blackfashion presents: khy “the altar girl” herbert

Khy “The Altar Girl” Herbert is a 25 year old young woman who you will find all over the inter-webs with her stylish outfits, colorful hair and villainous brows. I first found out about Khy through a tumblr post and later spent hours stalking her blog Khymeira.tumblr.com. I asked Khy about her style, her one woman business and her inspirations. Check it out. Javii: I spent hours on your blog, you have one of the most well curated blogs on the internet. How do you choose what makes it on your blog and what doesn’t?
Khy: Thank you, I’m flattered! –I have a solid fixation with the cyberpunk subculture; a genre that has increasing influence in the real world. It carries an adage: “high tech, low life”, which I’ve learned to embrace as a marginalized person. So the content on my blog tends to reflect that–the streamlined, geometric fashion; the dirty, anonymous encrypted messages; the near epileptic glitched-out gifs. They’re all facets that I imagine to be a part of that world. Javii: What would you consider your personal style? (Could Cyber Punk also be considered a personal style?)
Khy: It could be considered a personal style, but I always feel like I’m making a progression. These days, I would consider my style to be… Highly silhouetted, with militaristic leanings. The more combat boots, the better. A lot of my daily clothing pieces are like, the diurnal versions of industrial/rivethead club-wear. Muted enough for day-wear, but still unexpected.
Javii: Kinda reminds me of the early 2000’s underground club scene in movies. How do you feel the Canadian punk scene differs from the rest of the world?
Khy: Damn. I don’t feel truly prepared to answer that. As young people, I do not feel as though we’re in as a dire political situation as say, the alternative youth in Indonesia, or China, where those kids are constantly at odds with their governments. But I’m largely apolitical, which is a pretty bad trait, I’ll admit.
Javii: That’s a conversation for another day. Let’s get into your hair for a second. The first thing that attracted me to your blog was admittedly your hair. I don’t know what to ask so I’m going to ask you to explain your hair for me. Khy: Hair, ha! Definitely one of my more vainer ambitions. I’ve always wanted to attain a colourful crown without frying my hair with bleach, so I began with what I knew growing up: cornrows and braided extensions. But instead of the typical “natural” colours I was subjected to, I dove in with blue one day… Heh, I even managed blue braids to match my uniform during my first McJob. Fun that was. –As of recent, I’ve had synthetic dreads, which I found to be a pretty good protective style mostly. As I run a business that specializes in them, they were the most appealing option. And from there, I simply molded a hairstyle into something that suited me. Javii: I had no idea synthetic dreads existed before your blog, so please tell me more about your business.
Khy: It represents a pretty different side of me–a bit more whimsical, and bright and self-deprecating. It’s called The Dreadful Candy Parlor; it’s an online establishment on Etsy–which you may know as a vending platform for handmade and vintage goods. My shop simply specializes in synthetic dreads, which are something of aesthetic bastardization from the cybergoth and rivethead subculture. I’ve been running it since 2009, and it’s been a great outlet of crafting creativity for me. You can find it at dreadfulcandyparlor.etsy.com. It also has a tumblr blog: dreadfulcandyparlor.tumblr.com. Javii: What inspires you when it comes to your craft and creativity?
Khy: Images of the universe: galaxies and cradles of nebulae; gaseous formations of stars and planetary bodies. I love the idea of attempting to recreate those kind of colour palettes in hair extensions–especially when they’re UV reactive and glow under black light.
Javii: Thank you so much for this interview Khy.

Khy:

Extra facts: I enjoy maple syrup in my morning tea; I’m a graphic designer; I collect sci-fi/horror/slice-of-life comics books. Relationship status: Involved with my mate; we’ve been together for 9 years. That dork is my best friend.
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn (Happy Birthday!!)
Favourite Colour: Black and Cyan
Favourite band: Ugh! Hard question. As of now, Terrorfakt.

Check out more of Khy’s work below.

khymeira.tumblr.com
dreadfulcandyparlor.etsy.com
dreadfulcandyparlor.tumblr.com