Lady Blanche
This article is about the public persona known as Lady Blanche. For her real identity, see Acedia Reed.
| Lady Blanche | |||||||||||||
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| Pronouns | she/they | ||||||||||||
| Age | 29 | ||||||||||||
| Alignment | Civilian | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Fashion Designer | ||||||||||||
| Born | February 16th, 2052 | ||||||||||||
| City | Draywood | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5'11ft (180 cm) | ||||||||||||
| Mark information | |||||||||||||
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| Lady Blanche's iconic mark, which she uses as her brand logo as well. | |||||||||||||
| Mark | Dress Up! | ||||||||||||
| Level | Sator | ||||||||||||
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| OOC information | |||||||||||||
| Creator | localiability | ||||||||||||
Lady Blanche, as she's simply known, was a famous fashion designer in Apopka Lights who moved to Draywood three years ago. Since then, she's taken a strong interest in the fashion of heroes, which has lead her to work in costume design. Her efforts have resulted in her winning the Draymark Award for best costume design three years in a row.
Life and Career
Little is known about Blanche's life before stepping into the spotlight. She rarely agrees to do interviews, and when she does, she's been known to contradict information that she's previously stated about her personal life. As such, the only parts of her life that can be taken as fact are the results of her work.
Early Life
Blanche was born to either a single mother in the Factory Sector of Apopka, or to two neglectful parents and raised more by a family friend within New Sector. They have claimed to have two older brothers, and then and older brother and sister, and then stated that those facts didn't actually contradict each other, as one of her older siblings just transitioned. Later, however, she'd state she's only ever been an only child. She claims her mark didn't actually manifest until she was much older, which is, naturally, heavily dismissed as impossible. Blanche also once claimed with a straight face during a live television interview that she was markless, before changing her attire in the same sentence.
Other miscellaneous things she has stated in the past include: she was homeschooled, she stared in a commercial when she was six (although no one knows it was her), she's engaged, she broke her leg when she was ten and found her passion for sewing when she was bored with nothing to do, and that she's actually a Gemini.
She has, however, stated that some of the these things are actually true, but has never clarified what.
Fashion Career
While Lady Blanche is often cited as making her first appearance at the 2076's Nouvelle Ball unexpectedly, it's worth noting she did have two minor credits as an assistance designer before then. No one from those events recall working with her that much, but she had signed off what she had done under the name "Lady Blanche". It's speculated that this was her testing out the name and aesthetic beforehand, and leads many people to believe Blanche had been working in the fashion industry for a long time before debuting as "Lady Blanche".
Her work in the Nouvelle Ball was a smash hit, and Lady Blanche was quickly invited to rich galas and asked to work on more high-fashion shows. Her name became well known in the elite parts of Apopka, and she took private commissions from different CEOs and celebrities to design for them for special events.
Outside of those commissions, though, Blanche was known to hold runways that shifted more into the realm of performance art. One well known example is when, halfway through the runway, the lights turned off and there was a loud scream that came from backstage. When the lights returned, the next model came onstage: with a fake knife wound and blood all over the suit. The rest of the models had similar "murdered" appearances throughout the rest of the show. In another showcase, Lady Blanche had a large exhibit hall bought out and had glass cages for each of the models to stay in, instructed to move and act like puppets on strings throughout the evening. Her most famous (and most controversial) runway, involved her actually setting fire to the stage and having the entire building evacuated, only to then have models ready outside who continued on while the heroes and firemen arrived. No one was hurt, but the building did burn down afterwards. Blanche had to pay for the building's damages and helped rebuild it into a community center after the fact, as well as pay a heavy fine to Apopka authorities.
Critically, Lady Blanche is actually a mixed bag in terms of how she's viewed for her time in Apopka. Her talent with clothing is unmistakable, and it still remains a bragging point in high society to own a gown made by her. However, many critics are quick to write her off as being too eccentric, and not really making any clear points with her art. Critic Veronika Tryst quoted her work as "just someone who wants to fuck with everyone, and is getting away with it spectacularly". Blanche allegedly was quite amused by this quote, inviting Tryst to her next show and having the quote plastered all over posters. Tryst declined.
While Blanche is cited as being difficult to work with, to due being late to appointments, eccentric and demanding, and generally just showing bad worth ethic. Always contradictory, though, the models working under Blanche always have positive things to say, claiming that she was always keeping an eye out for them, and paying much more than what was expected.
Costume Design
In the summer of 2078, Blanche suddenly announced her retirement from Apopka fashion. Just as unexpectedly, she moved to Draywood, and cut contact with most of her old clients and associations.
After moving to Draywood, Blanche started on commissions from different heroes, and shifted her focused from high fashion to costumes. Her signature style became masks, and has caused a rise in their popularity in heroes, villains, and even civilians. She's done work for a variety of heroes, including Miss Opulence, and has won the Draymark award for best costume three years in a row for her efforts. She's set to be in the running for this year as well.
Outside of opening a merchandise line for masks, run by her old assistant Diana Dove under her brand, Blanche has lived a mostly quiet life in Draywood.
Mark
Publicly, Lady Blanche's mark, "Dress Up!", allows her to change the clothes on her body with only a thought, along with her hair color. This is often shown off in interviews or modeling shows. She doesn't answer much other questions about her mark, and uses her own mark design as her iconic branding.
Trivia
- Blanche has cited drag as one of her main inspirations for her performance art and general approach to fashion.
- She designed the costumes for Pestlakare and Flipswitch.
- When asked, Blanche stated her favorite color is brown.
- Her playlist can be found here.