Moodboard for Contemporary Sally Bowles

To create my mood board for Sally Bowles I thought about the key colours I wanted to use for my design which is gold and green. I chose gold to symbolise her want of being a star and famous and chose green because of her infamous green nails that she has which represents her uniqueness. I really like the idea of her hair being brown and sprayed green to almost match ombre black and green lips because this represents how unique she wanted to be and adds that contemporary flare. The key colour of gold I want would be applied to her eyes or upper half of her face as this is where I think it would look best.

In the film Cabaret, Sally Bowles' eyes are emphasised and look large which has been don't by applying long fake eyelashes on. I love big eyes because they can really make the face more striking to look at and wanted to take this feature idea of her and make it contemporary. I've thought this through by applying the eyelashes lower, higher or both on the eyes and colouring what's in-between white to make the eyes look overly huge as does her eyes but this is more of a contemporary spin. The images on the right of my moodboard relate to this.

Anita Berber

Anita Berber in 'Cocaine' Dance www.wornthrough.com

Anita Berber was famous for her erotic and nude dancing performances and symbolized the decadence of Berlin in the 1920's. She lived a short and wild life by taking drugs constantly - she loved drugs so much she named her dances after them. She was mainly addicted to opium and cocaine and drank on average one bottle of cognac a day. She was described to have fiery red hair and wore heavy dark makeup on her eyes and heart-shaped lips along with a pale face. She died unsurprisingly at the age of 29 in 1928 from excessive drug taking along with tuberculosis. 

Otto Dix's painting of Anita Berber, 1925

Otto Dix never used such a vibrant red in his paintings but it makes sense for him to use it for his portrait of Anita Berber because she presents the colour's symbolism - lust, fiery and the colour of Venus. She is positioned in a supposedly sexual way as she appears curvy. I also think what she is wearing is quite thin fabric or almost see through as you can see the outline detail of her stomach. This can show how comfortable she is in her skin and wants to show it off to the world.

Anita Berber Charts

 The image above is my face chart for an Anita Berber design. I wanted her to have heavy black eye makeup and small dark red lips to resemble how Berber wore her makeup everyday. Her skin is also pale as it appears white in pictures of her but with a slight contour to define her cheek bones as I would imagine her face is sunken from drugs. I also thought it would be relevant to apply wrinkles under her eyes because of the effects she'd have from drinking alcohol and taking drugs everyday. I think that Anita Berber's makeup wouldn't always be completely perfect because maybe she was on drugs or drunk while applying her makeup on some days so I would like to not make her makeup absolutely perfect and quite average. She'd be the one applying the makeup, not a professional makeup artist. 

For the hair chart of my Anita Berber design, I wanted to have the era's curls for the style but quite thick and pinned into place. Looking at images of Anita this is how she styles her hair. I thought maybe it doesn't have to be perfect like the makeup because she could have been high or drunk while styling her hair.

How Do I Begin To Understand the Role? (Historical Character)

If I could describe the Kit Kat Girl's character from what I have gathered in this scene she is:

Free - she still has the chance for someone to have her for the night therefore she is free to do what she wants.

Nonchalant - easy going and laid back that Cliff has rejected her as she knows she can have anyone in the room.

Flirtatious - She shows this as she approaches Cliff by asking him to buy her a drink and if he had said yes she would have continued to flirt as the other Girls in the 'Telephone Dance' had.

Bold - shows confidence in asking Cliff to buy her a drink as well as being the first to flirt with a man out of the Girls and doesn't worry about herself when a man says no to her.

What Will Happen If They Don't Get It? (Historical Character)

If the Kit Kat Girl doesn't end up with a man at the end of the night she will end up going home alone. I think if it was any other night she wouldn't care but as it is New Year's Eve she was hoping for a man to flirt with, dance with and take home with. I chose the 1st Girl that is rejected by Cliff because the rest of her story is untold and when it comes to this question, she might be rejected all night by men or she won't be. Another man could have brought her a drink as soon as she went to the bar.

Why Do They Want It Now? (Historical Character)

I think the Kit Kat Girl wants Cliff to buy her a drink and hopefully take her home as it is New Year's Eve and she wants it to be special even if her idea of special is having a one night stand. Flirting and sex is also something that she does and wants to do whenever she's out and just finished a show in the club. She just wants to have fun and enjoy the rest of the evening however she wants to especially as it is New Year's Eve.

Why Do They Want It Now? (Historical Character)

I think the Kit Kat Girl wants Cliff to buy her a drink and hopefully take her home as it is New Year's Eve and she wants it to be special even if her idea of special is having a one night stand. Flirting and sex is also something that she does and wants to do whenever she's out and just finished a show in the club. She just wants to have fun and enjoy the rest of the evening however she wants to especially as it is New Year's Eve.