Corridor40

Mandy Shadforth isn’t your typical fashion blogger. A professional contemporary visual artist, Mandy’s creative talents shine in her blog, Oracle Fox, and separate her from her fashion blogger contemporaries. Showcasing her eye for beauty, Mandy’s editorials of choice, lookbooks and her own self-styled ensembles reflect her free spirit and bohemian lifestyle. Recently, Mandy opened up to C40 about her anti-Chanel approach to fashion, her nature-loving ways and her decidedly-unorthodox wedding dress (pictured below).

C40. Why did you start your blog, Oracle Fox?

MS. I started Oracle Fox because, as a creator, I had all of this energy to do more. With my artwork, I collect pictures and sketch ideas for my work—but that’s a personal process, and it mainly focuses on my paintings. I wanted to transfer this creativity in a more interactive way—where I could share not only my artistic inspirations, but all things to do with photography, fashion and art.

C40. You’re an amazing artist. How has your artistic ability influenced Oracle Fox? Do you think your keen eye for aesthetics has helped you create a blog that is visually appealing?

MS. I love this question. I had never even thought about how my artistry affected other areas of my life; I always kind of feel like it’s the other way around. However, when I think about it, what you see on Oracle Fox is more of a selfish expression of all of the things that I really like personally. It’s also very fast-moving and spontaneous, posting things that you love right now. So, in that way, it’s very different from painting—which, for me, is a very precise and slow process to achieve the end result. In that sense, Oracle Fox is like the naughty, selfish lovechild of the sensible and well-thought “Mandy, the artist”.

C40. What is your biggest vice?

MS. This is a hard question…can I answer with two things? One is surfboards, and the other is shoes.

C40. It seems as though you have been to a lot of interesting countries recently. How have your travels influenced your style? Are there certain elements from your travels that you try to incorporate into your ensembles?

MS. I really love traveling because it’s a really good way of grounding yourself. While you’re traveling, you see people from different cultures living their lives in a completely different way—and things that may seem important to you are not to them, and vice versa. I really love the cultures with a strong tribal or spiritual element. I get inspired when I see someone draping a sarong in an unusual way, or wearing a special piece of jewelery for cultural reasons. I think this is refreshing, and you can interpret that into the way you dress. I think it’s about self-expressionism, like art.

C40. How has your style evolved since starting Oracle Fox?

MS. Well, since starting Oracle Fox, my style hasn’t really changed. I like to mix and match a lot, and I don’t think I ever really have one particular style. I know I’m definitely not a classic dresser. Coco Channel would hate me; I think her saying was something about taking one thing off before you walk out the door, but mine would be to add one more thing. I think I’ve heard someone else say this once before, and it’s definitely true for me.

C40. When you aren’t creating art or posting on your blog, what can you be found doing?

MS. I am a lover of the great outdoors, and mainly the ocean. My passion is surfing—and I’m not the most amazing surfer in the world, but I love the feeling of your first duck dive when you enter the surf and the water washes over your head; you know that it doesn’t even matter how good the surf is, it’s just good to be out with Mother Nature.

C40. What fashion blogs are you currently stalking?

MS. Ahh…no; this is too hard to answer! I have so many favorites—but, if I had to say some favorites, they would be: Shiny Plastic Hag, Purse N Boots, Lovers In Vain, Knightcat, Studded Hearts, Tobacco & Leather, Dora’s Fur, Wear’s My Other Shoe, Discount and Where Did You Get That.

C40. If you could sum up your aesthetic in three words, what would they be?

MS. Relaxed, rock, bohemian.

C40. Tell me about your works of art. Where do you find your inspiration? What kind of mediums do you primarily deal with? Have your art and fashion backgrounds ever intermixed? If so, how?

MS. Well, my artwork has evolved quite a bit. When I started in this industry, I was a sign writer. I started to feel the need to paint for myself, but I still had to earn a living—so I painted the kind of work that sells very well where I live: very commercial, beach-orientated pieces. In the last year, I broke away from that kind of work completely because, even though I was painting as an artist full-time, I still felt like a sign writer. My current work features symbols of mythology, and is combined with some images that relate to fashion. I’m inspired by old stories of ancient times, and how they translate to now. I pretty much only work in oil, and lately I’ve been using gold leaf in some pieces. People always ask me if I use an airbrush, but I just use a very, very small brush to blend with. So far, my loves of fashion and art haven’t mixed in any other way than by me incorporating the two mediums into my paintings.

C40. What one accessory can you not live without?

MS. My Mania Mania Immortals ring.

Images via Oracle Fox

On Twitter: @oraclefox