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• October 28, 2008
• Screen Shot

Behind the Mask: The Scary Style of Eyes Without a Face

By Sarah Maher

Georges Franju's 1959 French horror film Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without a Face) stars Edith Scob as Christiane Genessier, a lonely girl whose face is grimly marred from an accident caused by her father Dr Genessier. Trapped in a murderous mansion, surrounded by howling dogs and forced to wear an expressionless white mask, Christiane is haunted by her lost identity whilst wearing a wardrobe of exquisite yet ghastly elegance.

Seeking atonement, the good Doctor attempts to restore Christiane's beauty by kidnapping cute Mod girls and heterografting their surgically removed faces onto his daughter's. Charme, n'est-ce pas? His cutting-edge style only results in face lifts from hell and poor Christiane becomes the metaphorical caged white dove amidst this surreal gore. As she floats through the carnival-esque score in ballet slippers and dramatic, floor length, robe-like gowns, Christiane's haunting mask is framed by upturned collars and unusual necklines. This closet of weirdness creates Christiane's waltz of lonely couture until, wreathed by doves, she flees into the dark woods in an elegantly surreal, poetic moment.

You too can be hauntingly elegant in couture gore with a long Carwash dress from Don the Verb, the Mad Coat by Zero Maria Cornejo and a pair of lamb-fur lined ballet flats by Tashkent. Frame your painted white face under the Cream Knit Hood by Rachel Comey or Telfar's hat/scarf/glove combo, and wear the Eyelash necklace by Stephanie Simek. Don't forget to add 20 circling doves and scalpel for optimum effect.