her strong Christian beliefs). And as of Feb.1, the venture officially became a company with the help of some government grants. “Even if you have to be poor for a while, do it, stick to your guns and eventually things will work out,” Devangelis says smiling.

The hard work is beginning to pay off. This year, Devangelis is creating costumes for Sinners and Saints, a Montreal movie that will premiere at this summer’s Fantasia Festival, as well as working as a stylist for local musicians Western Dream. Most famously, she’s helping to revamp goth king Marilyn Manson’s new image. “He called me up and asked me to get involved in his new image and design stuff,” Devangelis says bashfully. “I really want to focus on working one on one with celebrity artists and musicians. Music is where it all comes from, I listen to music and get all these visions and then I take the visions and try to put them into reality.”

But Devangelis is convinced it isn’t just over-the-top celebrities who covet the Sculpt Messyah look. “Obviously, there’s a part of what I do that’s a bit fetish so it appeals to people in the S&M crowd, but at a more high-end level. I think there’s a market for it here in Montreal; there are some people who want a little flash for one night and they can intermix my pieces with something more simple, like jeans, and it works.”

For now, the one-woman show has been enough, but someday Devangelis hopes to take on seamstresses to help relieve her aching fingers. “Some of my clothes can have up to 200 different pieces involved, so I would need very good, very talented seamstresses. Whatever I need to do to pull off a look, I’ll do.” l

For custom design work, contact Jade Devangelis at 369-754 or sculptmessyah@angelfire.com