A few months ago I put a notice of a toilet-paper wedding gown contest in the paper and it’s paying off for finalist Ann Kagawa Lee, who already won a trip to New York for final judging of her creation at the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! museum.
That’s so great! It was an oddball kind of item, but having been inspired by a T-paper gown game at The Wedding Cafe and The Bridal Boutique at the time, I figured that creating toilet-paper wedding gowns is just one more of our citizenry’s many talents.
Putting things in the paper involves some guesswork as to what people will want to read/what they should read, but it’s worthwhile if an item does get the right person to respond.
Go Ann!
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Russell Tanoue is putting out the call to vote for dancer Mark Kanemura.
Speaking of talent, a more traditional kind involves the Fox reality competition, “So You Think You Can Dance?” Photographer Russell Tanoue has launched the campaign to vote for local dancer Mark Kanemura, who’s made it into the top 18 so far.
The program airs at 7 p.m. today, the 18th, with the voting period following the show, and elimination tomorrow at 8 p.m. It’s one of my favorite shows because the dancers are so talented and the choreography is amazing.
The girls have taken a back seat to the guys in past years, but look really strong this year. The guys are more technically trained than ever, but better watch out!
Paco Rabanne’s chainlink armored mini dress, circa 1967, is among the pieces up for grabs via eBay Live June 10. Bidding for this piece will start at about $6,000.
Those who appreciate vintage fashion might enjoy taking a look at the garb up for grabs via eBay Live’s “Passion for Fashion and Fine Textiles,” an auction taking place June 10.
Found it by accident while doing one of my standard searches for Ossie Clark and Lanvin and hit the Mother Lode of European fashion, 1920s through 1980s. What a pleasant surprise. Usually, I feel lucky if I see one beautiful, collectible piece.
I have a love of vintage clothing that dates to my teen years. It was the most tangible way for a girl from Waipahu — pre-Internet — to feel connected to the larger world, past and present. After running my own vintage/consignment boutique here and scoring my own vintage Pucci and Lanvin dresses, I became particularly enamored of the work of European designers done in the 1930s through ’40s, and 1960s through ’70s.
I read that ’40s and ’70s inspired H&M’s Fall 208 collection, described as “sharp, androgynous, elegant.”
You can own Jerry Hall’s Antony Price white lace wedding dress dating to her 1990 marriage to Mick Jagger. Bust 34, waist 26 inches. Who knew she was so tiny? She looks like a big girl standing next to Mick.
Ossie Clark snakeskin coat, circa 1967-68. Bidding starts at about $700. Fits a 34-inch bust. People were tiny back then, before they started pumping up at gyms and supersizing meals.
The auction also features tapestries and garments from the 1700s, and it appears that Jerry Hall is emptying her closet of clothing circa her life with Mick Jagger, including her wedding dress, which is starting at about $300.
Even if you can’t or don’t want to buy anything, it’s fun to look at the pieces and certainly would be beneficial for any alleged student of fashion to see. (more…)
Here’s the Skaffs vid you asked for from last night’s event at Split Obsession, where, because Luke dropped in rather suddenly, fans were unprepared. They actually had to ask him for paper, and then people resorted to passing him dollar bills to sign.
Split Obsession owner Bruce Chin really dug deep when he whipped out a crispy $10 bill. Whoo-hoo!
Geez I’m supposed to be writing a story now, but I turned once again to Animoto.com, which is like Hamburger Helper for your photos and video stills, mashing them together with music and special effects the average person just doesn’t have access to, and coming up with something worth serving.
Try it on fashion, girl’s night out photos, whatever!
Photo by Nadine Kam Skaffs’ Luke Feldman at work. Check out his site at http://skaffs.com/
One of my favorite outfits in the “Sex and the City” movie was Carrie’s floral coat that looked like this, though with a stronger line and touch of chartreuse and purple. I liked this outfit, too, which she wore to go apartment hunting with Big.
Went to see “Sex and the City” Sunday morning and again last night to help Crystal Pancipanci and her fashionable friends celebrate her SATC victory.
The woman is on a roll having also won a Theory-sponsored drawing for a Theory bag last week. This time around, she won a pair of exclusive crystal-studded — how appropriate is that? — Manolo Blahniks valued at nearly $800.
I showed up late to the Skyy Vodka “Sex And The City ” private screening and cocktail party so didn’t get a pink feather boa like the other girls, but I did get to see her sparkling sandals before the lights went out. I wanted to take a photo but had left my camera on my desk at work, so borrowed Julie Ann Aragaki’s crystal-studded iPhone. Standing between those two I might have been blinded if the lights weren’t going down!
There was some drama queen action in the crowd after a group of friends didn’t appreciate comments made by a woman, and cast a drink at her. I was in between the two rows and hoped no more drinks were coming flew through the air while I tried to watch the previews. After much posturing, various parties left or moved seats after threats of removal by security.
I was going to write something after seeing it the first time, but felt emotionally drained by the experience. That was surprising considering I had a “Yeah, yeah, been there” attitude about the whole thing. I was never a rabid SATC fan and just from watching previews of the movie I had the whole story arc plotted out, so there were no surprises for me, but I thought the heartbreak scenes were realistic and painful to watch.
Carrie in Vivienne Westwood. The bridesmaids wore Zac Posen.
Of course the clothes were pure eye candy. I tried to count up the 81 outfits Carrie allegedly wore in the film (the story takes place over 6 months, which means she could wear each outfit two times, or double that if you count nights), but only counted 65. I didn’t count times when she just threw a fur or coat over something, and I may have missed a couple of wedding gowns, just because I was enthralled. I think I forgot to breathe between the Christian Lacroix and the Lanvin.
My favorite outfits were a trapeze floral coat Carrie wore with trousers and a blue jacket while shopping for furniture with Charlotte, and a blue tunic she wore with over-the-knee socks while strolling in a park with Miranda. Dunno who made those, but you can bet every piece of clothing in the movie cost plenty. I imagine it only bothers fashion followers that a real-life Carrie — a freelance writer not backed by a trust fund or sugar daddy — would never be able to afford such a wardrobe. And it was rather unrealistic that Carrie wore a string of pearls to bed several times, though of course, they weren’t going for an Academy Award here. Just a good-lookin’ reunion.
The only thing missing was subtitles for the fashion. Only the wedding gowns were accompanied by a recitation of the designer’s names: Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera, Lacroix, Lanvin, Dior and Vivienne Westwood.
Jay McCarroll with his illustrations for “Transport,” his Spring 2007 collection, based on the work of Archigram, a group of 1960s architects who envisioned living spaces full of hot-air balloons, flying cars and moving streets and other contemporary cityscapes.
“Eleven Minutes”
Part of the HGLCF Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival
Screening 2 p.m. Saturday, May 24 at the Doris Duke Theatre at Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Admission is $12
If you get a chance to see “Eleven Minutes,” part of the Honolulu Gay and Lesbian Cultural Foundation’s Rainbow Film Festival Saturday, go.
The documentary film by Michael Selditch and Rob Tate tracks Jay McCarroll’s journey from “reality to real-life designer” as he tries to live up to the “Project Runway” premise of becoming the “next great American designer.” The tone of the piece is bittersweet as he scoffs at the title, yet it’s made so clear he has bought into the idea. Considering the amount of wit, confidence and bravado he presented on the show, he’s only human and the criticism he received after the show in failing to become an overnight sensation, takes its toll on his psyche.
Considering his desire to parlay his 15 minutes of fame into a career, they could have called it “15 Minutes,” but I believe the title, reflecting the length of a fashion show that takes six months to a year to plan, might have been inspired by “Onze Minutos, “a 2003 novel by Paulo Coelho based on a young Brazilian prostitute who seeks a better life in Switzerland, only to find that reality is harsher than expected.
For anyone in the creative arts, it is mesmerizing to watch, but in the end rather depressing to see so little payoff, in spite of McCarroll’s very real talent. It’s tragic, to me, when celebs lacking any fashion cred can suddenly call themselves “designers” by capitalizing on the work of hundreds of people like McCarroll, who don’t have the finances to break out of their sweat-shop roles.
Images of hot-air balloons cover this outfit.
My feeling is that McCarroll has been the most talented and original of the parade of designers in all four seasons of the Bravo series. But, as the first season winner, he was the one most closely scrutinized and reviled after failing to produce. He famously rejected the program’s prize of $100,000, reporting that acceptance would have meant 10 percent of his brand would be forever owned by the Weinstein Co.
He’s grateful for the opportunity that “Project Runway” presented, saying, “I can’t imagine having no notoriety and trying to do what I’m doing,” but faces the realization that talent is 10 percent of the success equation. What’s also needed is business acumen, good advice, sweat equity, luck and money. It’s the reason stars with no design skills, taste or originality whatsovever are able to produce and market their own lines, while many individuals like McCarroll, who can design, make a pattern and sew, are forced to toil behind the scenes, with no recognition of their own.
Although people assumed he had help from the show’s producers, that is not their focus. Their job is to entertain. Period. If anything, they tend to exploit talent to increase their own market share. After the show stopped airing, like McCarroll says, “The cord was cut and it was done. Ten percent of it is opportunity, 90 percent was mt hard work and that was unnoticed, until now.”
The feeling conveyed is that this runway show and documentary are his last hope of making it on his own.
He won “Project Runway” in Feb. 2004 and filming started in February 2006 in advance of preparation for a Sept. 2006 New York Fashion Week presentation for the Spring 2007 season. In his view, it was his last shot at being recognized for his talent. “I’ve been trying for … two seasons now to get this show on the road. I have a shelf life so if I don’t show this coming season, people aren’t going to care anymore … If I f*** this one up, I may have to reconsider some things.”
Interesting “argument in pictures” by Karen Lehrman posted on Slate, in which she laments the decline of fashion photography. I would agree with some of her points, but the major point unaddressed is that the images also reflect the times in which they are taken and the designs as well. Not all designs are suited for the gauzy, romantic treatment. Nor is that everyone’s fantasy or aspiration.
New York Times magazine
In the case of these New York Times magazine photos that appeared May 4, designers don’t intend to have their pieces worn this way, but this is how the garments were envisioned by an editorial team, inspired by the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy,” on view through Sept. 1. Like most photography and art today, it is concept driven. Technical ability is assumed.
No doubt the images she admires depict mood, elegance and mastery of the zone system, but, we’ve seen those images before and I wouldn’t want photographers to be limited to the beautiful retro style favored by Lehrman. Even if some of today’s images may be ugly and crude, I respect varying points of view I may not otherwise have had without photographers forging ahead to craft a style of their own.
Check it out at http://www.slate.com/features/010510_fashion-slide-show/01.htm
Just saw the preview for “Speed Racer.” Not really one for the kids; not for adults either. It’s totally about the creative set: game designers, animators, and believe it or not, the fashion crowd. Well, I had to look at something being that the story is simple, the dialog campy, the characters cardboardy, but the clothes they do work with everything that’s going on in CGI. Let’s just say it’s the first film that ever made me feel like running off to Hollywood to be a stylist on a costume crew.
The weird thing about the movie is that it is so futuristic yet it’s actually set in the early to mid-1950s. They reference a pivotal 1943 race when Speed was about 10 and the action takes place in his young adulthood. The costumes reflect the period with crisp polo shirts, sleek sheath dresses and other narrow, spare silhouettes. The early half of the film is full of bright primary and complementary colors and a lot of royal purple. In the final Grand Prix race icy silver, metallics and brocades dominate. Total eye candy. It was so retro, yet so contemporary it didn’t look much different from what’s on high-end retail racks today.
As I watched the credits scrolling I noted they had one vintage buyer on staff. What a great job, though I imagine it must have been difficult to come up with costumes that could hold their own against such a fantasy landscape.
Of course, being susceptible to images, I have a new inspiration for my summer wardrobe, and it’s not Christina Ricci, but the Korean pop star Rain as the racer Taejo.
If you think you’re the next big fashion designer, MTV may give you the chance to prove it if you’re a high school or college fashion designer.
Producers for its newest show, “Fashion High,” are looking for “fabulous, creative and dynamic” high school or college students who are currently studying fashion and are gearing up to show their designs.
You should appear to be at least 15 years old, have a huge personality and want the world to see your work.
To apply, email fashionhigh@mtvstaff.com by May 6, 2008. Include your name, school, grade, city, state, phone number, email address, the best time to reach you, and a parent’s name and phone number.
Also, answer the following questions:
>> How did you get started in fashion and what you have designed so far?
>> What kind of clothing do you make?
Do your friends/parents support you?
Do they like your designs or think you should look into doing something else with your life?
Do you have an arch competitor?
Is there someone you are jealous of because of their talent, but also want to beat in a competition?
Attach a photo of yourself and the clothes you have designed.
U.K.’s Daily Mail is reporting that Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld wants Frances Bean Cobain to appear in his next ad campaign.
Given that Cobain pulled more of her mom Courtney Love’s genes, she’s an unlikely choice, though anything the girl ends up doing is bound to make news.
I really loved, loved her dad Kurt Cobain, what he stood for and his music. After he died I went to Seattle to be at Ground Zero, found his house, shot video, all the usual stalkerazzi stuff. I somehow hoped Frances would grow up to be a rock star and pick up where Kurt left off. I miss all the music he didn’t get to make.
ABC Who said the next “American Idol” needs to be a singer? How about a designer? Christian Siriano is a natural.
Missed last week’s return of “Ugly Betty.” I don’t know why but Thursday has to be the most fashionable day of the week because that’s when a lot of parties take place. Last season I had to keep up with Betty and Henry by watching them on Internet.
I’m staying home this week (I think), to catch His Royal Fierceness Christian Siriano as he commands the staff at Mode to, “Worship me, bitches.” Acting? He doesn’t need to act. That is so pure Christian!
