Established 2008

Metamorphosis: Shu spring 2011

I like the idea behind Shu Uemura's spring 2011 collection, Morphorium.  In my opinion, there is no better time for a transformation-themed collection than spring.  :)  

Here's the Morphorium Blue palette:

Blue outside

Blue inside

Here it is with the flash, you can see the pattern on the blush better:

Blue flash

My sad attempt at some "artsy" angled shots:

Blue angle

Blue angle flash

The blue is dead-on for the butterfly:

Blue-Morpho-Butterfly-Habitat-1
(image from sacredheritage.com)

Now for the Sunset Gold palette:

Sunset gold

Gold inside

With flash:

Gold inside flash

Some other shots:

Sunset gold angle

Gold angle flash

The second I saw the title of this collection I immediately thought of Dali's classic Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937):

37MetamorphosisOfNarcissus
(image from virtualdali.com)

However, Shu's collection is a much more pleasant take on the idea of metamorphosis vs. Dali's more melancholy and ominous interpretation.1   This is an excerpt of the poem written by Dali to accompany the painting:

"Now the great mystery draws near,
the great metamorphosis is about to occur.

Narcissus, in his immobility, absorbed by his reflection with the digestive slowness of carnivorous plants, becomes invisible.

There remains of him only
the hallucinatingly white oval of his head,
his head again more tender,
his head, chrysalis of hidden biological designs,
his head held up by the tips of the water's fingers,
at the tips of the fingers
of the insensate hand,
of the terrible hand,
of the excrement-eating hand,
of the mortal hand
of his own reflection.

When that head slits
when that head splits
when that head bursts,
it will be the flower,
the new Narcissus,
Gala –
my narcissus."

Compare that to the description of the collection at the Shu Uemura website:

"Metamorphose yourself with the mesmerizing glory of nature, just like a mysterious morpho butterfly landing softly onto your shoulder…transform yourself with fascinating, vibrant hues of the blue morpho butterfly for wild, mystic beauty."

Of these two very different expressions of the metamorphosis theme,  I like Shu's better!


1 See "Dali's Metamorphosis of Narcissus Reconsidered" by Milly Heyd.

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