Following the devastating loss of her father – the late, great rowing coach and Observer journalist Daniel Topolski, British recording artist Saint Clair (aka Emma Topolski) sought refuge in her art; courageously channeling her consequential feelings of grief and sadness into the beautifully inspired visual EP and short film in the violet hour: a portrait on grief.
As an established entity within the entertainment industry, having recorded music and performed on stages around the world for over 10 years, Topolski took a step back from the bright lights of fame following her Father’s passing, instead finding comfort and solace in being around those of whom she cares for most – reconnecting with her past and teaming up with sister, actor/director Tamsin to embark upon a freeing and cathartic journey that would see the pair explore each complex facet of grief meticulously, before marrying together the worlds of music and fashion, to produce a truly profound and transcendent body of work.
“We really wanted to create outfits and costumes for each of the four chapters included in the film, that would ultimately reflect the mood and feeling of each song.” Saint Clair tells us as we begin our conversation discussing the reasons as to how, and why fashion such played an important role in the creation of all four visuals. “The fashion element was absolutely pivotal, and actually really vital, in terms of us being able to express visually the meaning behind the music. Without the clothes, I feel this project would have made far less of an impact.”
Styled by costume designer Kate Tabor (Kylie Minogue, David Bowie Raleigh Richie) and with hair and makeup from Phoebe Llewellyn, the team dug deep; working tirelessly to produce a series of visually striking outfits both authentic in their look, and original in their design.
Here Saint Clair talks us through the fashion, styling and symbolic meaning behind each of the looks featured in the violet hour…
Chapter I: goddess
In Chapter I: ‘goddess’, we bear witness to a young woman very much consumed by grief, desperately trying to suppress and internalise her feelings of pain and sorrow, whilst outwardly finding herself determined to prove to the world just how strong and resilient she can be.
SAINT CLAIR: The point of reference we used for this look was that of a grieving Versace widow – so very over the top, very dramatic, very classic chic Italian female; because no matter what is going on in the world, those women always look so fabulous! Our brief to Kate (Tabor) was ‘grandiose grief’, so think high, haute couture, ultra glam meets gothic widow. I really liked the idea of using the clothes in these videos as a metaphor for masking all of the different stages of grief, so in ‘goddess’ we were able to use this spectacular over the top hat and black dress, as a facade for me to hide my feelings behind.
I guess we were very specific in what we wanted with this look so Kate made the dress from scratch and I loved all of the little intricate details she incorporated into the design – the v-cut sleeves, the sharp neckline as well its pronounced silhouette, because they all helped to create and capture that gothic grief look we were going for.
As Kate used to work with Philip Treacy, she is an amazing milliner, so she built this incredible hat with a lace bow underneath to tie on, with a big black feather in the brim which is symbolic in terms of what happens later on in the rest of the film…
Chapter II: violet hour
In the final frames of ‘goddess’ we observe the metamorphosis from one stage of grief to the next, begin to unfold – Saint Clair is broken, her bereavement and feelings of loss so immeasurable she is drowning, and as a result, now fully embodies and lives within the outlandish bird-like creature we catch a glimpse of at the close of Chapter I.
SAINT CLAIR: For this look we wanted to create something very symbolic, it wasn’t so much about “the fashion” or what I was wearing, we wanted grief to be personified by a bird caught in an oil slick – drowning in it, trying to get up and trying to get out, but all of its feathers are sticking together so it’s near impossible to break free, no matter how hard it tries. We took a lot of our inspiration from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster that happened in the Gulf of Mexico, and Max Porter’s book ‘Grief is the Thing with Feathers’. We actually went to see Cillian Murphy perform a dramatisation of it at The Barbican which really helped inspire a lot of the movement and choreography you see throughout the piece.
We gave Kate free reign in terms of how she wanted to construct this costume – it was hard for me to explain the idea of how I wanted it to look visually, but I knew I wanted it to have a lot of feathers! So Kate went off to a friends goose farm and literally collected loads random feathers off the floor, cleaned them and then individually wove them into this huge mesh wing-span that when lifted above my head created this really striking and powerful, symbolic visual.
Initially it was tricky for Kate to figure out how to attach the wings to my body, but she soon came up with the idea of dressing me in a classic black leotard with white fabric bands wrapped around my body – it’s a very simple, minimal design but it has the desired effect we were looking to create and I was really, really happy with how it turned out.
Chapter III: elegy in c
With its contrasting visuals and calm, serene energy, in Chapter III ‘elegy in c’ we see Saint Clair coming out of the dark and into the light; finally able to face her grief and tackle head on her feelings of loneliness and isolation, before learning to live and love again.
SAINT CLAIR: Chapter III: ‘elegy in c’ marks a total shift in style and visual aesthetic – there are no gimmicks, no tricks, no elaborate costume, and that was very intentional on our part because this video is about symbolising the calm after the storm, and what you’re left with once the world around you has stopped spinning. So we went for neutral tones, natural makeup, slicked back hair, I’m barefoot and wearing a satin-style slip skirt and a peachy coloured vest top and that was it in terms of styling for this shoot – simple and serene.
We wanted this clip to feel like almost a religious experience, and to show some kind of ritualistic bathing and shedding of skin, cleaning off all of the dirt from ‘violet hour’ – it’s very voyeuristic and like I’m in a trance, with the bandages symbolic of my journey to healing.
Chapter IV: better
As the concluding chapter in her story, ‘better’ represents Saint Clair’s spiritual evolution and journey through grief perfectly, as she finds herself living in a new, soothing more comfortable place of self-reflection, empathy and acceptance.
SAINT CLAIR: ‘better’ is a stop animation, so I appear in the video in photograph form. It’s shot in black and white and really, this clip tells its own story as we bring together each element from the previous three videos to create a really special moment. It’s all about reconciliation, acceptance and beginning again.
Look-wise, I’m wearing the same outfit I have on in ‘elegy in c’, but with the addition of these huge white wings that help me to fly away from all of the destruction and pain that I’ve been dealing with since I began this journey to explore and understand the many different, and complex stages of grief.
