As you may know, I have a new relationship in my life and it is with my iPhone. A friend mentioned in an e-mail that I have satisfied my Apple fetish for now. He has also said to a mutual friend of ours that this device is my new boyfriend. Oh god, what a high maintenance one it is.
fashion
14
Aug 08
Making It Work: iPhone Couture
Getting the iPhone is one thing. Anyone can get one, provided that they have the right plan and a great deal of patience. The next step is to get a cover, and anyone can buy one. There are so many choices, especially if one has some money to throw away to accessorize. There are gummy protectors, leather holsters, and even eco-friendly, granola-ey sheaths. However, not everyone can make their own covers.
On Tuesday night, I set out to do a Project Runway of my own. My materials were a Geoffrey Beene necktie and a Geoffrey Beene dress shirt. My budget was $0 since I was recycling some fashion that fell into disuse. I could hear Tim Gunn telling me to “Make it Work.”
Of course, I had a few ideas. While I had a great time destroying a tie, I then turned my attention to a dress shirt to make a soft lining. I also thought some elements of the shirt could make clever features on the iPhone sheath. However, in the end, I settled on a more minimal design. The tie’s fabric can do the talking without any competing elements.
With the lining, I made it work. It compliments the shell instead of competing with it.
No machines were used; everything was stitched together by hand. A steam iron (along with an ironing board) to smooth out the fabrics, a sharp air of scissors, and some pins to hold the fabric together helped me a great deal. Making sure the lining was integrated and the seams not showing was the most challenging part.
Why did I do it? For several reasons: I’m too cheap to buy a sheath and I like creating things. While I don’t have granola tastes, I like the idea of recycling fashion. Plus, the final result is something I’d use. It looks nice on its own and it doesn’t look out of place in a suit’s breast pocket. Very dandy indeed.
1
Aug 08
Project Runway: Bright Lights, Big City
Project Runway has officially been around long enough for it to have generated some clichés. The one that gets used since Season 2 is the show loans contestants digital cameras and they are set loose in Manhattan to take pictures. From simply roaming around in broad daylight to perusing the Met, the idea is that inspiration can come anywhere at anytime. It seems that the producers and writers need a professional equivalent of this exercize.
Of course, the shutterbug clichés meets another one: bait and switch. Whenever Heidi Klum greets the designers with that clipped but chirpy hello, we know something is up. So do the designers, and the silence really is golden (pardon the cliché).
This week’s bait and switch – a night out on the town turns out to be too literal. No going out, no needed stress relief by dancing one’s ass off; just roaming around four key points in New York City taking pictures of the lights. They all seem to take it very well in their ponchos and rainboots. Perhaps they were compensated with a bottomless supply of cocktails after they returned to their suites.
Blayne, AKA Tweaker Beck, takes a beautiful picture of the light, but his dress becomes a walking Gay Pride flag on his model.
For some odd reason, Leanne reminds me of Cassandra, long haired girl who wore sundresses and Doc Martens, on Beavis and Butthead. Her slow, thoughtful way of speaking and even her odd inflection were a little too dead on. Unfortunately, I remember that more than her dress. Not good.
While I don’t care about Keith being ultra pushy during the snap shoot, I thought his dress was conceptually brilliant. It looked great on TV, but it must have sloppy close up. Or, Nina was reaching for a comment.
Emily of the Sarah and Tegan haircut goes. The ruffle is just wrong and now that’s a cliché.
This is where some will ask me to turn in my gay card: Sandra Bernhard as guest judge? Seriously?
Ugh, this season seems like it’s going to be full of celebrities trying to establish their fashionista cred. The only one who really has it so far is Natalie Portman.
25
Jul 08
Project Runway: Season 4: Episode 2
Project Runway really seems to be grasping at threads for this one: Have the model shop for the fabric, make sure it’s eco-friendly, and have the designer make a dress out of it. Strangely enough, it reminds me a bit of the weight loss episode from last season in that some of the current designers viewed the models shopping for them as “death on a stick.”
Right now, I’m inclined to think Suede, the guy with the blue mohawk, is the spiritual son of the Björk Lady. Talking about yourself in the third person is a little too Björk Lady, even for the Björk Lady. There’s probably a bit of Chris March in him as well (remember the big guy who talked to his garments?). For all I know, Suede probably put a spit mark on his fabric, but he seemed to have talked strips of organic silk into a winning number.
I like to think of Korto as the saner counterpoint to Season 2′s Zulema, but there’s a little bit of an echo of the “clothes off your back” as she makes a dress a little too short in the back. Luckily, it’s not butt-less.
Biker Chick/Betty Paige on crack comes back from last week as she puts a very LA kind of rock and roll chic into a one sleeve white satin number (with lace ups). Nice recovery from the trash bag from last week.
As for the brown fabrics, the and the designers are ephemeral. No wonder the guy who does a brown dress gets canned.
As for Tweaker Beck, he’s much more memorable when he makes fun of the Biker Chick. I can’t even remember what he does.
I guess that’s what happens when you go to Comic-Con and delay the posting, My memory seems to gone right now.
18
Jul 08
Project Runway, Season 5: Episode 1
Last season’s PR brought odd personalities such as the Björk Lady and Harry Potter, the talented winner. This season doesn’t seem to short of personalities. I can’t remember anyone’s names right now, but I’ll call one guy Tweaker Beck and another Rufus Wainright. Blue mohawk guy: Vivian or one his roommates from the Young Ones.
I’m not sure if this is going full circle to Season 1′s first challenge or if PR is on its last legs and grasping for straws, but the challenge is to go the grocery store and scoop up whatever materials they can. Austin Scarlet, winner of the Season 1 challenge with his corn husk dress, is back to judge the challenge.
Not surprisingly, a lot them grab table cloths and Tim Gunn bitches them out for it. The aging biker chick goes for the punk rock cliché of the garbage bag and tries to break it, only to fall flat like an inner tube with a hole in it. That would have been a great material for a dress. Rufus Wainright, on the other hand, is more innovative with a dress made of blue plastic cups.
Jennifer, one of the few names I’ve caught, uses material I would love to use: paper towels. It brings back memories of the tissue paper couture I did as a kid.
Tweaker Beck, well, makes a very tweaked out outfit. Michael Kors says it looks like a handiwipe gone wrong. As for Jerry the Asian guy, his outfit looked too nursey or as Kors said, just left the hospital. Needless to say, Jerry leaves the runway.
Korto is the only one who uses to produce to accessorize a tablecloth dress. Kelli, who looks a bit like Reese Witherspoon, wins by burning and staining her materials, creating a not-so-pretty but interesting effect.
Perhaps this season will be an interesting one, but it’s too early to tell. I wonder how much we’ll get to see Tim Gunn losing that cool, “Make It Work” demeanor. Even though that would overshadow Heidi and the designers, it would be checking out.
My one real gripe about watching PR – seeing all those commericals for “Date M Ex.” Jo and Slade, please go away. I guess Bravo/NBC takes care of their own when their music careers fail to take off.
Oh, there’s another gripe: PR’s Bravo website is badly organized. This must be one of Bravo/NBC’s retaliations for the show’s migration to Lifetime (a financially motivated move on Weinstein’s part).
13
Jun 08
Ugly Dress Dot Com
It’s been a while since I’ve visited UglyDress.Com, but it’s one where I’m guaranteed to be appalled, fascinated, and amused at the same time.
This is one of the starter dresses on the website. In fact, it seems like nothing can be more hideous than this arresting number. I can only giggle uncontrollably as I think of something to say about this maternity prom dress. The thing is that the ugliness doens’t end here. It gets worse as you go through what should be called “The Gallery of Shame”: horrid gowns of all kinds (especially bridesmaid’s dresses), wedding dresses, shoes, and even a special page for menswear.
I have seen uglier tuxes than what’s shown, but there is a special point to be made about rental kilts. Ew! If you ever have to rent one, just hope that the previous wearer wasn’t too Scottish.
The moral of another page is to seriously think about what tattoos you get (because they don’t go with everything). This holds true if you get something done in Kanji. It looks nice, but the impact upon Chinese and Japanese viewers is priceless as they grasp the meaning and you don’t.
If you browse the site, do so with caution. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
7
Mar 08
Project Runway: Season 4 Finale Part 2
Here, you can see the designers go through casting drama.
Needless to say, Christian worked his Harry Potter magic, created some “fierce” ruffles, and had a winning collection. When Tim Gunn checked in on him a month before, he had some feathered leggings. For good or bad, he ditched the Big Bird pants, but he had some amazing garments that incorporated feathers on the runway. The hat on the first look and the feathers on the final gown added to the fantasy, couture aspect of his collection. Christian also retained the giant collar Tim Gunn had some concerns about. He had some bitchy model drama before the show (one complained about the shoes). Somehow, flats wouldn’t look right in the Spanish Renaissance inspired look.
Jillian had so many shapes and so much variety in her collection. On a creative level, this is great. She can conceive and execute many different looks. The one thing that was missing was cohesiveness, or what they like to call a “point of view.” Great work, though. I don’t doubt her phone will be ringing for days from potential clients.
While she wasn’t hemming things at the last minute (an 11th hour garment challenge would have killed her), Jillian tried to recast the models at the last minute as she didn’t pay attention to their heights. A short model in a long dress can be a nightmare.
Rami retained his signature of draping; however, he branched out with some very eclectic results. Some of his dresses were reminiscent of Chloe Dao‘s, including some extremely bold color choices (blue-green, magenta, blood red). He used draping techniques in newer ways, as to create blouses and dresses that didn’t look like they were made for Greek goddesses. The gold gown looked like it could be fantasy Grecian, but it also was reminiscent of a something a 1930′s starlet would wear. Weaving the fabric was an interesting touch, especially in the bodice of one gown. He was holding back in the walk-off between him and Chris March, as some of what he presented on Fashion Week was much more interesting.
The judge’s roller coaster of praise and criticism is a fun feature of this finale. This time, at least they’re not accusing someone of having the boobs in the wrong place. Victoria Beckham, the guest judge is wowed by Christian’s collection. Will we see her in one his creations in the future?
See the final collections.
Christian speaks!
1
Mar 08
Project Runway: Season 4 Final Collections (website)
Warning: This entry contains some spoilers.
I went on Project Runway‘s website, and found that they have posted a gallery of the final collections. Like a little kid before Christmas, I just couldn’t resist taking a peek. Unlike the coming episode, they show all five finalists’ collections go down the Bryant Park runway.
Last year, Tim Gunn declared the decoy practice was over. This time they returned to it with some byzantine twists.
Sweet P was one decoy. Since she didn’t make the cut to compete in the Fashion Week finale, she was perfect for throwing off the press during Fashion Week. However, a decision had to be made about which one would be another decoy and which one would actually compete regarding Chris March and Rami. Even though I still think decoying like this is a mindfuck, perhaps worse than the previous seasons, I am very happy for Sweet P and Chris March for getting to show at Bryant Park.
Sweet P’s palette is perhaps the most eclectic of the group. Gold, lavender, chartreuse, fuschia, and even some doses of black and white help shape her collection. She’s a lot more adventurous than her previous challenges, which I’m glad to see.
It is a shame that Chris March doesn’t get to compete in the finale. He makes some very odd, but great fabric choices in his gothic collection, and I’m not talking about the human hair weaves. That part is interesting, but he did think about patterns, prints, and textures in building these creations. The collection, as a whole, was cohesive and informed by a point of view. Adding to it, Chris March’s own ensemble was definitely something from earlier Tim Burton films, making him fit in with his own collection. Perhaps in the long run, he’ll get more opportunities for not winning.
I’ll reserve comment on the other three after the finale. I will say that Christian’s collection kicks ass.
29
Feb 08
Project Runway: Season 4 Finale Part I
Here is a teaser vid:
Next week is the Fashion Week episode. This episode gives the expected preview of the finalists’ collections with drop-in visits from Tim Gunn, who gives his ever so thoughtful editing eye to garments the designers spent months working on. Also, we find see this limbo scenario unravel – will Chris March or Rami get to show in Fashion Week?
After Tim visits Rami in LA and Chris March in NYC, we see both their collections have promise. Rami does something not so drapey, but at the same time, his work is more constructed. Chris March’s collection is very gothic with a shocking twist – he sewed human hair extensions into some of his dresses. It strikes some of the judges as a bit creepy; however, it reminds me of some of those odd hairstyles that hair dressers, only it extends to the garment. There’s also a scene in Hedwig and the Angry Inch where Hedwig has a Cher/Tina Turner moment in blond dress to go with his very straight, long blond wig.
After they have the showdown at the end of the episodes, the judges still have a hard time deciding, but they ultimately decide on Rami. He is very talented, but his collection didn’t interest me as much as Chris March’s.
Now for the other finalists:
If anyone can make Big Bird pants work, it’s Christian with his Harry Potter magic. Tim Gunn, overall, is wowed, but he’s baffled by some items such as a gigantic, face-concealing ruffled collar (Late Renaissance), and a pair of feathered leggings. Somehow, it’ll all click.
Jillian, too, has a Renaissance inspired collection, with quite a dark palette. Will she put a little color into her revised collection?
I think Christian’s going to win this one, though the judges may have a hard time between him and Jillian.
Stay tuned for next week the Fashion Week finale.
22
Feb 08
Project Runway: Reunion Episode
This is probably one of the most civilized reunion episodes on Project Runway. No bitchfights and no super incoherent rants to answer fan questions. The producers must have kept the contestants away from the alcohol.
There is, however, some never seen before footage. Heidi Klum questions if Kevin is gay and pulls out some of his odd gay humor moments. Ricky has some incredibly emotional out takes, and Heidi Klum also says some of the darndest things that doesn’t make it to the final cut of any episode.
Poor Victorya – she gets tagged as uptight by Heidi and Tim. However, she manages to have a Fashion Week show independent of Project Runway.
As for Sweet P, it’s nice that she’s getting some celebrity recognition.
Christian, the most likely winner in the Fashion Week Challenge, gets the viewer’s choice pick. Hopefully, he’ll put that $10G to good use.
The reunion went through some interesting questions, but no major spoilers for next week. We know for sure that Jillian‘s in, but whether Rami or Chris is to be in Fashion week is still to be decided. Tune in next week as Tim visits them and looks at their collection.
