Cyberoptix Tie Lab

On the cover of this week's Real Detroit: (14 more images at Real Detroit's page, so click the link!)

The images are a little small online, so here are some larger ones too:


The Big Hunt
By Keith N. Dusenberry
Nov 22, 2006, 23:59

Here’s how Bethany Shorb, the multi-disciplinary artist who set up, styled and photographed this issue’s cover shoot and inside fashion spread, came to now find herself making a “ridiculous fur coat” for current WWE Intercontinental Champion wrestler Johnny Nitro.

Shorb grew up in Connecticut, about an hour outside of New York City, got her undergraduate degree in sculpture (with a concentration in photography) from Boston University and then came to Cranbrook for grad school. She would — and still does — use her sculpture skills to make props for her photos. Eventually, she needed clothes for the photo shoots — so she started making them too.

Shorb has since done clothing and costume work for movies, music videos and her own clothing lines. Her Eastern Market studio is in perpetual motion. “I like it a lot,” Shorb says of working on so many projects at the same time. “I go crazy if I’m doing just one.” Though she initially became known for goth-y, techno-y rave wear, Shorb has diversified into doing vintage military graphic-adorned ties and deconstructed-reconstructed vintage military coats. Johnny Nitro found her Web site (cyberoptix.com) and bought a tie; the custom fur coat order soon followed.

With clothing, design, sculpture and music, Shorb’s always been a bit of a tinkerer. Besides Dethlab (her musical partnership with Mike Doyle), she also performs as Toybreaker. “I’ve always been a bit of a nerd about taking apart electronics and making my own keyboards,” Shorb admits. “So, I think when I was doing a lot of that in my music, that that project kind of leached into the fashion a little bit … the projects bleed into one another.” | RDW

More info: cyberoptix.com
Dethlab play the Guggenheim Museum in New York on Dec. 1.

Credits:
Photography by Bethany Shorb
Men's pants and shirts provided by Peasant, Birmingham; 248.203.6470.
Men's ties and jackets by Bethany Shorb of Cyberoptix; cyberoptix.com.
Women's clothing by Sarah Vidosh of SPY, Detroit; 313.833.6623.
All hats and accessories, Cyberoptix.
Jewelry by: Suum Jewelry Equations, Ferndale; 734.649.7743
Models: Laurie Smolenski, Stephanie Skuzenski, Elena Callis, Robin Callis, Inky Nkhumise Noge, Michael Doyle, Jon Ozias, Jimmy Edgar.
Makeup Artists: Justin Ruppel, Eric Ford.
Hair Stylists: Amanda Gordon.
Antique Taxidermy provided by the Vidosh family and Oslo.
Additional props by Showcase Antiques; Detroit.
Locations: Northern Lights Lounge, Oslo, Centaur.
Thanks to Brendan M Gillen & Amber Lesicki for the cover location, and
Cyberoptix intern Kelly Pelletier.

Thank you again to everyone who helped out, with locations, props, modeling, makeup - it was a huge project to take on in a very short amount of time. Please come out on Saturday night to the grand opening of SPY at 4470 Second Ave. - most of the garments and accessories featured in the shoot will be for sale.