HAUS OF HOLBEIN
This case draws its inspiration from the lyrics of the song "Haus of Holbein" featured in the SIX musical. SIX is a British musical comedy created by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, which offers a modern reinterpretation of the lives of Henry VIII's six wives, presented in the style of a pop concert.
Haus of Holbein case, as well as it's theme song, has a purpose to humorously critique societal beauty standards for women and show how the beautifying practices may be detrimental to women, all in the pursuit of looking appealing to men.
MUSIC
SIX - Haus of Holbein
"Haus of Holbein" is the seventh song in Six the Musical. The title is likely a reference to singer Lady Gaga's creative team, the Haus of Gaga. It is a satirical song about women's beauty standards, as well as referencing the portrait of Anna of Cleves painted by Hans Holbein the Younger, which is often blamed for her divorce from King Henry VIII.
PHOTO
by Anastasia
STYLE
Costumes by Alexandra
Make-up by Evgenia
Models: Ksenia Padun & Yasha (Iana Zhuravleva)
IDEA
Snapshots by Anna
Hans Holbein, King's Painter to Henry VIII, painted portraits of several women for Henry to select his next bride, as his previous wife passed away. Lyrically, the song "Haus of Holbein" describes how women in the time period were expected to go to great lengths in order to make themselves look appealing to men, such as wearing makeup that contains lead, which is poisonous to humans, and bathing in urine due to the ammonia lightening their skin and hair. These standards are also comparable to modern times, since women today are still expected by society to change aspects about themselves to appeal to men's tastes. Choreography is staged in a comic style in order to emphasize the absurdity of such standards.