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FASHION
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1. METAL HAT: Made from an appliance accessory and some ribbon. 2. WIG: From a Halloween store in Regina. 3. FACE PAINT: Walmart.
4. ARM COVERAGE: Grey pantyhose with the feet removed. 5.
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6. TRAY: Made from various boxes, Photoshopped labels, paint and ribbon.
7. DRESS: Homemade, fabric from Globe Fabrics.
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8. LEGGINGS: From a Halloween store in Regina.
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9. BOOTS: Basic black boots spray-painted silver.
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QC PHOTO BY MICHAEL BELL
Hardware store provides inspiration for cyborg costume By Andrew Matte
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5. GLOVES: From a Regina Halloween store.
CYBORG CIGARETTE GIRL
To properly celebrate this futuristic costume, we must look into the past. Ashley Martin, the creative reporter whose work usually graces the fashion page in QC in Regina and Bridges in Saskatoon, agreed to resurrect her fashion-conscious costume from 2011. If there were an Olympics for Halloween costume design, Martin’s silvery Cyborg Cigarette Girl from the Future would win gold, if not only for its merits as a piece of fashion, but for its originality. Martin’s first idea was to somehow transform herself as an “alien or robot or something.” She set off to Lowe’s in Regina for inspiration and found herself in an aisle full of appliance accessories, including aluminum ducts and other silver bits and pieces. “I found this one little piece that looked like a cigarette girl hat … that’s when I thought ‘cyborg cigarette girl,’” said Martin, adding she still isn’t sure of the real purpose of her makeshift hat. “I think it’s something you put under your washing machine, but I’m not sure.” The rest of the costume was easier, especially since it meant she could apply paint to her face, one of Martin’s favourite Halloween initiatives. “I have this weird compulsion to want to paint myself on Halloween. Some people want to dress sexy. I just want to paint myself.” As for her dress, she made it herself using shiny material purchased from Globe Fabrics in Regina. “It’s pretty rough. I am not a great seamstress. But it works pretty good as a Halloween costume.” There’s more to Cyborg Cigarette
Girl than her clothes — she sells cigarettes, after all. The outfit comes with a tray full of cigarette packages whose company logos have creative names like Martian Marlboro and Player’s Robot Cut. There’s also a version of the du Maurier brand, but there’s a bilingual component — the name appears in English and in a made-up alien language. Cigarettes are rather expensive in the future, as you might guess. The Cyborg Cigarette Girl from the Future made two public appearances last year, including the 2011 Halloween party at Crave, as well as at a show by Toronto indie band Zeus at the Exchange. This year, Martin plans to resurrect her costume of the secretary from the movie Beetlejuice. “I don’t normally like repeating costumes year after year ... but (this) was one I did when I was 20, so I think enough time has gone by.” Other unique costumes Martin has developed include a leprechaun — with a painted green face, of course — and the victim of a meatcleaver attack to her head, which was made with the help of her father when she was in Grade 7, a getup that earned her an award for best costume. As she ventures out this Halloween, she scoffs at suggestions that Halloween should only be celebrated by children. “I think the love of dressing up isn’t just for kids. I think you can be a grown up and still like getting dressed up in costumes,” she said. “In my real life, I am never going to be a cyborg cigarette girl. I am never going to be an undead receptionist … I guess it’s about having the chance to become somebody you’re not.”