DAHLINGS -
Once again, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week (as they insist you call it) is going to be roaring into New York City next week. And your faithful correspondent is preparing as fast as she can.
Not only will I be wearing items from my extensive collection of plus-sized vintage fashion. But I will also be wearing couture pieces specially designed for moi by:
Mad Couture; Mad Couture designs extreme fashion for plus-sized women.
SKWilbur; SKWilbur fashions show a classic sensibility, an eye for detail and haute couture level construction. http://www.skwilbur.com/ His blog, "I Am Fabulous" is in my Links section.
Hats by David Temple of Los Angeles. His hats are custom creations that merge modern technology with old world materials and craftsmanship. http://www.clevervintageclothing.com/
And once again by Ellen Christine Millinery. Ellen Christine is well known for her extensive editorial work and magnificent one-of-a-kind hats. http://ellenchristine.com/
As you may remember, in September at the Christian Siriano show I met the uber-fabulous Tim Gunn, who admitted he is a fan of my blog! (I blushed and stammered.) And at the Isaac Mizrahi show I upstaged Kathy Griffin, as Women’s Wear Daily attested: http://tinyurl.com/ycojsgd .
This time I intend to dazzle the masses as well as working as hard as humanly possible to bring you the wonders of the runway. (I think my nose grew five inches when I wrote that last sentence, but never mind.)
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
Showing posts with label Isaac Mizrahi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaac Mizrahi. Show all posts
Friday, February 5, 2010
Friday, September 25, 2009
Interview With Red Carpet Photographer Frazer Harrison
DAHLINGS –
All of this talk of the Emmy red carpet has me remembering my interview last week at New York Fashion Week with photographer Frazer Harrison.
Frazer Harrison is a ruggedly handsome, outspoken Englishman, based in Los Angeles as an entertainment photographer for Getty Images. You’ve seen his work in magazines, the Internet, anywhere there’s a celebrity event. When looking at magazine photos of the red carpet, be it the Academy Awards, the Emmys or even the VMAs, you’re apt to see Harrison’s photographs of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Charlize Theron, even Paris Hilton. (But that’s hardly Harrison’s fault.)
(Frazer Harrison)
We met inside the cavernous lobby of Mercedez Benz Fashion Week, and settled down on the huge stone fountain for a quiet conversation. The talk ranged from fashion to Hollywood to the difference between photojournalism and paparazzi.
(Photo: Elisa DeCarlo)
Since his bailiwick is the red carpet, Harrison admitted that the runway media pits are not his favorite places to be.
(Isaac Mizrahi/Photo: Frazer Harrison)We started with casual conversation about the shows. Asked which fashion shows he thought were the worst, he immediately answered, “Daviddelfin. And Duckie Brown. Those shorts looked like diapers. I looked at those shorts, and I wondered, where’s the colostomy bag?”
We were joined by his publicist. The talk turned from New York fashion to Hollywood. Harrison much prefers the red carpet, and has spent years honing his ability to get the perfect picture. There’s a generic Young Hollywood pose, hand on hip, one foot forward. Harrison wished some of the female stars would leave their hands at their sides for a more interesting picture. He urged those who would wish to walk the red carpet to “practice the pose that works for you, however you like it.”
“A very small number of actors and actresses know how to work the red carpet,” Harrison observed. “Most of them have no idea how to pose. They jump up and down; they don’t know where to look. To know how to work the red carpet, you look straight, you don’t react to the shouting.”
Then how to get that certain celebrity to look into your camera when you’re surrounded by screaming colleagues? “You’ve got to have a trademark,” he said. “I yell ‘Over to the English guy!’ or, if it’s a big star like Drew Barrymore, ‘I’ll make you famous’!” He laughed. “That’s a line from a movie.”
(Amy Poehler at the Emmys/Photo: Frazer Harrison) What is his biggest red carpet peeve?“Celebrities don’t need to be led down the red carpet on a leash, by their publicists” he replied.
“It has to be done,” his publicist interrupts. “They spend too long—“
“Leave them alone,” Harrison responds. Harrison felt that the biggest problem with today’s red carpet is that there is not enough real celebrity. (Your faithful correspondent heartily concurs. ) “It’s been taken over by reality television stars,” he said, noting that few of them have the genuine charisma of real celebrities.
And digital photography has made photographers lazier, he stated. “You used to wait with your camera for that perfect shot,” he said, lifting his camera and carefully pretending to aim it at a moving celebrity. “Then you get that perfect shot. Nowadays, it’s just—“Harrison swings the camera, making a rat-a-tat noise. “You get hundreds of pictures.”
As a longtime professional photojournalist, Harrison gets most exercised when compared to the paparazzi. “None of us like to be called paparazzi. They’re scumbags. Photojournalists capture moments. What are remembered on the red carpet are the real moments, like Clark Gable hugging Marilyn Monroe. I call those action shots, or war pictures."
(Kathy Griffin at the Emmys/Photo: Frazer Harrison)"When the history of Hollywood is written, those are the pictures that will be used. The line is slim [between photojournalists and paparazzi], because we’re both taking candid shots.” However, he chuckles as he remembers an encounter with Liz Hurley during the Hugh Grant scandal. Harrison was at the airport, trying to get his shot, when he backed into a concrete post and fell. Hurley looked down at him and said, “Serves you right, fucker.”
But, says Harrison, “You don’t judge a person in the moment.” Sometimes the celebrity is under stress, but then that same celebrity will be perfectly friendly at another time.
"Everybody has their own thing," he concluded. "You have to ask yourself, 'what's special about me'?"
Fortunately, when it comes to moi, I do not have to ask. But Frazer Harrison is definitely a special gentleman. He's never done a nude shoot, but seemed amenable to one at a future date. Be sure, I know how to strike a pose!
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Tony Awards Worst Dressed 2009
DAHLINGS -
The Tony Awards broadcast was truly a delightful program, as I wrote previously, but now it is time to nominate the most egregious Crimes Against Fashion committed on Sunday.
First, the woman I am certain will make all of the Worst Dressed Lists, the incomparable (and truly frightening) Dolly Parton:
I ask you, what is that draped mini-skirted horror? This is truly a woman I never want to see with her clothing off. The mind boggles.
Movie and stage star Laura Linney chose a fussy gown that did her no favors, either in the figure or the coloring department. Somehow she looks like a giant bottle of Almay liquid foundation in "Pale":
Edie Falco obviously had no time to get a dress, so she threw on this rumpled bedspread:
Neon orange does not become Sutton Foster. Although I doubt it would become anybody who wasn't a teenager in a club in a bad neighborhood:
Speaking of orange, poor Marisa Tomei, who usually does so well, made a wrong turn when she chose this Isaac Mizrahi dress, which washes out her coloring. And what is that black tulle thing vomiting out of the back? (And speaking of Isaac Mizrahi, it reminds one of something one of the lesser designers on the "The Fashion Show" would present.
Fortunately, the Tony Awards are a less dramatic affair, fashion-wise, than other awards shows. Perhaps other writers are disappointed, but yours truly was grateful for the overwhelming display of good taste.
As for other just-plain-wrong moments on the show, the one that stands out for me is the utter bastardization of "Sit Down, You're Rocking The Boat" from Guys and Dolls. Whoever thought of the alternate ending of that number should be beaten to a bloody pulp. I write that with the utmost respect, of course.
Legally Blonde was the closest thing to a musical vacuum as I have seen since I accidentally blundered into a Miley Cyrus album release party. (I was looking for a fashion awards party and went to the club down the street--I still shudder at the memory.)
More later!
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
The Tony Awards broadcast was truly a delightful program, as I wrote previously, but now it is time to nominate the most egregious Crimes Against Fashion committed on Sunday.
First, the woman I am certain will make all of the Worst Dressed Lists, the incomparable (and truly frightening) Dolly Parton:
I ask you, what is that draped mini-skirted horror? This is truly a woman I never want to see with her clothing off. The mind boggles.
Movie and stage star Laura Linney chose a fussy gown that did her no favors, either in the figure or the coloring department. Somehow she looks like a giant bottle of Almay liquid foundation in "Pale":
Edie Falco obviously had no time to get a dress, so she threw on this rumpled bedspread:
Neon orange does not become Sutton Foster. Although I doubt it would become anybody who wasn't a teenager in a club in a bad neighborhood:
Speaking of orange, poor Marisa Tomei, who usually does so well, made a wrong turn when she chose this Isaac Mizrahi dress, which washes out her coloring. And what is that black tulle thing vomiting out of the back? (And speaking of Isaac Mizrahi, it reminds one of something one of the lesser designers on the "The Fashion Show" would present.
Fortunately, the Tony Awards are a less dramatic affair, fashion-wise, than other awards shows. Perhaps other writers are disappointed, but yours truly was grateful for the overwhelming display of good taste.
As for other just-plain-wrong moments on the show, the one that stands out for me is the utter bastardization of "Sit Down, You're Rocking The Boat" from Guys and Dolls. Whoever thought of the alternate ending of that number should be beaten to a bloody pulp. I write that with the utmost respect, of course.
Legally Blonde was the closest thing to a musical vacuum as I have seen since I accidentally blundered into a Miley Cyrus album release party. (I was looking for a fashion awards party and went to the club down the street--I still shudder at the memory.)
More later!
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Fashion Show, Episode Four: Foot In Mouth
DAHLINGS -
Due to my hectic schedule and no access to DVR, I only saw the last fifteen minutes of last night's "The Fashion Show." Obviously Isaac Mizrahi had been told to tone it down a few notches. Because unless my ears were deceiving me, he had some nice things to say about the designs. The designers' challenge was to design an outfit based on a pair of shoes. And thank goodness, they were no longer working in teams, but individually! If I'd had to listen to Isaac say "Team Haven" one more time...
Tell me, is there a point in Kelly Rowland's presence? Although there is something unintentionally humorous about the gravity which with she does her non-job. As if everyone is in on the joke except poor Ms. Rowland. One can almost hear the camera crew stifling their guffaws.
Your faithful correspondent has no idea why anyone likes this dress...am I the only person who thinks it looks like a diaper? It was designed by Angel, and even though she probably had the worst shoes to work with (Stella McCartney), one can only imagine what this would look like worn by an older woman in the Hamptons. Or even a younger woman. Or a man.
Except for the fact that I have taken a liking to Lidia, her dress was awful and I believe she should have gone home, not whoever-the-man was.
This crumpled mess of a dress answers the question: how on earth do you make a professional model look like she has a pot belly? (One thinks that every designer on this show should be BANNED from using TULLE in any form!)
But Merlin's was far worse. However, his headgear will likely keep him on "The Fashion Show" for at least another few weeks.
I was delighted that Reco won. Except for his penchant for plunging necklines (did we really need to see the star tattoos on his chest?), I enjoy his trash-talking. And yes, this did look tres Balenciaga, but the workmanship was excellent. The strange little hat tied the look perfectly with the cage shoes. Although at a cocktail party, it could wreak havoc with trying to eat hors d'oeuvres.
More later, dahlings, when I am back in New York -
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
Due to my hectic schedule and no access to DVR, I only saw the last fifteen minutes of last night's "The Fashion Show." Obviously Isaac Mizrahi had been told to tone it down a few notches. Because unless my ears were deceiving me, he had some nice things to say about the designs. The designers' challenge was to design an outfit based on a pair of shoes. And thank goodness, they were no longer working in teams, but individually! If I'd had to listen to Isaac say "Team Haven" one more time...
Tell me, is there a point in Kelly Rowland's presence? Although there is something unintentionally humorous about the gravity which with she does her non-job. As if everyone is in on the joke except poor Ms. Rowland. One can almost hear the camera crew stifling their guffaws.
Your faithful correspondent has no idea why anyone likes this dress...am I the only person who thinks it looks like a diaper? It was designed by Angel, and even though she probably had the worst shoes to work with (Stella McCartney), one can only imagine what this would look like worn by an older woman in the Hamptons. Or even a younger woman. Or a man.
Except for the fact that I have taken a liking to Lidia, her dress was awful and I believe she should have gone home, not whoever-the-man was.
This crumpled mess of a dress answers the question: how on earth do you make a professional model look like she has a pot belly? (One thinks that every designer on this show should be BANNED from using TULLE in any form!)
But Merlin's was far worse. However, his headgear will likely keep him on "The Fashion Show" for at least another few weeks.
I was delighted that Reco won. Except for his penchant for plunging necklines (did we really need to see the star tattoos on his chest?), I enjoy his trash-talking. And yes, this did look tres Balenciaga, but the workmanship was excellent. The strange little hat tied the look perfectly with the cage shoes. Although at a cocktail party, it could wreak havoc with trying to eat hors d'oeuvres.
More later, dahlings, when I am back in New York -
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Fashion Show, Episode Two: Come Back, Heidi Klum, All Is Forgiven!
DAHLINGS –
So, the second episode of The Fashion Show has been inflicted on the American public. Your faithful correspondent was not impressed. At least they have toned down “Evil Isaac” to “Nasty Isaac.”
After being told last week by “Evil Isaac” that she had no business being in fashion, a weeping Kristin quit the show. So now we won’t have to look at that annoying hair anymore.
As before, Kelly Rowland still has absolutely nothing of value to say during the judging. Thank God for Fern Mallis, or I couldn’t sit through this idiocy. And the ending catchphrase from NI: “We’re not buying it. Bye, darling.” Somehow one doubts that will be on everyone’s lips. With Project Runway, fans said that the designers had been "auf'd." Saying a designer has been "bye'd" lacks the same zing, don't you think?
The mini-challenges aren't worth commenting about, other than they take even more time away from the workroom. AND they have 30 second segments of the actual show? Not teasers, but segments? Thank goodness for fast forward.
And how pathetic is it that the only visible sponsor is Tresemme? When they showed the fabric store, it certainly wasn’t Mood (which your faithful correspondent has visited many times), in fact, they could not show the name on the bags! And the winner gets…
A fashion show on the runway set. In the basement of whatever building that is. Combien peuvent-ils faire de plus faible des enjeux, chers lecteurs?
I never thought I would write this, but I miss Heidi Klum.
Well, most of the time.
This past week’s challenge was to design for…Tinsley Mortimer. Ms. Mortimer is a “socialite”, and she and her husband Topper (in this picture she told him to look at the camera, but this is the best the poor thing could do) are from that elite group that intermarries. Rather like Appalachians, but with far more money.
This is a woman so without personality that a planned reality show about her life was scrapped earlier this year. Do you realize how dull a celebrity has to be to have a reality show about you not even make it to air? (I know this fact because I have my connections.)
“My hair is my trademark,” she claimed about her bleached tinder-dry long bob with bangs. The bangs at least obscured the ridiculous amount of eye makeup she was wearing. Each designer was given $40 to create their outfits. As the young people say, WTF?
The designers were kept in teams, which is meant to promote conflict as these various social misfits clash with each other. Merlin’s flamboyance is starting to grow on me, and I suspect the producers will keep him until he makes something so unforgiveable that it actually catches fire on the runway and burns the poor model to death. Reco looks exactly Jimmy Walker on “Good Times.” One keeps waiting for him to shout “Dy-no-MITE!” I liked his design, if not the clashing colors. (That background designing for strippers is hard to shake off.)
During the 14 hours the designers had to create their pieces, Nasty Isaac and Useless Kelly visited the workroom several times. Determined to be as unlike Tim Gunn as possible, instead of giving constructive criticism and encouragement, Nasty Isaac tears down each design. Or if he can't think of anything sufficiently vicious to say to the designer, he simply sprinkles some bad karma around. Each time the hosts leave, the designers are visibly more dispirited. WHAT is going on?
Are they going to start waterboarding the designers as we get closer to the Final Four?
Laura was determined to put red tulle on a badly designed dress, despite the efforts of her team to talk her out of it. And the back! Dear God, the back!
During the final judging, an awful lot time is taken up with of groups of people getting up, sitting down, getting up, sitting down. I was starting to nod off from boredom, so I’m not certain why. Bucky was sleeping in my lap, so he was of no help.
Suffice to say that Daniella won for a cute jumpsuit with a transparent bomber jacket, nothing special except for a floppy blue bow that was completely out of place. Ms. Mortimer, the fourth judge, would “totally wear it.”
The loser was going to be either Laura and Johnny R., whose dress not only promised to malfunction on the runway (thank goodness models barely have breasts), but was put together with safety pins. When criticized, Johnny R. and Isaac had a bitch-slapping contest. Not smart, Johnny dahling. Isaac is the host, you fool. Obvious to us, perhaps, but not to Top-Knot Guy. (Unfortunately for moi, the nickname Samurai Guy is already taken.)
Backstage, Isaac pretended to be foaming-at-the-mouth furious while Kelly pretended to restrain him. The choice was between “bad attitude and bad dress.” I’m sure after consultation with the producers, they went for bad dress. Quel mauvais. Top-Knot Guy is more telegenic, and I’m sure we can look forward to more outbursts in the future.
Or you can look forward to it. I might wait for the real thing to come along later in the season, on Lifetime.
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
So, the second episode of The Fashion Show has been inflicted on the American public. Your faithful correspondent was not impressed. At least they have toned down “Evil Isaac” to “Nasty Isaac.”
After being told last week by “Evil Isaac” that she had no business being in fashion, a weeping Kristin quit the show. So now we won’t have to look at that annoying hair anymore.
As before, Kelly Rowland still has absolutely nothing of value to say during the judging. Thank God for Fern Mallis, or I couldn’t sit through this idiocy. And the ending catchphrase from NI: “We’re not buying it. Bye, darling.” Somehow one doubts that will be on everyone’s lips. With Project Runway, fans said that the designers had been "auf'd." Saying a designer has been "bye'd" lacks the same zing, don't you think?
The mini-challenges aren't worth commenting about, other than they take even more time away from the workroom. AND they have 30 second segments of the actual show? Not teasers, but segments? Thank goodness for fast forward.
And how pathetic is it that the only visible sponsor is Tresemme? When they showed the fabric store, it certainly wasn’t Mood (which your faithful correspondent has visited many times), in fact, they could not show the name on the bags! And the winner gets…
A fashion show on the runway set. In the basement of whatever building that is. Combien peuvent-ils faire de plus faible des enjeux, chers lecteurs?
I never thought I would write this, but I miss Heidi Klum.
Well, most of the time.
This past week’s challenge was to design for…Tinsley Mortimer. Ms. Mortimer is a “socialite”, and she and her husband Topper (in this picture she told him to look at the camera, but this is the best the poor thing could do) are from that elite group that intermarries. Rather like Appalachians, but with far more money.
This is a woman so without personality that a planned reality show about her life was scrapped earlier this year. Do you realize how dull a celebrity has to be to have a reality show about you not even make it to air? (I know this fact because I have my connections.)
“My hair is my trademark,” she claimed about her bleached tinder-dry long bob with bangs. The bangs at least obscured the ridiculous amount of eye makeup she was wearing. Each designer was given $40 to create their outfits. As the young people say, WTF?
The designers were kept in teams, which is meant to promote conflict as these various social misfits clash with each other. Merlin’s flamboyance is starting to grow on me, and I suspect the producers will keep him until he makes something so unforgiveable that it actually catches fire on the runway and burns the poor model to death. Reco looks exactly Jimmy Walker on “Good Times.” One keeps waiting for him to shout “Dy-no-MITE!” I liked his design, if not the clashing colors. (That background designing for strippers is hard to shake off.)
During the 14 hours the designers had to create their pieces, Nasty Isaac and Useless Kelly visited the workroom several times. Determined to be as unlike Tim Gunn as possible, instead of giving constructive criticism and encouragement, Nasty Isaac tears down each design. Or if he can't think of anything sufficiently vicious to say to the designer, he simply sprinkles some bad karma around. Each time the hosts leave, the designers are visibly more dispirited. WHAT is going on?
Are they going to start waterboarding the designers as we get closer to the Final Four?
Laura was determined to put red tulle on a badly designed dress, despite the efforts of her team to talk her out of it. And the back! Dear God, the back!
During the final judging, an awful lot time is taken up with of groups of people getting up, sitting down, getting up, sitting down. I was starting to nod off from boredom, so I’m not certain why. Bucky was sleeping in my lap, so he was of no help.
Suffice to say that Daniella won for a cute jumpsuit with a transparent bomber jacket, nothing special except for a floppy blue bow that was completely out of place. Ms. Mortimer, the fourth judge, would “totally wear it.”
The loser was going to be either Laura and Johnny R., whose dress not only promised to malfunction on the runway (thank goodness models barely have breasts), but was put together with safety pins. When criticized, Johnny R. and Isaac had a bitch-slapping contest. Not smart, Johnny dahling. Isaac is the host, you fool. Obvious to us, perhaps, but not to Top-Knot Guy. (Unfortunately for moi, the nickname Samurai Guy is already taken.)
Backstage, Isaac pretended to be foaming-at-the-mouth furious while Kelly pretended to restrain him. The choice was between “bad attitude and bad dress.” I’m sure after consultation with the producers, they went for bad dress. Quel mauvais. Top-Knot Guy is more telegenic, and I’m sure we can look forward to more outbursts in the future.
Or you can look forward to it. I might wait for the real thing to come along later in the season, on Lifetime.
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Project Runway on Steroids: The Fashion Show
DAHLINGS -
Now that Bravo has lost "Project Runway," they have seen fit to create, as they say in the fashion business, a knock-off. "The Fashion Show." Oh yes, the trim is different, perhaps the skirt is shorter and the material is definitely cheaper. But the echoes are there, and not to the show's advantage.
It is not meant to be "Project Runway"--there is no Tim Gunn mentoring the designers, the fashions are displayed at the end before a live audience--but of course the spirit of its predecessor hovers over the program. Fifteen designers compete to become the Final Four, with an elimination each week.
By far the best part of the show, IMO, was the runway show. The set is well-designed, and the excitement of a live audience makes it feel almost like we are watching a real fashion show. However, the lack of time spent in the workroom was a problem. Your faithful correspondent watches "Project Runway" to see the designers design, create and execute the challenges, but there was so much hugger-mugger on this show that the workroom barely had a cameo appearance.
It seems that the producers are trying to up the annoyance quotient with the designers, making it easier to root for them to be eliminated: Merlin, winner of the first week's challenge, a squeaky gentleman from Honduras, managed to wear the most irritating headgear since Madonna's appearance at the Metropolitan Museum Costume Gala.
And if he's 38, I'm five feet tall.
Johnny R., who has a topknot and is prone to other annoying things on his head; and Kristin, who has simply settled for annoying hair.
Most of the other designers have yet to display much personality.
Isaac, Kelly, and Fern, oh my!
The two hosts are designer/unable to escape from media personality Isaac Mizrahi and singer Kelly Rowland. Where her fashion credibility lies escapes your faithful correspondent, but she hasn't had a hit single in some time and she's very photogenic. (I think that's about it, so far, unless she has an evil twin side that hasn't come out yet.) Isaac, who I have adored ever since he declared "fat is the new black" two years ago, is amazingly cruel in his comments to the young designers, and almost none of the show outside of the workroom seemed spontaneous. Honestly, I don't know why they bothered to show Isaac and Kelly interacting; it felt as stiff as high school theater. Fern Mallis, at least, is the senior vice president at IMG, which produces Fashion Week.
But, instead, Jonny (without an R)was let go because of his "slutty," amazingly tight dress. He went in the opposite direction and showcased the skirt! When an emaciated model can't fit into something, you know that the designer has an experience problem.
To sum up, the show isn't good, it isn't bad, it's watchable, and like every other competition show on Bravo. At least it's something to watch now that "House" has had its season finale.
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
Now that Bravo has lost "Project Runway," they have seen fit to create, as they say in the fashion business, a knock-off. "The Fashion Show." Oh yes, the trim is different, perhaps the skirt is shorter and the material is definitely cheaper. But the echoes are there, and not to the show's advantage.
It is not meant to be "Project Runway"--there is no Tim Gunn mentoring the designers, the fashions are displayed at the end before a live audience--but of course the spirit of its predecessor hovers over the program. Fifteen designers compete to become the Final Four, with an elimination each week.
By far the best part of the show, IMO, was the runway show. The set is well-designed, and the excitement of a live audience makes it feel almost like we are watching a real fashion show. However, the lack of time spent in the workroom was a problem. Your faithful correspondent watches "Project Runway" to see the designers design, create and execute the challenges, but there was so much hugger-mugger on this show that the workroom barely had a cameo appearance.
It seems that the producers are trying to up the annoyance quotient with the designers, making it easier to root for them to be eliminated: Merlin, winner of the first week's challenge, a squeaky gentleman from Honduras, managed to wear the most irritating headgear since Madonna's appearance at the Metropolitan Museum Costume Gala.
And if he's 38, I'm five feet tall.
Johnny R., who has a topknot and is prone to other annoying things on his head; and Kristin, who has simply settled for annoying hair.
Most of the other designers have yet to display much personality.
Isaac, Kelly, and Fern, oh my!
The two hosts are designer/unable to escape from media personality Isaac Mizrahi and singer Kelly Rowland. Where her fashion credibility lies escapes your faithful correspondent, but she hasn't had a hit single in some time and she's very photogenic. (I think that's about it, so far, unless she has an evil twin side that hasn't come out yet.) Isaac, who I have adored ever since he declared "fat is the new black" two years ago, is amazingly cruel in his comments to the young designers, and almost none of the show outside of the workroom seemed spontaneous. Honestly, I don't know why they bothered to show Isaac and Kelly interacting; it felt as stiff as high school theater. Fern Mallis, at least, is the senior vice president at IMG, which produces Fashion Week.
The challenge was to produce a "must-have" item and design a collection around it, the designers working in teams. But honestly, baggy purple satin harem pants as a "must-have" item?
The other choices were a black bolero jacket, and an extremely tight camel-colored wool tube skirt/dress/sprained ankle bandage.
One hoped that Kristin would get the boot both for that hideous Alice in Wonderland on acid dress and then one wouldn't have to look at her hair again. (She concealed the tube skirt under all of that fuss.)
But, instead, Jonny (without an R)was let go because of his "slutty," amazingly tight dress. He went in the opposite direction and showcased the skirt! When an emaciated model can't fit into something, you know that the designer has an experience problem.
To sum up, the show isn't good, it isn't bad, it's watchable, and like every other competition show on Bravo. At least it's something to watch now that "House" has had its season finale.
Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog
Saturday, September 16, 2006
IT'S OFFICIAL: 'FAT IS THE NEW BLACK!'
DAHLINGS -
That wonderful Isaac Mizrahi just pronounced that "Fat Is The New Black." On national radio, no less!
I have been promoting this idea fashion-wise ever since I was a buxom young lass. At last, society has caught up with moi.
Fashion Week has been quite, quite the experience, as I might have written before. One designer's show could have been titled "Attack of the Skinny Teen-Agers," as a parade of bulemic heroin addicts in 5 inch heels stumbled down the runway in evening gowns meant for women twice their age and size, with that glazed look one associates with continual hunger and drug abuse. There were a number of paramedics outside the white tents at New York's Bryant Park (yes, I know it's near the Fashion District, but it's so...midtown). They dashed into the backstage areas periodically, signalled by frantic designers, to administer emergency doses of protein powder and methadone.
All for now. I shall celebrate Mr. Mizhari's pronouncement with a banana split (Kahlua makes an excellent substitute for hot fudge, dahlings). It almost makes me forgive him for Target.
Ciao,
Elisa and Bucky the Wonderdog
That wonderful Isaac Mizrahi just pronounced that "Fat Is The New Black." On national radio, no less!
I have been promoting this idea fashion-wise ever since I was a buxom young lass. At last, society has caught up with moi.
Fashion Week has been quite, quite the experience, as I might have written before. One designer's show could have been titled "Attack of the Skinny Teen-Agers," as a parade of bulemic heroin addicts in 5 inch heels stumbled down the runway in evening gowns meant for women twice their age and size, with that glazed look one associates with continual hunger and drug abuse. There were a number of paramedics outside the white tents at New York's Bryant Park (yes, I know it's near the Fashion District, but it's so...midtown). They dashed into the backstage areas periodically, signalled by frantic designers, to administer emergency doses of protein powder and methadone.
All for now. I shall celebrate Mr. Mizhari's pronouncement with a banana split (Kahlua makes an excellent substitute for hot fudge, dahlings). It almost makes me forgive him for Target.
Ciao,
Elisa and Bucky the Wonderdog
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