The Twentyten: another fashion week favorite

The yarn dress on a partygoer at The Tribeca Grand

Last month I went to the presentation of designers Jeff Dodd, David J. Krause and Nina Zilka (collectively known as The Twentyten) third collection. Their presentation was at the Gene Frankel Theater against a backdrop of a beautiful video by Elle Rex.















Like their second collection that I saw in the fall, their work continues to walk the fine line between highly conceptual and utterly wearable. It is also wildly, wonderfully tactile: Yarn is employed in both a short dress and a long skirt. If I saw the dress on a hanger I might have had misgivings about how anyone could look anything but ridiculous in it. But on the body there is amazing volume that somehow manages not to overwhelm the wearer. Their material (in this case yarn) was clearly considered and carefully worked with to achieve this effect.

Another look I loved was a simple draped black shift dress paired with an off white jacket with shoulders constructed as though they opted to put the shoulder pads on the outside. I am admittedly fond of these new stronger shoulder lines that go more out from the body than upwards ala the Eighties. This jacket is one of those pieces that can easily be seen as a "must have".

Black was dominant, with occasional splashes of purple and there were clothes for boys as well as girls. Their press release states their designs are for the woman and man who always likes to look sophisticated, but never looks like she or he tried too hard to get there. If this is the case I think that overall they have succeeded with this collection.

See more images below or visit their site.

NOM*D - a label to know

WELCOME TO BEDLAM
In the London of the 1790's a popular diversion for the monied classes was to go and look at the unfortunate inmates of the Bedlam asylum. Occupants of Bedlam were incarcerated yet remained on show for the titillation of the visiting public. Such were the famously unruly scenes they created, that Bedlam has now become a watchword for chaos and disorder.

"Bedlam" is a series of experiments in form and construction which have become the hallmark of the label.

A local of Dunedin, designer Margarita Robertson and her team have long been aware that fresh new ideas are often born from the chaos of creativity. She showed a collection that was ridiculously fresh and current and made the parade of black leggings with platform shoes showing on the runways of Europe and New York look tired and conventional. Wonderfully eclectic and androgynous the clothes are densely layered and paired with candy colored hightop sneakers.

Blazers are boiled, while shirts and waistcoats are doubled and extended. Dresses are wrapped securely around the body; to keep the wearer from causing a commotion perhaps? Who knows? Vintage-look pajama prints and Fair Isle knitwear pieces testify to the importance of traditional fabrics for NOM*d. It's not surprising to see uniforms of different types referenced throughout; this is a collection concerned with institutionalisation in its many forms after all. Take it all too seriously at your own peril though; NOM*d aren't, as their motto read "Cum Grano Salis" might suggest.

Parsons vs F.I.T. - A Fashionista Face-Off

You got big dreams, You want fame? Well fame costs, And right here is where you start paying, In sweat. Those are the famous words from the movie FAME and how appropriate they seemed for last weekends 10th anniversary competition between the students of Parsons and FIT. Here's how it works: It's called the Fusions Fashion Show and each year 15 select students from each school get the opportunity to show 5 of their designs before a panel of judges. One student from each school is deemed the best at their school, and one school is considered the best as well.

This year Parsons The New School for Design reclaimed the title of Best Overall School after F.I.T. owned it for the previous two years. I personally think that the designers of both schools showed tremendous creativity and talent and cohesive mini-collections.

One overall trend seemed to be transformational clothing. Cowl necks became hoods, long skirts converted to miniskirts. (A trend that seems right on-point in an economic climate where a girl wants to get creative with what she's got.) At times this was very successful as with Eunsol Ansley Lee's gorgeous dress seen below. (Ms. Lee also won Best Designer from Parsons). At other times I thought more work could have been put into the craftsmanship of a garment than into a transformative function -without strong basic technique these additions run the risk of looking like gimmicks to camoflauge poor quality work. That being said the show rocked. I was utterly impressed by the level of talent and the potential of these student designers as well as the efficiency of the show. Directed by Jimmy Ramey and run by volunteers it started on time and ran smoothly...unlike most of the shows at Bryant Park. I look forward to seeing what comes next.

Eunsol Ansley Lee - Best Designer - Parsons
This dress was a magical creation exquisitely crafted.

Marc Sebastian Faiella - Best Designer - F.I.T.

Marc Sebastian Faiella - Best Designer - F.I.T.

The judges this year were: Mary Kate Steinmiller - Teen Vogue, Horacio Silva - New York Times Style Magazine, Chris Benz – Designer, Prabal Gurung – Designer, Malan Breton - Designer/Former Project Runway Contestant

And more looks from the show...

A Review of Jay McCarroll's Eleven Minutes

Fashion Week NYC has just ended and what better time to review Eleven Minutes the new documentary by Michael Selditch and Rob Tate featuring Jay McCarroll, the first winner of Project Runway. I am not a huge “reality TV” fan as the majority of these shows catapult average people into screen fame (meaning famous on the tv or the internet but without having any accomplishment offscreen or talent whatsoever).

Project Runway is (or was – where is PR now?) different. To get onto the show and to continue on the show you had to have talent. And work hard. Yes, having a big personality helps as well and being too quiet can hurt you. It was exciting to tune in each week and find out what the challenge was and how the contestants were going to pull it off. And similar to child stars, we want to know after the fact “where are they now?” We imagine how amazing our life would be given such an opportunity…Eleven Minutes asks “but would it be?”

The film opens with Jay the day after fashion week of February 2005.
He has just informed us (or the camera) that he’ll be showing in September and follows with
"So today marks when I need to get my ass in gear. I have a design. It’s in my studio. It’s on paper. I just don’t know how to pay for it…or how to get it produced… manufactured… distributed... advertised ...merchandised …I just know how to put it on paper!"
And this sets up the premise of the film: how does an idea go from paper to actuality in the world of fashion. But the secondary premise that is not stated so directly is how can someone who has become a reality TV star continue his creative process with the high expectations of the media.

Jay is complex in a very ordinary way. He wants to be accepted by the fashion world but he wants to do so on his terms and there’s no roadmap on how to accomplish this. His story is familiar to any creative artist who wants recognition but doesn’t want to lose control of his or her creative process. Initially offered 100k as part of his winnings, I have read (Jay will not comment on this) that he turned it down because it gave Project Runway 10% of everything for perpetuity. A clause since dropped from the contract.

The documentary is an insightful look at Jay’s process of putting together a show as well as his intimate struggle against his own personality as defined by the media. It is almost uncomfortably real -like when he is swearing during his pre-show interviews- which made me want to reach into the TV and smack him and say “Don’t fuck it up for yourself by saying things they can’t use in TV-land. In Eleven Minutes we experience the tension and insecurity as well as the hope and excitement of trying to make a vision a reality along with Jay -as well as learn more about the process and problems of producing a line than we’d ever want!

You can find out more about the film as well as the release schedule here

Academy of Art University Show at Bryant Park

The Academy of Art University showed in the tent at Bryant Park on Friday evening. Quite honestly I was skeptical both because it was a student show and because it was from a school not located in the Fashion Capital of the Universe. (as the signs outside Bryant Park refer to New York). But this show unmasked my provincial prejudices with the level of skill and presentation shown throughout.

Six different collections of recent graduates were shown.

The first was a large group collaboration called The Britex Fabrics Project. Using fabrics such as oversized houndstooth and wool crepe donated by Britex Fabrics, the students created pieces that successfully sculpted volume – creating new shapes while maintaining a softness and sense of movement. The result being both avant-garde yet approachable.


Qianya Martin’s collection came next. Inspired by the ripples and repetition of the ocean the earthtone color palette also brought to mind ripples of sand dunes. Simple shift dresses and tunics with details such as sheer panels resulted in imminently wearable pieces with refined simplicity.


Heather Howard and Cat Janky created an eco-friendly collection of longer layered smock dresses and jackets that was a bit ‘90s grunge crosses the Little Matchgirl. The delicate textile designs and lightness of the fabric however give the individual pieces a flexibility to be worn with less severity than how they were presented on the runway.

Scott McFarland, a formally trained sculptor translated his skills into knitwear design. His presentation of knit sweaters and coats for men were inspired by Art Deco patterns which were readily apparent as well as metal work and the androgynous styles from the 1920s. The cut and colors of his pieces would be attractive to women as well.

I-Shan Liou and Myoung Hee Kim presented a collection of knit dresses with abstract painterly designs. While the prints were stunning I have a concern that the volume and length of most of the dresses make them unwearable for anyone without a model’s physique.






The final and perhaps strongest collection was by Emily Melville and Ivanka Georgieva. It was elegant and sophisticated with silhouettes that seemed to be a modern interpretation of the early ‘60s. With pale creamy colors and intricate detailing these clothes evoke a rarefied world and would not be out of place at a White House cocktail reception.

Stephen Sprouse ROCK ON MARS, a retrospective exhibition

A fan in an original t-shirt from "back in the day"

The designs of Stephen Sprouse

If the DEITCH Gallery had a miss with a Liz Renay exhibit, they more than made up for it with this Stephen Sprouse retrospective at their Wooster Street space. It has more energy in the designs than all of the Chelsea galleries put together. And, of course it attracted some fabulous folks. (photos coming tomorrow)

In the meantime if you don't know about Stephen Sprouse here's the description courtesy of Deitch Gallery. The show runs through February 28th so don't miss it if you're in town.

Stephen Sprouse (1953-2004) was one of the most influential fashion designers of his time and a key figure in the dynamic mix of punk rock, wild style graffiti, and street influenced fashion that characterized the downtown New York community in the early 1980s. He was one of the first to build on the influence of Andy Warhol to create a fusion of art, music and fashion.

The exhibition will introduce SPROUSE’s pop-influenced paintings to the larger art audience. His paintings of iconic rock and roll imagery including stacks of loudspeakers, Sid Vicious with his pants down, and an Iggy Pop crucifixion, have rarely been seen. The show will also include a selection of the video works made to accompany his runway shows, examples of his fabric and furniture design for Knoll, and fifty of his most influential fashion looks.

Review of Tiffany Randol's Kiss Me Kiss Me

Baby it's cold outside!!! We're staying in today...but we're giving you a little something nonetheless.

Tiffany Randol’s EP Kiss Me Kiss Me is a good find if you’re looking for some light-hearted, sunny music about yearning for that unrequited love which makes us whole, or at least very horny. The EP feels like a series of pleading love letters and it is this directness which drew me in.

Randol’s sound borrows heavily from the late 80s/early 90s female indie vocalists who fronted bands like No doubt (Gwen Stefani) and in particular Mazzy Starr (Hope Sandoval). The final and strongest track on the EP Me and You is testimony to this.

Randol follows in the footsteps of a new generation of young women making their mark on the alternative scene. While she lacks the depth and intensity of reigning indie divas Fiest and Cat Power, this is really quite good for a wholly independent, self-produced project and I’m pretty sure it won’t be long before she bags herself a recording deal.

As a newcomer on the scene with some positive press behind her, it is possible we’ll see more of her in 2009 with – fingers crossed - the release of a full-length album.
-Christine de Leon

Christine de Leon is an artist who blogs about London street culture and music scene. You can check out her blog at http://theflipchick.blogspot.com/

Can we talk about the Italian Vogue "Black" Issue?

Hi...so we have been on a vacation and will be back to post more fabulous people soon. But in the meantime we've finally picked up an issue of the much hyped "black issue" of Italian Vogue. We used to subscribe and firmly believe the Ital version is the best Vogue, hands down, but this issue was a complete disappointment!

1. All the ads were white/european...and since half the magazine is ads it's not until towards the back that you get to where the black models are. (the exception being Naomi Campbell for Pinko)

2.At least 3 of the spreads each featured only one model each...and there was no spread that had 2 or models in it...which felt weird. Like we can only handle one black model at a time? We generally prefer spreads that have more than one model in them because they tell more of a story. These were a bit dull. Even those by Steven Meisel -a favorite photographer.

3. There was a piece called Outstanding Ladies which showed photos (ok there was text too but we don't know Italian) of famous black women. It seemed kind of patronizing...not only are there black models but black performers etc!

What would have been nice is if Vogue didn't seem so self-conscious and self-congratulatory about the issue. If they just treated it like a normal issue but maybe insisted that advertisers have more ethnicities in the ads in this issue and had more complex photo shoots as well. This felt awkward. Like they were the people at the party saying "Alot of my best friends are black". And as equally convincing.