Leanne Marshall's Spring 2010 Show

I absolutely love FIT so far, especially since the school provides resources such as volunteer work for Fashion Week. Thanks to FIT, I got to see Project Runway winner, Leanne Marshall's Spring 2010 fashion show on Saturday! It was honestly one of the most exciting events of my life. I absolutely love her design style and she is sweet, to boot! (I didn't get to meet her but other students did and they said she was very nice.) The show was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion Gallery on 18th street, not at Bryant Park, but I thought it was a nice venue, anyway. I was given a backstage pass and mostly sat at the table at the front of the house and tried to answer guests questions to the best of my ability without much guidance from the producers. It was not what I consider work at all and then I was allowed to sit in the 2nd row and watch the show!

Below is a quick snap of the backstage area. 

The first famous person that I saw walk in before the show was the model, Alek Wek, and an "Oh, wow..." escaped my lips before I could control it. She is huge! Not huge as in large, but huge as in supermodel status! After that, I was able to check myself and remain cool when the famous people entered. However, when the show was starting I could barely contain my excitement and I think I was bouncing in my seat a bit. Of course I took pictures of all of the looks but I have posted only the best shots that I got. Leanne's P.R. woman said the line was inspired by a font. Although this font remains a mystery to me, I still enjoyed the clean lines and architectural pieces that Leanne is known for. She also tries to use eco-friendly fabrics in the majority of her line which is wonderfully admirable. Show time!

Love below!

Alek Wek below!

Love this model below! She is so sleek!

Finale!

Amazing, right?! Loved it. Pictured below are a couple of Project Runway stars that you might recognize. Kevin, on the left with the beard, and Jack on the far right, both from Season 4. Suede, from Season 5 was also there to support Leanne. I actually introduced myself to Jack! I told him I was a fashion design student at FIT and he said he went to Parsons. I asked how Project Runway helped his career and he responded that it has changed his life. He said he isn't even doing fashion anymore, now he is in the television business getting paid more to do less work. Life is a journey! 

Fashion's Night Out

September 10th marked the first day of Fashion Week and to kick it off proper, all of the fashion designers were out and about in the city promoting themselves for the aptly named event, "Fashion's Night Out." There were so many small events scattered throughout the city, it was hard to pick just one venue. My friends from the Fashion Design program were headed to Barney's to check out the party, so I joined them.

First things first, we headed to the 2nd Floor bar for free champagne and from there we set out to fully take in the surreal night. All of the designers were promoting themselves in unique ways. Pictured below, Behnaz Sarafpour was set up in front of her inspiration board, drawing illustrations for people. She has quite an impressive resume. Click on her name to check out her collection.

Alexander Wang, the master of "tough chic," was hosting a walk-off where anyone could strut like a model on the make-shift runway. His area had a great party vibe with loud beatastic music and hot clothes. He is pictured in the center in a white t-shirt.

I most wanted to catch a glimpse of the Toledos since seeing their exhibition in the Museum at FIT. I adore Ruben Toledo, he is such a character and talented illustrator. In person, he is very animated and reminds me of Ricky Ricardo from "I Love Lucy." Both of them were very gracious with their patrons.

I only caught glimpses of these famous designers that evening, but earlier that morning a small group of us lucky 1-year students got a much more intimate experience with a master of fashion. The Couture Council of the Museum at FIT honored Dries Van Noten with the 2009 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion the night before and in turn he asked to speak to a group of students about his life as a fashion designer. He began his career in Belgium, which is not well known for fashion and he has been self-financed from the get-go. He has been flying under the radar for quite some time due to his refusal to advertise and using fashion shows as his only medium for communication. However, his company has continued to grow over the years. He is a fashion genius but still a modest and humble man, and for this I have the utmost respect for him. One of my favorite things he noted was that since he lives in Belgium, he is outside of the fashion circus and that gives him a unique viewpoint. He does what he wants at all times.

At Barney's, I found his collection, part of which is pictured below. He is well-known for his hues, prints and outstanding fabrics. He mentioned that he really pushes manufacturing companies to progress their weaving techniques in order to create the perfect fabric to translate his story of emotions. He is simply amazing to me.

After all of that madness, this happened on the subway. What a truly surreal life.

Fashion Bootcamp: Week 2

My mind is spinning with all of the magnificence that is life in New York. I hardly know where to start. Since school is my number one priority, I suppose I should start there. Last weekend, I spent the majority of my time getting my life together, as I like to call it. I had to organize in a major way. With the speed and scope of the classes, I have to be at the top of my game at all times. I received my textbooks in the mail and I don't think these will ever make it to buyback, since they will be great references for years to come.

I was officially trained on threading the JUKI and I already feel more comfortable with the speed. I'm telling you, I'll be a pro in no time.

I drew my first nude model in Life Drawing on Thursday. My sketching started off a little rough but then I started to get the hang of it. It was difficult for me not to alter her body and stretch it out the way we do in Fashion Art & Design. Personal observation: There's something a little funny about people that work as nude models... strange breed, they are.

One of my biggest highlights on Thursday was when I received my first "A" in Structured Silhouettes! You don't even know how nervous I was about being graded. I tend to be very critical of myself, but its only because I take pride in what I do and have very high expectations for myself. I always strive to be a better person.

In my last post, I mentioned that we were drawing croquis in Fashion Art & Design and here are a few examples of some figures with shifted balance. These are used as guidelines for when we add our garment designs. Even though these croquis are very standard as far as proportion, my croquis are still very different than the croquis of others in my class. Everyone has their own style and I am very interested to see how my figures evolve.

Speaking of evolution, I am only including these face renderings for the purpose of documenting my progression. These were experimentations and they need some tweaking but I think I am heading in the right direction, minus the fake-baking look.

On the subject of Fashion Illustration, today our class was introduced to a legend in the field. Steven Stipleman is an amazing old-school Fashion Illustrator (put his name into google images) and now he is a professor in the Fashion Design department at FIT. He spoke with us about submitting a portfolio application for the Art Specialization Track, which is of great interest to me. Only 25 students are chosen for the Art concentration and the other 275 students in the Associate Fashion Design program, combining the 1-year and 2-year programs, will automatically continue in the Apparel concentration. I'm still unsure what the benefits of each track are, so I still have to weigh my options. Either way, my options are looking very good.

Draping for Days

While others ceased laboring on Labor Day, I, along with a couple classmates, used the day to catch up on homework. Briana, pictured below, is a friend from my program. We have all seven classes together, which is nice when you need a homework partner! Yesterday, we both spent hours perfecting our draping project, and it was well worth it. Today seemed like a breeze compared to last week.

Yesterday was also my first introduction to the JUKI industrial sewing machine. I had to put ease stitching into my curved sleeve cap which was mighty difficult, but I accomplished it after a few tries. I'll be an expert soon enough, JUKI and I are going to spend many hours together. Eunhye, pictured below using the JUKI, is also in my program, hailing all the way from Korea.

Below, my finished bodice from yesterday, for my Structured Silhouettes Draping class.

Things were finally starting to click today, and draping the skirt seemed much easier than draping the bodice. Then, we pinned the skirt to the bodice and a very matronly little dress was created.

My second class today was Fashion Art & Design, which is another way of saying "fashion illustration." We drew a bunch of croquis, which are the figures we use to show how the garment looks on a body and I will show you pictures of those another time!

Circumnavigation Saturday

Ahhh, finally the weekend and little relaxation was in order, after an overwhelming week at school. I had heard that the Chelsea Market is frequented by chefs from the Food Network, so I decided I would go there to buy some groceries. The market is composed of a very long hallway, with exposed beams and bricks, and little shops and restaurants to the sides.

I made it to my destination, which was the produce section. I picked up my basket and realized although the produce looked spectacular, I was too hungry to focus on shopping. I needed to eat first.

After checking out the prices at the restaurants, I started to realize I was in a tourist trap. And after eating a meal that was much overpriced and barely edible, I became resentful. I was swindled by the Chelsea Market. I was so annoyed that I decided to forgo my grocery shopping and instead, tried to soothe my nerves with a little chocolate therapy. I do like Ruthy's Bakery, cute decor and wonderful looking desserts. I don't completely condemn the Chelsea Market. I will probably go back to the produce section, but next time, I'll go on a full stomach.

Later that evening, I went to meet Jane and company, in the West Village. Jane is a good friend that I met at KU years ago and this weekend, she was in New York for her friend's wedding. Jane was staying with Kurt and Julie, whom I also knew from Lawrence. They are living in Brooklyn, so its nice to have yet another connection in New York. We all went to this vegan restaurant, called Red Bamboo. Jane's boyfriend, Dan, a veteran vegan, suggested that we all try the "buffalo wings" which I'm sure were made from some sort of tofu product. They were actually very tasty and even had a "skin" and texture like chicken. My b.l.t. was not the greatest, so I'll have to try the burger next time.

I parted ways with Jane and company, and headed, on-foot, to the East Village to meet Angel. Angel and I met at the Community Blood Center in April and became fast friends. She recently moved to Detroit and was in New York this weekend visiting friends. We went to a very authentic Japanese hole-in-the-wall and shared a bottle of saki with her friends. She is looking to apply to schools in NY for her PhD, so maybe I'll have ANOTHER friend here.

From the bar, I headed to the train station a few blocks away. Navigating in the city is not a super easy feat, but its doable. I usually map out my path before I leave my house, using google maps if walking, and MTA Trip Planner if I'm taking the subway. And although having an iPhone would solve nearly all of my problems, I have been saved by my little Sprint Instinct, many times. So I hopped on the L and had to do my first transfer all by myself. I intended to transfer to the F train but got a little ahead of myself and got off of the L too early. But it was no problem, I was carrying my subway map in my purse. In order to not look like a complete tourist, I kept the map folded in my purse and tried to decipher my route. I ended up taking the NQRW, for the first time, to 28th street and all was great. Sometimes its better to learn by accident but I usually prefer to be prepared and that is why I intend to buy the Not For Tourists Guide to New York 2010. It doesn't get published until 090909, so I have a few more days to wait. In the meantime, I made my own little mapbook.

Homework time! (Not excited about it...)

Whimsy on a Wednesday

Although today was only my third day of classes, it felt like weeks worth. I kind of feel like I'm in boot camp for fashion designers, but I'm enjoying it and I will come out of it very well prepared. Today, I started my day off with Sewing class, where next week I will be introduced to sewing on Juki industrial machines. All I know is there is one speed on those things, and its fast. Then, I was so pleasantly surprised when I realized we had a THREE hour break for lunch! A free hour around here is like gold, so imagine my delight at three! I didn't think the day could get much better than that... but then it did. My friend, Christine, and I went to sign up to volunteer for Fashion Week and I got so lucky. I really wanted to work for Leanne Marshall, the most recent Project Runway winner, and they had one opening, so I got it! I was so giddy about that for hours afterwards. More details on that to come. My last class today was Life Drawing, in which we are going to be drawing nude models all semester. I can't think of a more relaxing class. I love to draw and now I have hours allotted just to draw! Christine is pictured below in our drawing classroom.

After classes, I treated myself to chinese food delivery! It was delicious and unhealthy, and I ate it much too fast to even think about taking a picture. After dinner, I headed out to buy more art supplies. On my way, I noticed a crowd of people, many with cameras and an excited buzz was in the air. I asked what everyone was waiting for and I was told they were shooting an episode of Gossip Girl and "Blair" was about to come outside. I have watched a single episode of Gossip Girl, so my first instinct was to keep walking, but since I've been in New York, my sense of adventure has become more acute, so I waited a moment. And out rushed "Blair" and I was not at all ready with my camera. So I took my camera out, and tried to get a shot of one of the dude characters, but alas I am a terrible paparazzi. I'll keep my day job.

Back To School, Again

Yesterday was the first day of class and I was actually feeling the "first day" jitters! I was nervous about being able to flip my creativity switch on demand, but fortunately it all went pretty smoothly and today was even better than yesterday. Yesterday, I started off with a Photoshop class which I felt I could keep up with quite well. My second class was Soft Silhouette Draping, and we didn't actually start any projects but the teacher seems very nice and helpful. Today, I had Structured Silhouette Draping and we dove right in! It was so fun to drape on a dress form, much more interesting than flat patterns. My last class today was Fashion Art and Design. I am already confident with my drawing skills and I am looking forward to developing them even more. So far, I am absolutely loving my classes and looking forward to the rest! Now its off to my Work Study job in the sewing lab, getting paid to do my homework, can't beat that!