Left: Swimsuit, Tomas Maier. Necklace and earrings, Anna Sheffield. Right: Tank top, Duskin. Choker and earrings, Anna Sheffield. All other necklaces, stylist’s own.

Photography by Gustavo Marx. Styling by Erin Dixon. Makeup by Ronnie Peterson. Model: Alexa Wilding.
Click “Read More” for additional wig images.

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but Kate Cusack prefers to keep more modest company. A jewelry designer, costume sculptor and all-around artist, Cusack favors zippers and Saran Wrap over gems and fine metals. But just because she works with materials that most would find mundane, doesn’t mean that her jewelry is any less exquisite: “There’s an ease to working with something that is not precious. When you work with things that are meant to be thrown away, you just have this freedom and can work with them more creativity,” says the unconventional designer.

Best known now for the intricate cuffs and necklaces she crafts out of zippers, Cusack’s artistic inclinations can be traced back to her childhood. Growing up in Brooklyn, she was influenced by her mother, an illustrator, and father, a graphic designer. Her school day ensembles almost always included a tutu and her favorite “dress-up” shoes, a pair of glittery silver high heels that still serve as a source of inspiration. But the imaginative Cusack’s talents weren’t fully realized until her first year at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where a professor assigned her the task of making a Halloween costume. “I started making clothes out of strange materials like tinfoil or plastic bags, and I realized that that was exciting to me.”

Throughout her years at MICA and her Master’s studies at the Yale School of Drama (where she focused on costume design), Cusack made gowns from books, tablecloths and even sponges. But it was her experiments in Saran Wrap that jumpstarted her career. “I was sitting in my friend’s apartment and he had a role of Saran Wrap on the table. I just started wrapping [it] around my knee, and then I picked it up and it was cone-shaped so naturally, I just put it on my head. Then I thought, ‘Oh this would be really exciting to make a wig out of.’ ” Tiffany’s agreed, and they commissioned Cusack to make five massive Marie Antoinette-esque wigs for a Mother’s Day window display in 2003.

Around this same time, another material caught Cusack’s eye: zippers: “I was working on a community art parade, and we were working in a space that was shared by an antique store. They were throwing away a big slipcover that had been on a couch from the 1960s, and it had this huge zipper that went all around it. It was such an extreme amount of zipper, and I started seeing it as not just a zipper but as this metal faceted object that I could shape into something else.” Not long after this encounter, Cusack created a Chanel-inspired zipper rose pin. Her adventures with the material have continued ever since. Now, Cusack has mastered her craft, coiling, swirling and sculpting zippers into textured baubles. Her necklaces are bibs with an art-deco twists. Her cuffs are bubbling statements that radiate from the wrist and according to the designer, there will soon be zipper earrings as well.

Unexpectedly elegant and wearable, each of the designer’s creations is a kind of marvel. But according to Cusack, these bizarre manifestations of beauty aren’t just accessories, “They’re wearable works of art.”

Earrings and cuffs, Anna Sheffield. Cardigan, vintage. Necklaces, stylist’s own.

Left: Necklaces, stylist’s own. Right: Tank top, Acne. Necklace, Anna Sheffield.

Image by Edwin Tse

Alexa Wilding is far more than a pretty face. A native New Yorker, this enchanting songstress has taken the indie scene by storm with her eerie melodies and folk roots. After spending a day in the studio with photographer Gustavo Marx, designer Kate Cusack’s wig sculptures and Alexa’s angelic features, Katharine Zarrella had a chance to chat with the singer-songwriter about what’s behind those bewitching eyes.

Katharine Zarrella: How would you describe what you do?

Alexa Wilding: I think of myself as a writer who happens to be musical, so I set my words to song. I was a ballerina as a child, so my commitment to and reliance on music go way back. In a sense, I am still twirling and jumping across the stage, except now I am sharing my own stories. I guess I would call myself a storyteller, but sometimes what I am sharing is more of a mood than a story with a beginning, middle and an end. Much like one of those old black-and-white Balanchine ballets.

Katharine: What inspires you to write music?

Alexa: I think music is such a giving medium. I love nothing more than, in conversation with someone, realizing that I know exactly what they’re talking about. Music has always had that function for me. Songs are friends you can relate to. I write my own music to provide company for myself and hopefully for others, too. Choose your own adventure—I loved those books growing up…

Katharine: So, how did it feel to dance about the photo studio with a three-foot wig atop your head?

Alexa: They were heavy! It took me a few hours to regain my balance, and I had a delicious ache in my neck—from fun! Kate’s wigs are incredible. I had no idea they were made out of plastic until I saw them. From the pictures they almost looked like they were made out of cotton candy.

Katharine: What was going through your mind during the shoot?

Alexa: I went into ballet mode. Gustavo was so gentle and graceful that it was almost like we were dancing a little duet. I had to really focus to keep the wigs from falling off, so I was definitely in a trance.

Katharine: What kind of “character” did you become during this photographic spectacular?

Alexa: Before hand I thought I was going to channel Marie Antoinette, but it was more like Virginia Woolf’s Orlando came out to play. Orlando as a woman, that is. I thought the styling was brilliant: tough, minimalist contemporary clothing and jewelry and then this thing on my head…so I didn’t feel old-fashioned. I felt very modern.

Katharine: If you were to don one of Kate’s wigs on an ordinary Alexa Wilding day, what would you wear it with?

Alexa: I tend to be extreme in how I dress; it’s always one way or the other. I’m either in a very feminine dress by my friend Paola of Ivana Helsinki, or I’m dressed like a little boy.

Katharine: What was this experience like in comparison to playing a show?

Alexa: It was very similar, except I was mute. Therefore it was a great challenge for me: How do I tell a story and keep my mouth shut?

Katharine: And last, but not least, where can we find you?

Alexa: On iTunes. My EP—mixed by Television’s Fred Smith and featuring Tim Foljahn—is now available for download.