Victoria leather and metal artist Ian Finch-Field never expected to be involved in a Justin Bieber fashion controversy.
But since Justin has been pictured wearing the designer's steampunkinspired gauntlet, or medieval glove - a jump from the pop star's cleancut style - bloggers are taking notice. While not as contentious as that infamous February haircut when Bieber bid adieu to his signature swoop, MTV is calling this new look, including the gauntlet, a "shocking style transformation."
Finch-Field said he received a call from Justin's stylist in October, asking for the one-of-a-kind armpiece.
"I kept my cool," Finch-Field said with a laugh.
The main body of the $3,000 gauntlet, which Finch-Field spent about 30 hours creating, is made from vegetable-tanned leather and brass. It also features an LED light, a vintage watch and compass - and a little piece of Victoria.
"I used old hydraulics from the wax museum," he said of the Victoria landmark that closed its doors last year. "They had a bunch of stuff thrown out on the side of the road."
He said he regularly includes found objects, typically pieces of machinery, in his work.
Justin's stylist told Finch-Field that the piece will be featured in the singer's Santa Claus Is Coming to Town music video, to be released alongside the film, Arthur Christmas, on Wednesday. Bloggers aren't the only ones responding to an advance photo posted on Bieber's website - Finch-Field said he's receiving feedback from the steampunk community, too.
"I'm getting a lot of flak from people saying I'm selling out," Finch-Field said. "They think there's going to be a whole bunch of teenyboppers running around ... not knowing what steampunk actually is."
He said it doesn't bother him. "To each [his] own."
Steampunk is at once retro and futuristic - a science-fantasy-inspired style that features elements of 19thcentury technology.
Designers often mix in elements from various eras and regions - infusing cowboy themes as seen in the film Wild, Wild West, for example. Finch-Field's work has a decidedly medieval influence, from his breastplates to masquerade masks. The artist, who grew up on a farm outside Golden, B.C., said he has always been interested in medieval times.
"Ever since I can remember, I've been fascinated with those times," he said. "Blacksmithing and leatherwork and everything else."
He didn't set out to make accessories in the steampunk style; he'd never heard of it until he made leather gauntlets for a pirate-themed party and a friend pointed out the style similarity.
He began working with metal at 16 when he made a full-sized metal dummy, which he set free down a snowy slope to take on ski jumps in an informal competition. It took at least three months to make.
"Back then, I had really bad insomnia, so I'd just get up, go to the yard, and work on it," he said. "I've always just been really attracted to working with metal, just using my hands. There's nothing else like it; you just bang it into anything you want."
Finch-Field sells everything from wrist-cuffs and key chains, to breastplates and pouches, which can be bought online at Etsy.com.
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