Halloween shoot

Gery Keszler and the VIP ghosts he summoned

Shortly before Halloween, Gery Keszler stages a gruesome photo shoot for some celebrities.

(Bild: Life+/Vlad Dobre)

Life Ball organizer Gery Keszler has been quiet for a long time - but now he is giving an insight into his new project: the LIFE Costumes Atelier in Vienna. There he keeps around 1000 costumes from the Life Ball era and opens his "treasure trove" to all costume and culture fans just in time for Halloween.

We haven't read anything from Gery Keszler here for a while - until now. The Life Ball organizer "didn't feel like going out at all in the last few months". But he also tells us where he's been all this time: In the LIFE Costumes atelier (all information at www.life-costumes.org) in Vienna, where incredible treasures are cherished and cared for, and not just from the Life Ball past.

A place of creativity and inspiration
"Together with Amir Sirdjani, I have brought this warehouse out of its slumber. We have 1000 costumes! But we don't just want to turn this place into a costume rental shop with rentals and purchases, for example from the Mörbisch Lake Festival," he tells the Krone. He wants to turn it into a meeting place for creative minds, a place of exchange and inspiration, so to speak.

A small Halloween performance show included, when he dressed up celebrities such as ORF choreographer Conny Kreuter, all-rounder Caroline Athanasiadis, mime Paul Winkler and boxing champ Fadi Merza in costume shortly before Halloween. The Artelier, where workshops with fashion students are usually held and valuable knowledge is passed on, was already buzzing. So it's only a matter of time before the first party a la Keszler takes place here.

Successful photo shoot by and with Gery Keszler.

(Bild: Life+/Vlad Dobre)

Mastermind Gery Keszler staged the VIPs with body painting, world champion Birgit Mörtl and photographer Vlad Dobre and explained to us which of them should represent what.

We would say: photo shoot a success! See for yourself.

Successful transformation: Conny Kreuter at Gery Keszler's Hallloween shoot.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Life+, ORF)

Professional dancer Conny Kreuter as dancing queen
Gery Keszler on the pitch-black, mystical-looking costume of the ORF choreographer and gymnast: "Conny is a Transylvanian queen of the night. A motif almost exclusively for Vlad, our photographer - he is Dracula's namesake with a real name"

Conny Kreuter is "De Dia de los Muertos" (The Day of the Dead).

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Life+, Grassmugg)

Cabaret artist Caroline Athanasiadis as a fiery red deity 
It would have been impossible to know that she was hiding behind the fiery red scary costume without a resolution. Keszler: "She represents the 'Dia de los Muertos'. This is the figure of the Mexican Day of Death, which, like Halloween, also takes place on October 31."

A yellow work of art: Georgij Makazaria as Henry VIII.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Life+, Christian Jauschowetz)

Musician Georgij Makazaria as the brutal king 
Would you have recognized him? Behind this yellow work of art is none other than singer Georgij Makazaria. Gery Keszler and his entire team really let off steam with his costume. The Lifeball father on his "work": "Georgij represents Henry VIII and his unfortunate wives." Creepy.

Creepily elaborate body painting for boxing champion Fadi Merza.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Life+, Mario Urbanschitsch)

Thai boxer Fadi Merza as a ghost soldier
Keszler had a very special idea for this particularly opulent costume and elaborate body painting, which took several hours to realize. For him, the boxing champion Merza represents "a ghost soldier from the 30-year war, ready for Mother Courage".