Marilee Caruso and I shot some fun Black Lodge-themed cosplay images earlier this year, featuring me as Laura Palmer from David Lynch’s and Mark Frost’s quirky Twin Peaks TV show. We went for a slightly 1930s-1940s Laura as the show is known for its frequent retro visual callbacks, and – as I was 48 at the time the photos were shot – an older Laura, which is more in line with the third season of the show. The final season aired in 2017, featuring versions of all the characters aged 25 years from their original appearance during the early-90s run of the show.
More after the jump…
It’s taken me awhile to post these as they were published in the most recent issue of Retro Lovely‘s Masquerade cosplay publication. Its editor and publisher, Michael Bann, passed away last month, leaving all of us stunned and incredibly sad. His positive influence on the pinup community cannot be overstated, and his kindness and fairness will be missed. So, it’s with bittersweet feelings that I share this set, as it appears in my last Retro Lovely publication during Michael’s tenure.
A lot of thought went into this shoot. As I’m more of an Audrey Horne myself, my initial impulse was to recreate a version of that character instead of Laura Palmer. But I quickly realized that it would be difficult to convey the Audrey character with clarity in a single set of images. So, I decided on a Black Lodge theme, which would supply instant recognition with its bold (and relatively easy to recreate) set decoration. That naturally meant having to settle on Laura Palmer, who spends some memorable television moments in the Black Lodge.
A blonde wig (styled in a way that is reminiscent of Sheryl Lee’s hairstyle in Season 3), a zig-zag rug, Marilee’s red velvet curtain backdrop, and my vintage “saturn lamp” (made famous at the 1939 World’s Fair) helped us create a pretty good “Laura in the Black Lodge” photo set. I completed the look with a long, black Gene dress from Trashy Diva and an emerald-and-pearl brooch reminiscent of the ones worn by Lee in the show. While not found in the Black Lodge, Marilee’s 1940s television cabinet recalls the Twin Peaks 1991 movie (Fire Walk With Me) scene in which the glow of a television appears to flash across Laura’s face, and the starfield on the screen (and sneaking into the background) is an allusion to some of the television-themed visuals from Season 3.
For reference, an original scene from the 1990s:
And behind the scenes footage from work on Season 3, showing Sheryl Lee reprising her role as Laura:
You can order this issue, and others, via my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/strangegirl