Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Come one, come all
Photography by Gypsy Hill
This issue's menu includes a scorching hot feast (literally, it was 95 degrees) filled to the gills with conversation, red wine, and a taste of humble pie.
Dinner is Served
Convening somewhere in Bushwick over July 4th weekend, the editors of the KLEAN attempted to defy the laws of nature with an elegant dinner party without A/C. What follows is a loose recollection of the conversation and events.
Photography by Gypsy Hill
Red Dress
The rules of the dinner party were very simple: almost everything had to be red. Our goal was to create an immersive sensory experience where we completely enveloped ourselves in the mood and feeling of red. We wore it, drank it, and consumed it until we communed with the energy of femmes past and present .
MAJOR ARCANA
When throwing a gathering with your local coven, it is essential to cover your table with the right decor to ward off evil spirits. Burn red candles for courage, protection, and strength. Blast Cher to keep cis-men at bay.
Photography by Gypsy Hill
I DON'T SWEAT I GLOW
[Image description: Two similar looking brunettes wearing red dresses and resting bitch face. They sit at a table covered in candles, flowers and other knick-knacks. They are covered in sweat and look vaguely hungry.]
Red manifesto
The color of wine. Raw meat. Fresh blood. Lacquered nails. The perfect lipstick. The richness of chocolate. A deep tissue massage. A deep orgasm. Sex. Heartbreak. A nasty period. A nasty woman. Intimidating. Powerful. Bold. Grown-up.
Female. Femme. Fatale. Lady. Woman. Witch. Bitch. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck.
Why red?
Color is reactionary. It has the power to convey emotions and meanings without words. Instead of serializing our content numerically or by season, we wanted to thematize it instead. Creating content in the abstract forces us to rely on our gut instincts and creative intuitions. To begin our experiment we chose the color red - a deeply emotional and intuitive color. Red stimulates the appetite. What better color for a dinner party?
The KLEAN is about all catharsis and no color expresses emotion better than red. We see it as a return to adult womanhood, feeling it is essential to reassert our power. No more millennial pink, it is infantilizing and we flatly reject it as the color that defines our generation. Be bold. Be red. Be KLEAN.
Red 18-1550
- A bold red that is warm, sensual and immediately pleasing to the eye
- Gets the metaphorical blood of the palette pumping
- Exciting and dynamic, breeds unmistakable confidence
- Red tones invite confidence and warmth
—Leatrice Eiseman executive director, Pantone Color Institute™
a brief history of red
The color red has been entwined throughout human history regardless of culture. In a series of installments we will explore how the color has played a role in our culture and how our favorite femmes have used the color to shape history.
- Red was used by ancient romans to dress their gods.
- In India, China and Nepal, brides wear red traditionally, as it brings good luck.
- A red 'kimono' in Japan defines good luck and happiness.
- Easter eggs were painted in red color in greece.
- South Africans use red as the color for mourning.
- In Celtic culture, red stands for afterlife and death.
A huge thank you to Gypsy Hill for their photographic talent and sense of humor & Zenobia for her incredible hair and makeup & for keeping us looking cute and matte on a 95 degree day!