Monthly Archives: April 2010

Final Words from Fashion’s First Lady & the Magic you Missed

Great advice is hard to come by. Great advice from an icon and a legend like say, the amazing Ms. Carolina Herrera-well, talk about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! The thing about getting great advice is, since it’s not such a common occurrence, I like to take every opportunity I can, to share it. That’s why I’m ever so grateful for the opportunity to be able to share such grand advice, on such a grand scale.

But first……

One of the hardest truths many of us have had to come to terms with this semester, is that fashion is a very an insanely an outrageously- dare I say, horrendously (you get the picture) competitive business. In this way, the fashion show serves as a mirror of this business, and another tool that the school makes use of to prepare us for, “the real world”. What sucks most (obviously) about this, is that even some of the most talented people out there aren’t being recognized. For no reason other than there just aren’t enough spots in the show job market (see what I did there!) That being said, I’d like to take this last opportunity to pay tribute to a few of these people: my classmates. Each one of these people, is a creative genius in her own right-and I have every confidence, that one way or another, they’ll be making a name for themselves. Here’s to you!

Carolina's critique: "This is very sportswear." Truely, a direct representation of what our specialization is all about

Carolina's critique: "This is very sportswear." Truly, a direct representation of what our specialization is all about

The judges weren't feelin' capes this year, but wow, was this piece a stunner

My critique: "Lady Gaga would totally rock this!" Great shoulder detail. Also, kudos to anyone bold and brave enough to make a leather dress.

Wait until you see the back of this rockin' 4 pc ensemble....

... See what I mean? How's that song go? "Gimme a cape with hair..."

For anyone who thinks making a cape is easy, I dare you to reproduce this one. Fair warning: you can't drape like this girl can.

Money! Yay!!

What’s next on the horizon for me, you wonder? Well, aside from having just blown my fabulous Cotton Inc. check on Muse tickets, (Yay, money!) I’m pleased to reveal this exclusive bit of exciting news: I’ve contributed two new styles to a popular clothing company (original info removed at company’s request 8.12.10). It’s something a little different… but the buyers coming in seem pretty pleased. (so am I! Yay, I’m a designer!) I’m looking forward to walking into a store and seeing my work on the racks. (note to self: make small version for Li’l Humphrey!) (content removed 8.12.10)!

Now then. Don’t let her perfect appearance intimidate you. Along with being one of the most elegant and regal women in the world, she is hands down one of the nicest, warmest, most charming….the epitome of loveliness; and I had the very rare and outstanding honor indeed, of having her as my critic. As you continue to marvel at a few choice uh… fashion show “deleted scenes,” let Carolina’s wonderful words of wisdom (I love alliteration) for the world of fashion students and wannabe designers ring in your ears…. Oh! As for my epic last words…. It’s been an adventure, you guys. I think I’ll take a nap now.

embedded by Embedded Video

Fin

(originally published 4.30.10 @7:52 pm)

Big thank you to everyone….

1 Reply

This has been the first day that I have even had a moment to stop and reflect on the show. There is so much to talk about, but before we get into that, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone. Fellow classmates, show production, press, Tia(my model), FIT, internship, family and friends and of course MY love. You all made the show on Monday a success and for that I thank you!!! (CLAPPING)

I was lucky enough to get tickets to both showings. Arriving early for the 4:30pm show I found my fellow classmate and checked the list for my name +2. Now come on that is just fun to being with, I am never on “THE LIST”. (Yeah we need to change this people. ) We were escorted to our seats and I gasped a little when we entered. It was totally different from past shows. It was a U shaped stage and of course you know what that means, clocking more time on the runway!!!! There was a live string quartet and the usually show things. The press were all piled up at the end of the runway and I just had to take a pic of the press taking pics. The show went smoothly and I honestly don’t remember the look of my dress coming down, the endorphins I think overcame my memory. It was a great feeling though!!! Did a little interview with the school press and then took a coffee break. I have to say I am very impressed with this years graduating class, including menswear and the jewelry/accessories.

The second showing at 730pm was packed!!! I had met up with my man and his mom who have been my cheering section through this whole process. My parents were unable to attend since they live out of state and it was such short notice. They cheered from a far and were there in my heart. We had perfect seats to get a good video of the show and this time the excitement let me admire my hard work. The dress came to life! And my model Tia wore it with such zest. It was my first show on a runway, in New York no less.

Before show

Press (the irony)

Backstage the line up

Full audience

My dress going down the runway

Tia blowing kisses

Dress in transit

Pic of me so excited

After the show, it was snappy snappy, here there and everywhere. One of the designers from my internship at J.Mendel came. I almost backed into Carrolina Herrara and spotted Calvin klein from acrossed the room. Then my old roomie Ariel came and surprised me! It was time to celebrate! We went and got cocktails and tapas, recapping the evening festivities.

The next morning I was so excited to see if the school had made the press. After a quick google the first link that I found, opened and it was pics of my dress!!!

6905309.php?imageGalleryXRefId=1821843#imgXR

So surprised and excited! Then over the next few days have been keeping up the search

kiss-off (Thank you Jezebel!!!)

Wednesday we got out garments back and now Im prepping for the photo shoot of my look-book this weekend with Constantine Mitides (FIT student) www.constantinmitides.com

IT WAS A GREAT SHOW! And I feel very grateful that i got to be apart of it. Stay tuned, coming up the creation of a graduation dress and the results of the photo shoot!

The sweet taste of success.

1 Reply

Finally, its over.

Last night was the infamous BFA fashion show. All our hard work for the past 4 years amounted to this one night, and it was amazing. I hope you all got to watch the 7:30 show online, I did, and the live feed was great!

We each got 3 tickets to the show to bring our family and when we got there to be seated, a lot of people were left out in the cold- or shunned to the “3-D” experience in the auditorium (which I heard was not good, a lot of the detail was lost). Some people gave up extra tickets so people with bigger families could bring everyone, but that didn’t matter. Typical FIT nonsense ensued at the doors and a lot of ticket holders were turned away because they were not actually partaking in the show (having contributed a garment).Luckily, I got my family in plus one extra- I was NOT going to have a family member watch one of the most important days in my career, a building over with paper glasses on.

The set up was amazing, it was a floor show, meaning that there was no actual raised catwalk, but a sprawling U shaped runway, which I thought was nice. The room was done in all red draperies, a red runway, typical fashion show seating and goodie bags (eyeliner, lipgloss, a notebook, a $50 gift certificate to a salon, and a magazine).

The music was great, and the models looked hot hot hot. I can’t say much for the menswear, not thoroughly impressed. My intimate apparel girls did amazing though. Each lingerie piece stood on its own with an aura of classiness and sex appeal, a few jaws were dropping.

I was very happy with my model and ensemble. At first, I admit, I was not happy my other ensemble wasn’t chosen, but after seeing the show, I have zero complaints. On the fitting day, I had to take the bra cups in a full inch on each side, so I didn’t know how it would turn out on her, but Gloria did a great job working it down the runway. The accessories were chosen by the director (I chose shoes), and I must say, I LOVED the necklace. The model really fit into my design aesthetic and I was very pleased.

If you are in FIT this coming summer, be sure to check out my ensemble which will be displayed in the C-lobby!

Gloria and my ensemble

cotton ensemble on runway

A little at the end of my rope

6 Replies

TIRED, I am so tired! Monday was the fitting for my dress. You have to show up one hour before your fitting time, then you sit and wait. You could feel the tension in the waiting room. There was drama from missing models, wrong shoes sizes, to OMG I have to take my dress in how many inches? I luckily have a great model. Her name is Tia Shipman. The dress likes her too and only needed to be taken in about an inch. We tried on all three shoes and the show producers, well they liked the middle ones, with the ruffle. Once again its out of my hands. The whole process was short and sweet, in out get her fit.

Fitting the model in my dress

Then I lost it! The stress of working on the collection, the fitting and then relizing that the rest of my classes still have tons of work to be done. I kind of just zoned out. The hard part seemed over but there was still alot to do this week. I was intrigued by why my model looked familiar. So I googled! She was a model on project runway multiple seasons and she won season 5 with Leanne Marshall. This really upped my outlook. I still cant believe this is all happening. Its very surreal that this is the last month as a student and Im in the BFA show!

Tia's comp card

Dress ready for drop off

Wednesday I worked on the corrections to the dress in class, went to intern and then worked on the dress back at school for another 5 hours!!! I adjusted the zipper, finished the french lining, hand sewed on more petals. So now there are 4 yrds of petals on that dress. Oh and sprayed the hell out of that thing with static guard. Labeled the shoes, bag and tried to put a freshly presses dress in its new bag.

Thursday morning 9am, dress in bag, I went to drop off my show piece. The huge sigh of relief that I got from turning in the finished dress was amazing. I cant imagine what to expect from my emotions on Monday.

Check list: Dress in the bag and turned in, check. Shoes for the show, check. Tickets to the show, check. Moral support and representation for the show, check. Now the real question, WHAT TO WEAR TO THE SHOW?

EXCITEMENT

Are you kidding me?…

4 Replies

Yesterday was a bit of a roller coaster of emotions. I was prepared to not get into the show and to support for my fellow classmates who would trek on. I was at my internship when I got the email about the results of the show and had to re-read the list to make sure that my name was really on it.

I GOT IT! WOW, really?!

The dress that got in

There were so many beautiful pieces and they picked mine to be one of the 11 special occasion students that got in. Apparently I am still shocked and in awe. My whole state of mine had to change. Now I have a fitting and have to find shoes for the show.

I wasted no time. Its shoe shopping I mean come on. I think that I hit about 10 shoe stores in like 2 hrs and managed to purchase 3 pairs. I couldn’t decide. Like everything I have a budget of $30. I know that is like nothing. But I had to say under my budget of $1000 for my three dresses so I figured I can do this too.

The fitting is on Monday at noon. The shoes need to be approved and the dress needs to be altered in the back to fit the model perfectly. Seriously still in shock. Thank you for all the support of my friends and family. This was a rough week. Looking forward to the show. I hope that everyone will watch it on line of be in the audience!

Shoes for the show

the end has no end.

4 Replies

So unfortunately, I don’t have quite as exciting news as Christina. Friday morning, I was going over the Manhattan bridge to my internship when I got a call from my friend who had just checked her email to find that she was on the list of chosen garments. She checked my email only to find that I was not on said list. What a friggen bummer. Not much more I can say, except that I am super proud of the work I’ve done and I really couldn’t be happier with my two looks! I was a little bummed all day (needless to say), and when the designers at Opening Ceremony asked me what was up, I admitted that I had found out that morning that I didn’t get into our senior show. To my surprise, three of them exclaimed that they too did not get into their shows! This sort of gave me a little hope because here were girls with my dream jobs, and they hadn’t been chosen for their shows. Not to say I’m not still completely bummed, but it was nice to be reassured that it’s really not the end of the world. It may be the end of my undergrad career, but it’s just the beginning of years of designing and maybe some day I’ll have a runway show of my own!

So this week (before judgment day) was nothing short of epic. It’s similar to what we experience every year with the week our term garments are due, but this was more… this had a goal in mind and thus even more motivation for a couple of sleepless nights. This is sort of what my Monday and Tuesday looked like…

Then Tuesday night blended seamlessly into Wednesday morning and that looked a little like this:

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

At 6:40 am my friend, Dani B, met me at my apartment and we called a cab, then we made a pit stop to pick up our friend Teresa, then over the Brooklyn Bridge we went. Our little knit lab/cellar/cave/dungeon has never been so hectic. We started dressing our forms around 7:15 and around 8 am, our critic arrived. I don’t think this was required of her at all, but she brought with her tonnes of accessories and shoes that she had bought the night before with our garments in mind – super sweet and wayyy appreciated. The class looked amazing (as did the other knitwear class!). Honestly, to be one of those judges must have been extremely challenging, I sure wouldn’t know how to narrow it down! Every single piece was Fashion Show worthy if you ask me!! Here’s what mine looked like: (FYI, my Flickr is not letting me sign in so I will link these pics to my better-quality ones as soon as it’s working again. PLUS i will include photos of the designers and garments of the whole knitwear specialization so CHECK BACK!)

me and my fashions.

i thought the last one might be a little distracting (with my booty and all), so this is what the judges actually saw.

necklace i made by hand.

closeup of necklace.

body suit closeup with button-out leather and vinyl collar (you can wear one, both or none! i wore both to da clubz last night).

miss stitch skirt with chains closeup.

And here’s everyone in my class!

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

At 9 am, the Fashion Show judges and the Cotton Inc judges arrived and we aptly left the building to bask in the sun and breathe for the first time in over a month. It sure was a strange feeling. Half an hour goes by and we head back to the dungeon, undress our mannequins, return them back to their respective classrooms, and stuff our months of hard work back into our lockers. Then we do what any Fashion Design student would do in celebration – we head to Dallas BBQ for margaritas and fried chicken where I promptly fall asleep at the table (this is not a joke, according to the rest of the girls, it was for a solid 8 minutes).

All-in-all, it was an incredible experience and there’s a tonne that I’m able to take away from it all. I don’t even think I’m done with my collection, actually. Though technically I’m done the work in that class, I think I’ll make a third look to sort of sum it all up. Plus I’m in touch with an awesome photo student from school, B. Charles Johnson, who’s going to shoot my looks and previous work as well. I think we could make something SUPER rad.

Also, as a side note… when I got back to my internship (from the Garment District) on Friday, after I had told them I hadn’t made the show, I asked if they wanted to see my garments. They all crowded around and the number of “oohs” and “aahs” and gasps I heard really gave me the ego boost I needed. They were so shocked that I had made all of the fabrics and everyone picked their favourite pieces. It was such a great feeling!

How to be a Gracious Loser, and Other Things I Don’t Know

3 Replies

Dear Sportswear Trackers,

Where the f- did we go wrong?

…..”I rather not be in the show with the rest of you guys than to be in the show without you”, I overhear one friend of mine sharing with some others. That is loyalty. That is a friend. That is…complete and utter crap.

We’re all friends here, and we all recognize each others talents, which made Friday’s grand announcement doubly difficult to digest. For many of us, we have to get over both the shock and disappointment of our own rejection and that of our brilliant classmates. Indeed there were many exchanges of

The Rejects. Boo....hiss....boo!!!! So my crocheting's a little wonky, but oh my cotton-my glorious cotton!!

“I thought for sure you were going to get in,”

“I don’t get it, your stuff is amazing,”

“You?! You didn’t?! No way, no way”

and the still lingering consensus of:

“Why?….why……?”

and my personal favorite:

“This….is some….bulls—”

Even Lil’ Humphrey still can’t believe his little monkey ears. He had his favorites like the rest of us. (Mine included, of course. Also, he did help out at some point so he’s taking this rather personally).

Look at him. He's taking it so hard.

…I can’t help but take it personally. I understand that design is subjective but it’s not like there were only 3 judges. And people like those on our panel–professionals held in high regard in their prospective industries– well, wouldn’t I want to appeal to their tastes in the first place? So why feed me crap about how this decision has no reflection on how good I am as a designer? No, it doesn’t mean that I’m a bad one. I know that I’m not and not everyone can be in the show. In fact, many of the people that were cut, I thought to be brilliant, shining examples of what the “Future of Fashion” is really all about. So, no, not getting into the show doesn’t make me a bad designer– I happen to think I’m a very good one–but it tells me that I’m just not good enough. They only wanted the best. So I’m not the best….and isn’t that what we all want to be?

Both looks w/o their perspective outerwear on. Chic, classic, understated elegance...me.

Look 2 with look 1's sleeveless jacket. The whole point of a Sportswear Collection to me, is that all the pieces work with eachother.

Frontal view of my Cotton Inc. Garment. I thought for sure it would get in.

Back view. It's a mercerized cotton jersey top with cotton voile binding. Bindings on knits...give me something for even braving this.

The "multi-top". It's one of my signatures, being able to change the garment. I made it reversible with a layered look. Here it's even on backwards as a boatneck.

And the judges have spoken.

2 Replies

So after much stress and a very long night yesterday, I went in to school for 10 am to see the infamous “list” of who got into the show. I made it! With which ensemble you ask? Go figure, the judges favored my cotton one. Though a little disappointed they didn’t choose my first ensemble which I slaved over for months, I am grateful I am in the show!

Bodice side view with antique lace

The model fitting is on monday and I need to get shoes and accessories to match my ensemble. Shopping day tomorrow!

We will know the award winners for the Cotton Inc. competition and the critic award winner on Wednesday. I have already been chosen to be part of an exhibition here at FIT for my cotton design for the fall 2010 semester. Also, I was selected to display my artwork at the BFA art exhibit which will be in the FIT museum. All in all, it has been a success!

BFA art board #1

BFA art board #2

Congratulations to every single BFA fashion design student, we all worked so hard to create our visions and bring our garments to fruition. We are all design stars!

Patience is a Virtue

4 Replies

So after a weekend of hardly any sleep, a tedious Saturday session at school, and a few snafus, ensembles 1 & 2 are done! Finally, a sigh of relief. I honestly do not know how I finished second ensemble (the cotton one) for Monday, seen as how I started sewing it the Tuesday before.

My cotton garments came out a lot better than expected, A LOT better. The pintucking I decided to do came out with precision (so I got to keep my $98 from Stanley Pleating) and looked amazing. I had some fellow class mates come up to me after it was on the form and say “Christina, I can’t believe that you did all that yourself, I was standing there looking to see if any were uneven, I couldn’t find any!” (hooray!). It did look good on the form, and I am proud of it. After class was over, the critic came up to me with the professor and commented on how much she was drawn to my cotton ensemble, and how disappointed she was that she could not be part of the cotton judging committee. I think I could be in the running for the cotton award on Wednesday, but I do have some stiff competition. Everyone has done a beautiful job, I am proud of my classmates.

bodice with pintucks

Bodice side view with antique lace

Bustier with Petticoat and Panty

I was a little disappointed that the critic award winner was not announced in class on Monday, as I thought it would be. We got to class and put our 2 ensembles on the forms and were told to take a 1.5 hour break so the professor and critic could deliberate on who gets to show their second ensembles Wednesday, any aesthetic or construction changes, and the decision of the CA winner. We did not get a personal critique from the critic, just a general overview of what she thought at the end of class when we returned from the 1.5 hour break. She was very impressed with the work that we did and understood that each and every one of us put our hearts and hard work into every piece we created. Success.

Tomorrow is the ALMOST the final judging day. We will do everything that we did on Monday all over again for the fashion show judges to come in and select our garments for the show. Also, the Cotton Inc. committee will come to see our cotton garments and choose their prize winner. We will not know who was chosen for the show, nor the award winners until Friday when “the list” is posted outside of the fashion design office. Feels a little like volley ball try-outs in high school, right? Its only Tuesday and Friday feels like months away, I am very impatient to see how everything will turn out, hopefully you will be seeing one of my ensembles strutting down the runway. Keep your fingers crossed!