Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Liana Kerzner, TV Host and Anthology Editor, Wears Her Own Original Design at Burns Night




Liana Kerzner at the Burns Night Dinner at the National Club, Toronto, 2018.
(click on the images for a larger photo)

Liana Kerzner is an award-winning TV writer, producer, and host. She was the co-host of the TV series Ed and Red's Night Party, one of the Ed the Sock TV series. Another one of the Ed the Sock series, This Movie Sucks, won a Canadian Comedy Award. She is also a writer on video gaming and hosts a video podcast called Lady Bits, which is about gaming and women's issues (sometimes). She also co-edited one of the annual Tesseracts anthologies of Canadian science fiction and fantasy, Tesseracts Eighteen: Wrestling With Gods, which has the theme of religion with science and fantasy.

I caught up with Liana at the annual Burns Night dinner at the National Club in downtown Toronto. She wore the black dress shown in the photograph. Does she look glamorous? She herself designed the dress, and Valencienne, the bespoke luxury designer and tailor of bridal gowns, made it. This is no off-the-rack dress; this is an original.

She occasionally cosplays too, so her experience with costumes must have helped her design this dress. Liana is definitely one of the most glamorous anthology editors around.




Scott Edelman, the Don Cherry of Science Fiction

Scott Edelman has had a long and diverse career in science fiction and fantasy. He was the founding editor of the magazine Science Fiction Age, an assistant editor at Marvel Comics, and the author of numerous short stories. 

His podcast series, Eating the Fantastic, has established him as the Anthony Bourdain of science fiction. But he could also be the Don Cherry of science fiction, thanks to his strange suits. Here we look at some of the suits worn by Scott (click on the images to see a larger photo).



Scott wore this purple suit with a pattern of Mexican Día de Muertos skulls at Stokercon in 2016. 



For Stokercon in 2017, he wore this suit emblazoned with skulls gain. Obviously he likes skulls, which befits a 7-time Stoker Award finalist.  Note that he is wearing it with a red tie and fuchsia shoes. Maybe Anna Wintour would object to this ensemble, but I think it's style innovation.


Scott wore this black-and-white, star-spangled suit at the Hugo Awards at MidAmeriCon in 2016. I opted for the traditional white dinner jacket.


He wore this comic book-themed suit at Readercon in 2016. Here he is with writer Elizabeth Hand.

These suits were created by Opposuits, a New York company that specializes in designing and making weird suits. 

Scott also has some interesting blazers, such as these: 



For his meeting with writer William F. Nolan at World Fantasy Convention in 2013, Scott wore this variation on the traditional pinstripe pattern. The purple, black, and white somehow complement each other, despite all odds.


Scott does have some timeless classics, like this plaid that he wore at Lonestarcon, the Worldcon of 2013. Here he is with First Fandom's David Kyle.

Scott Edelman, whose suits are designed by Opposuits, definitely has a unique style among science fiction and fantasy writers.  





Welcome to Science Fiction and Fantasy Fashion File

Casting my vote for the 2011 Constellation Awards (a now defunct Canadian science fiction movie and TV award) while wearing a Calvin Klein suit with 3 buttons. There was a time when suits had 3 buttons, and I wish that style would come back. The tie by Ralph Marlin has the Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise on it (obscured).

Welcome to Science Fiction and Fantasy Fashion File (SFFFF). I've been a science fiction writer for almost twenty years, and in those two decades, have met many science fiction and fantasy writers and editors. Most bloggers and podcasters report on writers' latest books, their careers, their awards, or other subjects related to the literary genres. But this will be the genre's first fashion blog.

You probably understand why fashion bloggers and podcasters watch movie stars and celebrities on red carpets and awards shows like the Oscars or the Golden Globes, but why would anyone want to see what science fiction writers are wearing? They're not known for being fashion stylists and trendsetters. Just look at what they wear at the Aurora Awards (Canada's national science fiction awards), where the predominant style can best be described as "Value Village Grunge".

But on the contrary, some of them do have a unique style, which you will see. And we're entering an era where we can be experimental on how we report on science fiction and fantasy. For example, Scott Edelman has a delicious series of podcasts called Eating the Fantastic, where he talks to writers about science fiction and food while eating in their favourite restaurants. I thought, if Scott can be Anthony Bourdain of science fiction, I can be its André Leon Talley.

Undoubtedly, my cosplaying background led me here. But this is not a cosplay blog. There are plenty of websites, blogs, podcasts, and Instagram accounts about cosplaying. This will be about clothes that writers wear. Some of their clothes may look like costumes, but that is just a coincidence. Here we will look at the fashions and styles of the literary and arts group that is most overlooked by the fahsionistas.

Derwin Mak


Liana Kerzner, TV Host and Anthology Editor, Wears Her Own Original Design at Burns Night

Liana Kerzner at the Burns Night Dinner at the National Club, Toronto, 2018. (click on the images for a larger photo) L iana ...