The Sins & Redemption of the Swan: Munchflower Zaius' Magdalena Dress

My first reaction when I slipped into Munchflower Zauis' ("Munch" for short) dress that she created for Passions of Black Swan was simply "Wow."  And then I kept repeating "Wow!" to the point where Munch was worried my sanity had gone with my avatar's normal style of clothing (something between pretty princess and casual chic, for those who are curious).  Her "Magdalena" dress stole the show and has been hailed by several bloggers to be one of the most beautiful and bloody dresses on the grid.  

Not only is it gorgeous gothic, but it comes in two colors, Sin Black and Virgin White, and each contains an incredible amount of pieces!  Munchflower delivers the whole package with a bustled, blood-streaked dress that moves beautifully, a veil, a matching pair of boots, gloves, two versions of sleeve poofs, and she includes FOUR tones of a skin she made exclusively for this dress!  FOUR skins!  The tones are very pale with China White, glowy with Ultralight (the tone I love best and am wearing here), warmer Latte and just a touch of sun Fawn.  Munch's skins have been optimized for Windlight with the tiny bloody tears melting into creamy skin, and a rich, satiny crimson lipstick shaping the lips into pouty perfection.

The shading of the skirt makes it sumptiously silky with a subtle sheen.  The splay of blood streaks are artfully done and suggest avant garde beauty instead of a trite gothic "splattered with blood just to have it" quality.  The floaty veil works with a variety of hairstyles.  I chose Munch's own "Kallisti" in Charcoal, an updo with braided pieces holding the hair in place, that is available at her Nomine store. The dress' collar sets off the neck as the front of the dress plunges into a deep V.

The true stunner in this entire ensemble is the heart.  An intricately detailed prim heart sits within the hollow of the chest and is crowned with thorns.  Two versions of the heart are included, one having veins that extend to frame the breasts and one without veins.  When I was oohing and ahhing over it, I asked Munch how in the world she accomplished such a thing, as I've never seen ANYTHING like it.  She chucked and told me that she did have some help with it, but the prim f*ckery to get it to sit perfectly within the chest was enough to drive anyone mad.  I'm so glad she did though, as I'm sure her customers are.  I can't wait to see photography incorporating the heart that is bound to show up on Flickr - it's just too amazing not to show off artistically.

I also asked Munch what inspired her to create the dress.  She remained a little mysterious about her influences from the sim, but did mention the immediate sight of the fallen black swan and streak of blood amidst a stark, white background at the landing point having a lot to do with it.  She wondered what sins the bird must have committed that resulted, or the sins of whoever felled it, but found a sort of redemption in the magical beauty of the sim itself outside the white hallway.

You can find Munchflower Zauis' "Magdalena" dress exclusively at Black Swan.  "Follow the path" and ride the red feather after clicking on the door at the landing point to find it and many other beautiful interpretations of the sim that are available during the "Passions of Black Swan" event.