le cravatte (Dirty laundry gets washed during Carnevale di Venezia) 威尼斯洗衣記

This Carnevale, I had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend and a very famous face at the Venice Carnevale - Tanja Schulz-Hess.

Often featured on television and in the press, Tanja Schulz-Hess is a well-known face at the Venice Carnevale. Since 2007 at least, she is the most awarded costumer in the history of the Venice Carnevale.

The story behind Tanja's costume, according to Tanja herself: "Dirty laundry gets washed during Carnevale di Venezia" or more popular: " le cravatte"

Most wash their "dirty laundry" at home (as the saying goes in Italy), since I feel home in Venice and there is, hidden "dirty laundry" between costume people behind their backs, let's go.

The ties on the headpiece come from my "Venetian dad". I had bought the shirts for my husband over the years in Venice. He had, ahem, grown out of them and wanted to throw them away. So I said (again), no way! Please note: the shirts in the front form the Italian flag, on the back side the German flag.

 When the Carnevale was revived in the 1980s, the Venetians made many costumes out of old clothes (historical imitations were not yet available at the time, they only came back into fashion years later). It was a time of "radical carnival fashion" out of packaging, old clothes and really household waste. To pay homage to this idea, I made this costume.

 With little bells on the ties so that you could hear them coming. The Medusa like style matched with the "freezing and staring at me" when spectators liked the costume and took photos. The funny bobbing of each individual tie amused the audience and I had a lot of fun not only being elegant for once, but also a bit Pagliaccio, playfully cheeky, in the spirit of the Commedia dell'Arte, which I love very much.

That's why I chose the classic treface, which I even doubled, front and back. There were six laughing, crying, angry and emotional faces. For me, in this costume they symbolize the environment and people we meet every moment and also our inner self, which carries just as many expressions and feelings.

I also had a stick mask in contrasting black, with Japanese patchwork technique Kintsugi on it, which symbolizes my inner brokenness and healing. A process that comes with life at our age (I'm 54). On it was written "A life less ordinary" - a life that is less average. I am blessed and deeply grateful that the Carnevale di Venezia has offered me this vital platform for inner expression and balance for the normal, crazy everyday life for 26 years now.

And because I am so grateful for that, for the city of Venice and its wonderful locals, with whom I have been friends for years and who are a close family to me and for whom I have learned the language and culture of the city, I incorporate as much of their culture as I can.

 That is why I also incorporated small clotheslines that you can still find in less touristy sestieres (under my arms and on the hem of my skirt) on which you can see bedding, towels, shirts and underwear dangling. And my "Venetian Mamma" gave me the detergent bottle, straight from her laundry room. I also wrote Spritz on the back, much to the amusement of the spectators. Because Spritz is my "fuel" for the Carnevale. Enough sugar to keep me on my feet, enough "painkillers" for my sore feet and sometimes, after 8 hours of straining on my headdress, liquid to evaporate, because I can't go to the toilet for 8 hours in this costume.

During this Carnevale I not only wore the headpiece with the full costume but also with my special "Carnevale coat" that I made years ago and I wear when in "civic". The funny glasses Peggy Guggenheim style/D&G completed my artsy "off costume look" during leisure days. So this headpiece was very versatile and gave many people lots of laughs. Men who wear ties and never saw a comical aspect in it, women cracking up laughing about the lack of seriousness usually connected with ties. And a woman wearing more ties than a man ever would. Kids seeing the playful abstractness "Mom, look, ties! They look like snakes!" I'd like to point out and give a huge shout out to my dear husband who made very special, exotic knots into each and every tie after tutorials of Jonathan Farley, a gentlemen style pro from Scotland (look for him on Instagram for his fun tutorials). Zoom into the photos to see the Sidney opera knot, the Merovingian, the Eldridge, etc. Ties don't have to be boring! They speak their own language."

Tanja is the real Madonna at the Venice Carnevale. This year, I like this le cravette costume with its stitching of pieces of old clothing together. The idea reminds me somewhat of a popular Japanese fashion brand Comme des Garçons (French for 'Like Boys'), a brand that has associated itself with the arts and cultural projects internationally.

I always like my models and their costumes to be the highlight of the photo rather than the backdrops being a focus, so this year, we chose to do the photos on the busy streets of Venice, with only a brown wall of an alley as the backdrop. The intended result is to be like a studio shoot for a magazine cover, except everything is done outdoors and using only natural lighting...

Every year, I enjoy very much coming to the Venice Carnevale. I have been doing this for more than 10 years now. Everyday at the Venice Carnevale is a very busy time for me, with my schedule packed from dawn to dusk. There is always so many friends to catch up with and so many people to photograph. Most of us end up with worn out shoes and blisters on our feet after 2 weeks at the Venice Carnevale. But all these are nothing compared to the sacrifices my costumed friends have to undergo - they have to wake up hours before me to get the costumes ready and I suppose it easily takes another hour or so to change out of their costumes. The only aftermath I have to deal with is the photo processing. Being computer illiterate, I spend at least 30 minutes on each photo, sometimes much more... But every moment is worth it. I work with a smile on my face each time I see an unusual and beautiful creation like Tanja's costume...

The only regret I have in Venice is I cannot have a Spritz with my friends - I really need stable hands for the camera!