Nautical Images for Inspiration

Sometimes I find that I need to go back through old Acasta images for inspiration… click on any of the images below to enlarge.

A Fashion Show at Malmaison

The Undressed Lady recently performed in front of an audience of 800 in the Theatre Malraux in Rueil de Malmaison, France in the ‘Joséphine Impératrice de la mode’ fashion show. The performance was part of the Imperial Jubilee held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Josephine.

The four seasons of fashion, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter as depicted through original French fashion plates. The fashion plates from the 1800’s came to life on stage in front of the projection, Mrs. Roberts as ‘Autumn’. 

Each of the 'seasons' was given an opportunity to step to center stage and showcase their clothing accompanied by a narrator and live 4 piece string group.

Later in the program, the Undressed Lady took on the character of the 'Duchess', starting the scene in her undergarments. Her husband looks on portraying her grumpy benefactor.

The servants make haste to dress the ‘Duchess’ in an elegant court gown made specifically for her beforehand. Hers was the longest and most complicated portion of the performance, requiring two women to dress her and one to do her jewelery for the big finale.

The grande finale, Josephine comes out on stage flanked by the ladies of her court in their heavy, ornate gowns.

An extra sneak peak behind the scenes and backstage.

Special thanks to the following photographers who captured the above images:

Luc Morel Photographisme

Coltrane Koh

Video from the Battle of Fort Bowyer

Mission X in Images

The trip to Malmaison was amazing and I wanted to make a special post specifically to thank all the awesome folks who helped to make it happen for us.

Thanks to the guys who helped me get my new wardrobe together, my friends Michael Ramsey and Brian Cushing.

My wife and I are TERRIBLE about remembering to take pictures at events, so another big thanks to all the photographers that were at the event, and for allowing me to make use of their great images here on the Acasta website:

Luc Morel Photographisme

Coltrane Koh

Holly Madchen Photography

Joeri De Rocker

Thanks also to the kind fellow who portrayed Napoleon at this particular event, Mark Schneider. For those of you who might be curious, I actually asked for Mark's permission to do this long before it ever happened. It was important to me that 'Napoleon' be comfortable with the scenario before it happened.

And my final thanks to Cristina and Martin who invited us to this fantastic event! It was an amazing experience that we will not soon forget.

For the record, this was as close as I was ever able to get to 'Napoleon' with the little green bottle.

Video from Mississinewa